DeviGain PG from Belfast-based Devenish Nutrition Limited won the Pig World New Product Award at the 2014 British Pig and Poultry Fair.
The feed product, which was launched in january this year, is a unique concentrated protein that supplies amino acids in a targeted form that growing pigs can use more effectively. It also optimises protein in the diet so that the overall crude protein level can be lowered. This spares energy in the diet and promotes growth.
Trials carried out by Devenish Nutrition have shown that including DeviGain PG in diets can result in:
- up to 5% improvement in growth rate;
- up to 5% improvement in FCR;
- 80kg less soya required per tonne of feed;
- 17kg less soyal required per finished pig;
- reduction of 100t soya annually for a 250-sow unit;
- 25% reduction in N excretion (ammonia from urine, faeces); and
- up to 16% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Based on soya prices at the time of the fair, the benefits of using DeviGain PG were worth a little more than £4/pig in increased margin.
Pig World editor Graeme Kirk, who judged this year’s awards with Stephen Winfield of BPEX’s knowledge transfer team, said the product ticked all the right boxes to take the title.
“We were looking for a product that was widely applicable across the industry; had a clear and direct financial benefit from its use and could demonstrate environmental credentials too,” he added.
Hot on Devenish Nutrition’s heels was Harbro Limited of Turriff which was Highly Commended for Porcimax+, a new all-year-round solutio for improving fertility in sows and gilts.
Launched in March this year following 18 months of research and development, and significant trial work, the product has been developed to support the metabolism of highly productive sows and help them overcome the effects of negative energy balance, infection and inflammation that often occur at periods of metabolic stress such as lactation and pregnancy.
Fed to the sow or gilt for three days pre-service and another three days post-service, a £9 treatment of Porcimax+ is said to:
- improve farrowing rates by more than 10%;
- decrease the weaning to service interval by 23%; and
- decrease returns by 50%.
Stephen Winfield of BPEX said that, like DeviGain, Porcimax+ fitted well with BPEX’s new Going for Growth strategy, a central pillar of which was to improve the performance of the the English herd to close the gap to competitors.
“I also liked the fact that the product should have an immediate impact,” he added. “You’ll know within weeks how the treatment has done.”
There were a total of 13 entries for this year’s New Product Award, with seven of them judged at the event. All the entries will be featured in the June 2014 isue of Pig World.