Man has known that iron plays an important role in health and disease for some considerable time (Loosli, 1978). In fact Bryan (1931) stated that documented therapeutic uses of iron date back as far as 1500 BC. However it was not until Boussingault (1872) that iron was recognized as a vital nutrient for animals.

Digestibility measurements of feedstuffs are used to determine feedstuff quality and nutritive value. Information on protein and amino acid digestibility is very important for diet formulation because pigs require essential amino acids (AA) for growth.

The objective of this study was to determine the bioavailability, for 5 to 10 kilogram pigs, of iron (Fe) in spray-dried blood cells (SDBC, American Protein Corporation, Ames IA).

Growth of the newborn pig is dependent upon the sow. The sow must be able to produce a quantity and quality of milk that meets the demands of the growing litter.

The main targets of a nursery pig nutritional program are to (1) avoid postweaning growth depression; (2) smoothly adjust pigs to a low cost, corn-soybean meal-based diet; and (3) accomplish this transition as soon as possible following weaning. These goals can be achieved by a three-phase feeding program that introduces low-cost ingredients in a progressive way, to gently enhance maturation of the gastrointestinal system, and at the same time to supply special ingredients that will encourage maximal growth performance.

The Napole gene has been shown to increase muscle glycogen levels and glycolytic potential and result in increased lactate production postmortem and produces acidic meat which has a lower than normal pH (Monin and Sellier, 1985). This acidic meat has reduced processing yield and increased purge loss, both of which decrease profits for the packer.

Legumes are rich in proteins, as well as being good sources of dietary minerals, vitamins, and calories (Salunkhe et al., 1990). One concern with feeding legumes involves the tannin content of different species and varieties.

Determining the effects of isoflavones on development in vitro of porcine embryos.

Space restriction has been shown to decrease daily gain and feed intake in pigs (Brumm and Miller, 1996; Kornegay and Notter, 1984), but has given variable results for gain to feed ratio (Moser et al., 1985; Randolph et al., 1981; Brumm and Miller, 1996). Space allowance for pigs has been investigated in conjunction with other factors.

The objective of this study was to determine the optimal requirement for iron (Fe) in the form of ferrous sulfate for 5 to 10 kilograms pigs. A titration study was designed involving thirty-six pigs from six litters of Line 326 x Camborough 22 (Pig Improvement Company, Franklin, KY) pigs.

The Napole gene has been shown to have detrimental effects on pig meat quality (Enfalt et al., 1994; LeRoy et al., 1996; Lundstrom et al., 1996; Sutton, 1997). Evidence suggests that this is a single dominant gene (LeRoy et al., 1990; Fernandez et al., 1992) and that animals which carry the detrimental allele (RN-) have increased glycogen levels within the muscle, which is transformed into lactate postmortem resulting in a lower than normal ultimate pH.

For many years, crossbreeding programs based on Western pig breeds have been used to improve sow productivity through maximizing maternal heterosis (Kuhlers et al., 1988; McLaren et al., 1987). In the last decade, in both the U.S. and Europe the Machine, a highly prolific Chinese pig breed, has been evaluated for use in commercial crosses (Bidanel et al., 1991; Mercer and Hoste, 1994; Lee and Haley, 1995; Sinclair et al., 1998; Young, 1998).

Tenderness is one of the most critical attributes in determining consumer satisfaction with pork. In general, tenderness increases following a 7 to 10 day postmortem aging period (Smith et al., 1978) and this provides a mechanism by which meat can be influenced postmortem to insure tenderness in fresh meat products.

Confusion exists concerning the limiting amino acids and their order of limitation for young growing pigs fed low-protein diets based on corn and soybean meal. The purpose of our study was to clarify the limiting amino acids, and their order, for 10 kg pigs of a high lean-gain genotype that are fed a 13.5% CP corn-soybean meal diet containing 8% dried whey.