Swine Nutrition PDF

Preface

Huge changes in swine production practices have occurred since the publication of the first edition of Swine Nutrition . Most significant has been the major consolidation of the swine industry that occurred during the 1990s. This consolidation has caused an unfortunate shift in public perceptions of pig production and focused considerable attention on issues such as soil and water pollution and odor production. Much has been learned about feeding practices that minimize pollution and odor. Changes in the swine industry have caused other changes in feeding practices. A new edition of the NRC Nutrient Requirements of Swine has been published, which has emphasized the value of computer models of pig growth and reproduction, and there is also a considerable amount of new data about nutrient requirements and availability of nutrients.

This new edition of Swine Nutrition retains the same general structure as the first edition, but it has been almost completely rewritten. Every chapter has undergone major revision, in most cases by authors different from those who contributed to the first edition. Some topics have been reduced in length or eliminated, and new topics have been added. The additions include chapters on the general characteristics of the U.S. swine industry, environmental pollution and odor control, pork quality, gene expression, and feeding of developing and adult boars. Swine Nutrition, Second Edition remains a book that is designed to serve as a text in advanced swine nutrition courses and as a comprehensive reference for anyone seeking information about any aspect of swine nutrition.

Most of the authors of chapters in the first edition were active or former members of the NCR- 42 Regional Committee on Swine Nutrition. This tradition has been continued in the second edition and 14 of the 42 chapters have an author who is or was a member of NCR-42. However, a major portion of the current edition (six chapters) is contributed by members of another regional committee, the S-288 (formerly S-145) Committee on Sow Reproductive Efficiency. Authorship has by no means been restricted to the two committees and various other experts from the United States, Canada, and Western Europe have contributed chapters. Sadly, one of the authors died during the preparation of the book. Dr. E. T. Kornegay (a member of S-288) was a devoted and productive swine nutritionist and is much missed by those of us who knew and worked with him.

This second edition, like any book, would not have been possible but for the help of many people. The publisher, CRC Press, initiated the idea of a second edition. John Sulzycki, senior editor, has been supportive throughout and has been very understanding about the difficulties in bringing a multiauthored book such as this to fruition. Christine Andreasen, project editor, turned a collection of individual manuscripts into a coherent book. With care and dedication, she "created a silk purse from a collection of sows' ears"! The two regional research committees backed the project from the start and provided much of the authorship. Amy Guzik spent a lot of time checking and correcting reference citations in the initial drafts of many of the chapters. Lee Southern was an outstanding co-editor and was a pleasure to work with from the initial planning stages to the end of the project. Whenever my enthusiasm waned, Lee was always there to pick up the slack. Finally, I am deeply grateful to my wife, Nancy, for her sustained support of this and all my endeavors.