Researchers with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada expect to know by fall whether increasing the lysine content in sow rations during late gestation will stimulate the development of mammary tissue. In an effort to increase the productivity of piglets, scientists working on behalf of Swine Innovation Porc are looking at various strategies to increase sow milk production, including the stimulation of mammary development.
Dr. Chantal Farmer, a Research Scientist in Sow Lactation Biology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Sherbrooke, says, while energy requirements remain constant during gestation, protein requirements increase dramatically.
Clip-Dr. Chantal Farmer-Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada:
Lysine is important for mammary development but we do not know how much is needed and if increasing the amount of lysine will in fact stimulate mammary development. One study recently looked at increasing the amount of lysine intake and what they've noticed is that there was an increase in growth rate of piglets from the animals receiving more lysine and they've speculated that this could be due to stimulation of mammary development.