Dr. Denise Beaulieu Awarded U.S. National Pork Board Swine Industry Award for Innovation (April 8, 2005)

Saskatoon, SK., April 7, 2005: Dr. Denise Beaulieu, Research Assistant at Prairie Swine Centre Inc., recently received one of only two awards presented annually by the U.S. National Pork Board at the Midwest Section, Animal Science meetings held in Des Moines, Iowa. The annual National Pork Board award recognizes innovative ideas, scientifically based, that have relevance to the pork industry. The award, based on abstracts submitted to the American Society of Animal Science meetings, Midwest section, was earned for research on the use of phytase enzyme to improve phosphorus utilization from feed and reduce phosphorus in the manure.


Dr. Beaulieu accepted the award on behalf of her research team, which included M.R. Bedford (Zymetrics, UK), and J.F. Patience (Prairie Swine Centre). The winning abstract describes two experiments conducted at Prairie Swine Centre which showed that a novel enzyme developed by Zymetrics, Inc.(UK) decreased total phosphorus output in the manure by almost 40% when fed to weanling pigs consuming a soy, barley and corn based diet that was intentionally formulated to be lower than recommended for total phosphorus content. Despite the lower total phosphorus content, the diet met all requirements for piglet growth due to the increased utilization of the mineral made possible by the phytase enzyme in the diet. Of importance to the environment, the proportion of inorganic phosphorus in the manure the form of phosphorus most susceptible to leaching through the soil, remained unchanged.


Of importance to farmers and nutritionists, it was confirmed that when using the phytase enzyme, the dietary ratio of calcium to phosphorus should be at or below 1.7:1 to realize the full benefit of the enzyme.


The phytase enzyme has been used commercially for several years in areas lacking sufficient land-base for manure application. This work extends that research and shows that the enzyme can successfully be incorporated into diets in Western Canada; benefiting producers with reduced diet costs, and providing further options for manure management. Additional information about the subject can be found in a media release entitled New Dietary Phosphorus Findings Featured at Focus on the Future Conference available at the Centre’s website or by calling 306-373-9922.


Prairie Swine Centre Inc., located in Saskatoon, is a non-profit research corporation affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan, and is recognized globally for its contributions to practical, applied science in pork production in the disciplines of Nutrition, Engineering and Animal Behaviour.


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For more information, contact:
Lee Whittington
Manager, Information Services
Prairie Swine Centre Inc.
Phone: 306-667-7447
Fax: 306-955-2510
E-mail: Whittington@sask.usask.ca


Ken Engele
Assistant Manager, Information Services
Prairie Swine Centre Inc.
Phone: 306-667-7446
Fax: 306-955-2510
E-mail: engelek@sask.usask.ca


Dr. Denise Beaulieu
Research Assistant
Prairie Swine Centre Inc.
Phone: 306-667-7441
E-mail: Beaulieu@sask.usask.ca