Acosta, Jesus A., Brad V. Lawrence, Eric Myers, Chelsie K. K. Foran, Hans H. Stein, Deana Hancock. 2026. Late-Breaking: Gestation stage, lactation, and partial substitution of hydroxy minerals with methionine hydroxy analogue chelated minerals impacts nutrient retention. Journal of Animal Science, Volume 103, Issue Supplement_3, October 2025, Pages 191–192, doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf300.230 Link to the abstract.

Kim, Yeonwoo, Hans H. Stein. 2026. Inclusion of pistachio blanks in diets for weanling pigs has limited impact on growth performance and blood characteristics. Animal Feed Science and Technology 338 (2026) 116746. doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2026.116746 Link to full text.

Torres-Mendoza, Leidy J., Hans H. Stein. 2026.

Canola meal and soybean meal (SBM) are the most commonly used sources of amino acids in diets for swine. However, via genetic selection, varieties of canola with greater concentrations of crude protein and reduced concentrations of fiber have been identified. Following oil extraction, the resulting high-protein canola meal (CM-HP) contains 3 to 5 % more crude protein than conventional canola meal (CM-CV). It is, therefore, expected that CM-HP contains more digestible and metabolizable energy than CM-CV when fed to sows, but this hypothesis has not been experimentally verified (Liu et al., 2016). Therefore, it was the objective of this experiment to determine the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of energy and concentrations of digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) in high protein canola meal, conventional canola meal, and SBM when fed to gestating sows.

Kim, Yeonwoo, Su A Lee, Hans H. Stein. 2026.

Acosta, Jessica P., Su A Lee, Hans H. Stein. 2026.

Ibagon, J. A., H. H. Stein, and S. A Lee. 2026. Reducing dietary protein in diets for sows. National Hog Farmer. On-line edition. Jan. 29. 2026. Link to full text. 

Pigs have a poor utilization of phytate-bound P derived from plant feed ingredients and thus supplemental phytase is used in pig diets (Selle and Ravindran, 2008). Use of phytase in diets has been a very effective way to increase P digestibility, but the digestibility of amino acids, energy, and other minerals may also be increased by super dosing phytase (Kies et al., 2006; Arredondo et al., 2019), which ultimately increases growth performance and bone ash of pigs.

Bestzyme has recently been developed as a novel phytase, but there is limited information on how this phytase works on growth performance and bone ash of pigs. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to test the hypothesis that dietary P and Ca in diets for growing pigs can be reduced without negatively impacting growth performance and bone ash of pigs if Bestzyme phytase is included in the diets.

The post-weaning period is a critical period for pigs and is often associated with reduced feed intake, impaired gut health, and reduced growth performance. Pharmacological concentrations of zinc oxide have been widely used in nursery diets to alleviate these challenges, but increasing environmental and regulatory concerns have encouraged the evaluation of alternative nutritional strategies. Dietary acidifiers have been shown to reduce gastrointestinal pH, limit the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria, and support nutrient utilization in young pigs. As a result, novel acidifiers may represent a practical alternative to zinc oxide in diets for weanling pigs. Therefore, the objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the addition of the acidifier Protacid Soy Plus (PSP; Higienizo, Madrid, Spain) to diets for weanling pigs would increase growth performance.