Recent industry insights highlight a growing focus on nutritional and management strategies designed to support swine performance across critical production stages.

 

From weaning stress in piglets to lactation challenges in sows and the escalating impact of heat stress, new evidence underscores the importance of targeted interventions to maintain gut health, optimise feed intake, and safeguard reproductive efficiency.

 

Post-weaning diarrhoea remains a major constraint in piglet production, but Evonik reports that its Bacillus subtilisbased probiotic GutPlus can significantly improve gut health, growth performance and immunity while reducing the effects of pathogenic E. coli. According to Evonik, its efficacy can match that of antibiotic growth promoters, supporting the industry's shift towards antibiotic-free production systems (pages 6–7).

 

In addition to microbial strategies, sensory feed enhancements are also gaining attention. Phytobiotics highlights that raspberry flavour additives can improve feed palatability during weaning, increasing feed intake and growth performance while reducing stress. By supporting the transition from milk to solid feed, such flavours contribute to improved welfare and more stable intake patterns in piglets (pages 8–9).

 

At the sow level, Phodé emphasises the importance of maintaining feed intake during lactation as a key driver of milk production, litter growth, and future fertility. Evidence suggests that stress reduction strategies, including citrus-based feed additives, can enhance intake and improve reproductive outcomes, supporting both immediate and long-term herd productivity (pages 10–11).

 

Meanwhile, Cargill draws attention to COVER STORY the increasing challenge of heat stress in swine systems. The company notes that elevated temperatures reduce feed intake, compromise gut integrity, and negatively affect reproductive performance, with consequences that may extend across generations. A proactive "prepare–support– recover" nutritional framework, alongside targeted feed solutions, is presented as essential to maintaining resilience and productivity under thermal stress conditions (pages 12–13).

 

Collectively, these findings reinforce a clear industry direction: improving swine performance increasingly depends on integrated nutritional, sensory, and environmental management strategies.

 

From probiotic gut support and flavourdriven intake stimulation to reproductive nutrition and heat stress mitigation, producers are being encouraged to adopt multi-layered approaches that safeguard both productivity and long-term herd resilience.

 

The full article is published on the June 2026 issue of LIVESTOCK & FEED Business. To read the full report, please email to inquiry@efeedlink.com to request for a complimentary copy of the magazine, indicating your name, mailing address and title of the report.