The event took place March 8-9 in Florianópolis, Brazil with 26 swine professionals in attendance, representing approximately 1.35 million sows.

“The topic of early piglet development has been a constant priority in the industry around the world, but taking this globally-relevant portion of swine production down to a regional level and really diving into the specific issues was uniquely beneficial,” said Elisabet Rodriguez, Global Swine Marketing Manager at Novus.

Over the course of the event, practitioners shared information affecting their respective countries, regions, as well as the industry at large. Topics included the changing costs of pig production; antibiotic-free markets; biosecurity; epigenetics and the benefits of organic trace minerals. New products, techniques, and industry attitudes were also presented, allowing participants to see a clearer picture of the region as well as create opportunities for collaborative work and inspiration for new ideas and innovations. Ferdinando Almeida, a swine nutrition research scientist at Novus, shared how Novus’s research and development efforts are creating new approaches to nutrition using its products.

“Some of the best industry-changing ideas come out of collaborative work,” Almeida said, “Too often we don’t realize the benefits of simply coming together and comparing notes to move the industry forward. That’s really what this event is all about.”

The attendees included swine consultants, nutritionists, academics and researchers from various areas of animal nutrition around the Latin American and European regions, many of whom work across geographies on a regular basis.

More information about Novus’s research on early piglet development and future events can be found at www.novusint.com.