Peer-reviewed proof can boost your bottom line

Posted on February 18, 2019 in Swine Performance
By Dr. Jose Soto

As you look to stay competitive in the everchanging swine industry, it can quickly become overwhelming to make a product or management decision with all the lofty product claims and marketing materials available.  Not only can these claims cause confusion, but they can also keep you from making an informed decision based on proven facts.

At Vita Plus, we are interested in your long-term success and committed to providing research-based solutions to help you navigate the marketing “smoke and mirrors” and make sound management decisions.  We work closely with leading university faculty and researchers to conduct research on your behalf and provide nutrition and management recommendations based on real-world effectiveness.

Peer-reviewed research is the most credible form of research and is used in the publication of manuscripts and research results.  It subjects the author’s work to the scrutiny of other experts in the field.  This increases the likelihood that any weakness in the design of an experiment or interpretation of results are correct before the information is shared with a wider audience.  This diagram helps illustrate the peer-review process and why it is important.

Vita Plus has always put a high priority on peer-reviewed research, and continues to do so today.  In fact, Vita Plus was part of a recent peer-reviewed publication, Galloway et al. 2019, in collaboration with Iowa State University researchers and other entities.  The study determined that super-dosing phytase improved nursery pig growth and carcass performance in pigs in the grow-out phase of production.  Although performance improvement was achieved in both phases of production, the benefits of super-dosing were greater in the nursery phase than in the grow-finish phase of production.  Click here to read the full publication.

This is just one example of how Vita Plus provides our customers with research-based solutions to help you make the best and most economically sound decisions for your operations.  Contact a Vita Plus consultant to learn how we can help you reach your operation’s goals.

About the author:  Dr. Jose Soto grew up in Chile, where he received undergraduate and graduate training in agricultural sciences and agricultural economics, respectively.  He moved to the United States in 2007 and worked for three of the top 10 swine integrators and allied industry, where he was involved with research and development, technical services, and production operations.  Most recently, he earned his Ph.D. in animal sciences, with an emphasis on swine nutrition and production management, from Kansas State University.  Soto joined Vita Plus as the director of swine nutrition and product development in January 2018.

Category: Animal health
Consumer communication
Swine Performance