#150 - Dr. Crystal Levesque: Feeding gilts and sows

Hey there - Transitioning the gilt into a successful sow is not always a simple task. They require particular attention and we cant treat them just like any other finishing pig. Similarly, graduate students often need quality education and preparation for their next step in their career. In this episode I talk with Dr. Crystal Levesque about raising the developing gilt as well as how to best prep graduate students to enter the industry.

What you will learn:

1. How do we change the sow

2. Raising the developing gilt

3. Assisting growth through health improvements in gilts

4. Sow feeding programs going forward

5. Training and educating students

Meet the guest: Dr. Crystal Levesque was born and raised on a broiler and mixed grain farm in central Saskatchewan, Canada. She completed her PhD at the University of Alberta followed by post-doctoral training at Prairie Swine Center and University of Guelph prior to accepting a position of Assistant Professor of monogastric nutrition at South Dakota State University. Her main research interests are protein and amino acid metabolism during pregnancy and maternal nutritional influence on offspring growth and development. She is actively involved in collaborative research on the impacts of alternative feeds and dietary additives on piglet growth, immune function, and gut health post-weaning and the use of the pig as a model for human health.