Aligning Nutrition with Genetic Progress in Pigs: Optimizing Health, Growth, and Sustainability

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Pigs".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 11

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Animal Science, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA
Interests: swine nutrition; applied nutrition; management; gastrointestinal health; nutrition and health interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Modern pig genetics have advanced rapidly, with maternal lines becoming increasingly prolific and paternal lines being bred for lean growth and feed efficiency. These improvements demand equally progressive nutritional strategies to fully realize the pigs’ genetic potential, while safeguarding sow health, piglet vitality, and carcass quality. Modern nutrition must balance reproduction, growth, and sustainability challenges, providing precision feeding solutions for highly productive genotypes.

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight original research and reviews that address the complex interplay between genetics, nutrition, health, and productivity in modern swine systems. We invite contributions on the following topics:

  • Stage-specific nutrient requirements for prolific sows, neonatal piglets, and fast-growing finishing pigs.
  • Feeding effects on animal health and longevity, including immunity, reproduction, and sow survivability.
  • Impacts of nutrition on pork yield and quality, especially in lean, high-efficiency genotypes.
  • Novel feed ingredients, additives, and technologies to support modern breeding objectives.
  • Precision feeding and system-level strategies for sustainability, including nutrient efficiency and environmental impact reduction.

By integrating the realities of modern pig genetics with nutrition research, this Special Issue aims to define pathways for optimizing both productivity and sustainability in swine production.

Dr. Eric Weaver
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pig nutrition
  • feeding strategies
  • genetic progress
  • prolific sows
  • lean growth
  • reproduction
  • sow longevity
  • piglet vitality
  • carcass quality
  • precision feeding
  • sustainability
  • environmental impact

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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