posted on Thursday, September 10, 2020
“It’s a constant challenge of trying to get better every day,” reflected Ben Haberl, Iowa Select Farms’ director of nutrition, where he is responsible for the 22 feed formulations from Iowa farmers’ grains to feed to Iowa Select Farms’ entire herd. Working closely with Chief Operating Officer Noel Williams, Haberl ensures that he hits the mark on fiber, moisture, fat, protein, and carbohydrates.
While he is a pig diet expert, Ben’s interest in nutrition started with a more familiar species - humans. After falling ill numerous times as a child, his sister was eventually diagnosed with a missing enzyme in her liver that prohibited her from
digesting protein. As she waited for a liver transplant, the doctors modified her diet so her protein intake only came from synthetic amino acids, which her body could process.
Today, Ben looks at how amino acids can help pig diets, in addition to calcium, phosphorus, sodium chloride, vitamins and trace minerals. All these formulations occur depending on the age, size, and job of the pig – gilt, sow, market, boar.
All of this formulation starts where Ben started – on the farm. Growing up on a row crop and livestock farm outside of Lohrville, Ben was always interested in working with animals. He went to Iowa State University to study animal science, and while studying embryo transfer and breeding, Ben developed a real passion for feeding and nutrition.https://conta.cc/3bLvPag
https://conta.cc/3bLvPag
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