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In this episode of The Real P3 Podcast, Chantel Pennicott and Aryeri Bardales sit down with Tracy Meyer Milson, swine nutritionist and founder of OptiHog, to explore a simple but often overlooked concept in modern production: less is more.

Tracy shares her journey from growing up on a pig farm in South Africa to launching her own nutrition consultancy, bringing decades of experience across global production systems. Her perspective challenges the industry’s tendency to overcomplicate diets with excessive additives, instead emphasizing a return to fundamental nutrition principles and practical decision making.

The conversation dives into the growing complexity of feed formulation and how advancements in genetics, technology, and additive availability can sometimes lead producers away from what truly drives performance. Tracy explains why focusing on core nutritional building blocks, protein, energy, fiber, and fats, often delivers better outcomes than layering multiple solutions without clear purpose.

A key segment of the episode focuses on mycotoxin management, where the group discusses the widespread use, and misuse, of toxin binders across different regions. From South Africa’s high contamination challenges to routine inclusion practices in the United States, the discussion highlights the risks of “just in case” decisions, false security, and the importance of testing, strategy, and targeted use.

The episode also explores beta agonists as a performance tool, examining their benefits, limitations, and the critical role of timing, environment, and animal welfare. Tracy and Aryeri emphasize that no additive can compensate for poor management, and that pushing for more performance without balance can negatively impact both animals and people.

Beyond nutrition, the conversation expands into the human side of production. From farm staff engagement to communication between nutritionists and producers, the group underscores how people ultimately determine animal outcomes. As Tracy puts it, a holistic approach that values both technical precision and human factors is essential for sustainable success.

Whether you are a nutritionist, producer, or industry professional, this episode offers a grounded perspective on simplifying decision making, evaluating additives with purpose, and building systems that balance performance, welfare, and profitability.

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In this episode of The Real P3 Podcast, Dr. Casey Bradley sits down with David Eisenberg, President of Microtracers, Inc., to explore the science and real world applications of microtracers in animal feed manufacturing and research.

David shares the story behind Microtracers, a company founded by his father in 1961 after pioneering analytical tracing technologies for feed manufacturing. What began as a small laboratory analyzing bakery products evolved into a global business helping feed mills verify mixing accuracy, track ingredients, and protect product integrity.

The conversation explains what microtracers are and how they work. These tiny colored particles are added to feed ingredients to verify mixing uniformity, detect cross contamination, and confirm that the correct feed reaches the correct animals. From early salt tracers to magnetic iron particles that can be quickly separated and counted, the technology has become a practical quality control tool used worldwide.

David also discusses how microtracers help protect animal safety and product integrity by identifying medicated feeds, preventing ingredient misuse, and allowing rapid testing at feed mills or farms without waiting for laboratory analysis.

The episode also explores how microtracers support research programs by validating feed mixing, reducing feeding errors in trials, and improving confidence in experimental results.

Dr. Bradley also shares how Animistic plans to integrate this technology into its upcoming AssureMix program to support feed manufacturing validation and research services.

Whether you work in feed manufacturing, animal nutrition research, or production management, this episode highlights how a simple but powerful technology can improve feed quality, safety, and research precision.

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In this special edition of The Real P3, Dr. Casey Bradley brings together all four interviews from the NOVUS book launch event for Nutrition and Production Strategies for Today’s Sows. This episode highlights the collective expertise of leaders shaping the future of sow health, performance, and longevity.

From amino acid evolution to heat stress, micronutrition, and reproductive management, these conversations reflect how rapidly the modern sow has changed—and what producers, nutritionists, and veterinarians must understand to support her success.

We begin with Dr. Laura Greiner (Iowa State University), who explains how sow nutrition has transformed over the last 25 years. She walks us through the shift from simple lysine-based feeding to precision nutrition, technology-driven management, and understanding lactation amino acid transitions.

Next, Dr. Brad Lawrence (Novus International) challenges long-held assumptions about trace minerals. He dives into bio-utility versus bioavailability, new insights from biomarkers and gene expression, and how mineral source directly influences sow and offspring performance.

Our third conversation features Dr. Timothy Safranski (University of Missouri), one of the industry’s foremost reproductive physiologists. He breaks down the genetic and environmental pressures shaping reproduction today, especially how heat stress affects puberty, estrus, farrowing rate, boar fertility, and long-term herd outcomes.

We close with Dr. Antonio Palomo (Spain), offering a global perspective on the alarming rise in sow mortality. This segment includes an English voiceover summarizing his in-person Spanish interview. Dr. Palomo reveals why sow deaths are now largely metabolic rather than infectious, and why micronutrition—vitamins, minerals, oxidative stress reducers—may be the key to reversing this trend.

Whether you're a nutritionist, production manager, veterinarian, or student of swine systems, this combined episode captures the essential knowledge shaping the future of sow performance.

Special thanks to NOVUS International for their continued investment in research, global collaboration, and producer education.

You can watch the full four-part video series on YouTube, including the Spanish-language version of our conversation with Dr. Palomo.

📬 For technical support or industry guidance, email
technical@animistic.co

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