Editor's Note
The current issue of the newsletter contains the following:
- A current comment on the use of small grains in pig production.
- A research report on the effects of graded levels of microbial phytase on the standardized total tract digestibility of phosphorus in corn and corn co-products.
- A new podcast on the evaluation of in-vitro procedures to predict digestible energy content in yellow dent corn.
- Nine new publications from the Stein Monogastric Nutrition Laboratory.
- Information on the brochure, "Feeding Wheat to Pigs."
I hope you will find this information useful. To subscribe to the newsletter, please visit http://nutrition.ansci.illinois.edu/newsletter.
Sincerely,
Hans H Stein
Current Comment
Use of small grains in pig production
We are now at a time of the year when most of the small grain crops have been harvested, but we are still a few month away from having new-crop corn available. In many areas of the Midwest, it is, therefore, possible to purchase wheat, barley, or oats at a price that is less than that of corn. In many cases, this is an opportunity to reduce diet costs. With corn trading close to 7 dollars per bushel, there may be opportunities for reducing diet costs if small grains are available.
Research Report
Corn contains approximately 0.26% phosphorus, but most of this phosphorus is bound to phytic acid, or phytate, and thus is not bioavailable to pigs because they lack the enzyme phytase. Corn-based diets can be supplemented with inorganic phosphorus to help meet pigs' phosphorus needs; however, rising costs of inorganic phosphorus makes this approach increasingly uneconomical. Helping pigs digest more of the phosphorus that naturally occurs in the diet could provide a cost-effective alternative to inorganic phosphorus supplementation while also helping to reduce the environmental burden of excreted phosphorus. An experiment was conducted to determine how adding graded levels of microbial phytase affected the standardized total tract digestibility (STTD) of phosphorus in corn and corn co-products. From these data, regression equations were developed to predict the response to adding different levels of phytase to each ingredient.
New podcast
June 30: Evaluation of in-vitro procedures to predict the DE in yellow dent corn
Dr. Sarah Cervantes-Pahm describes the results obtained from three different in vitro procedures for predicting the digestible energy in yellow dent corn.
Publications
Stein, H. H., O. Adeola, G. L. Cromwell, S. W. Kim, D. C. Mahan, and P. S. Miller. 2011. Concentration of dietary calcium supplied by calcium carbonate does not affect the apparent total tract digestibility of calcium, but decreases digestibility of phosphorus by growing pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 89:2139-2144.
Mathai, J. K., R. C. Sulabo, J. L. Usry, B. W. Ratliff, D. M. McKilligan, and H. H. Stein. 2011. Standardized total tract digestibility of P in dried fermentation biomass, Peptone 50, and P.E.P. 2 Plus fed to weanling pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 89(E-Suppl. 1):85 (Abstr.)
Almaguer, B. L., R. C. Sulabo, and H. H. Stein. 2011. Effects of phytase on standardized total tract digestibility of P in copra expellers, palm kernel expellers, and palm kernel meal fed to growing pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 89(E-Suppl. 1):187 (Abstr.)
Cervantes-Pahm, S. K. and H. H. Stein. 2011. Metabolizable energy and digestibility of carbohydrates in cereal grains fed to growing pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 89(E-Suppl. 1):332-333 (Abstr.)
Rojas, O. J. and H. H. Stein. 2011. Concentration of DE and ME in fermented soybean meal, conventional soybean meal, and fish meal fed to weanling pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 89(E-Suppl. 1):333 (Abstr.)
Boucher, S. E., S. Calsamiglia, M. D. Stern, C. M. Parsons, H. H. Stein, C. G. Schwab, K. W. Cotanch, J. W. Darrah, and J. K. Bernard. 2011. Method evaluation for determining digestibility of rumen undegraded amino acids in blood meal. J. Anim. Sci. 89(E-Suppl. 1):388 (Abstr.)
Sulabo, R. C., J. K. Mathai, J. L. Usry, B. W. Ratliff, D. M. McKilligan, and H. H. Stein. 2011. Amino acid digestibility and energy content in dried fermentation biomass, Peptone 50, and P.E.P. Two Plus fed to weanling pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 89(E-Suppl. 1):440-441 (Abstr.)
Almeida, F. N., G. I. Petersen, and H. H. Stein. 2011. Digestibility of amino acids in corn, corn co-products, and bakery meal fed to growing pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 89(E-Suppl. 1):441 (Abstr.)
Lee, J. W., B. D. Keever, J. Killefer, F. K. McKeith, and H. H. Stein. 2011. Effects of including tallow, palm kernel oil, corn germ, or glycerol to diets containing distillers dried grains with solubles on pork fat quality of growing-finishing pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 89(E-Suppl. 1):679 (Abstr.)
Brochure
Feeding Wheat to Pigs is a short brochure that describes the possibilities for using wheat as an alternative to corn in swine diets. This brochure was first published last year at the University of Illinois and provides guidelines for inclusion of wheat in diets fed to pigs and also describes factors that producers need to take into consideration when feeding wheat to pigs. The economics of feeding wheat to pigs is also discussed.