Kim, Yeonwoo, Su A Lee, Hans H. Stein. 2024. Concentrations of energy in pistachio shell powder fed to gestating sows and lactating sows. J. Anim. Sci Vol. 102, Suppl. S2. P 90 - 91. doi.org/10.1093/jas/skae102.102 Link to the abstract.

Particle size reduction in cereal grains often results in an improved digestibility of starch due to increased surface area of grains, which subsequently increases the interaction with digestive enzymes. Improvement in the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of gross energy (GE) upon particle size reduction has also been demonstrated in corn and a number of other ingredients when fed to weanling or growing-finishing pigs.

Cristobal, Minoy A., Carl M. M. Parsons, Hans H. Stein. 2023. Concentrations of Digestible and Metabolizable Energy, Ileal Digestibility of Amino Acids, and Digestibility of Phosphorus in a New Variety of Soybeans Fed to Growing Pigs. J. Anim. Sci. Volume 101, Issue Supplement 2, Pages 51 - 52, doi.org/10.1093/jas/skad341.056. Link to abstract.

California is a leading producer of pistachios in the United States and globally and it is estimated that annual production will reach 2.08 billion pounds in 2031. As a result, about 31.2 million pounds of shells will be produced after the nuts are processed for human consumption. Pistachio shells have been viewed as a waste product and are frequently disposed of using ecologically friendly practices. However, it is possible that pistachio shell powder can be used as a high fiber ingredient for swine. Specifically, gestating sows may benefit from the high fiber concentration in pistachio shell powder because this may increase satiety and reduce stress. However, at this time, there is no information about the nutritional value of pistachio shell powder when fed to sows. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of gross energy (GE) and concentrations of digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) in pistachio shell powder are not different from those in soybean hulls when fed to gestating sows. The second hypothesis was that the ATTD of GE and DE in pistachio shell powder are not different from those in soybean hulls when fed to lactating sows.

Espinosa, Charmaine D., Joaquin Cabañas-Ojeda, Edgar O. Oviedo-Rondón, and Hans H. Stein. 2023. Effects of corn hardness and drying temperature on digestibility of energy and nutrients in diets fed to growing pigs. Journal of Animal Science, 101: 1–9. doi.org/10.1093/jas/skad124. Link to full text.

Drying temperatures and corn varieties that inherently differ in kernel hardness, virtuousness, and protein solubility index may influence nutrient digestibility in corn. However, information about interactive effects of corn source (i.e., endosperm hardness) and drying method on energy and nutrient digestibility is limited. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that that the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of gross energy (GE) and total dietary fiber (TDF) is influenced by corn source and drying temperature.

Data have been published for the composition of wheat middlings from flour mills in the U.S. and data for digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) have been reported as well. However, it is not known if the data obtained in wheat middlings from the U.S. also are representative for wheat middlings in Europe. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the null hypothesis that there are no differences in composition, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of gross energy (GE), and concentration of DE and ME between wheat middlings sourced from flour mills in Europe and in the U.S.

New sources of high protein corn co-products have been recently developed and may be included in diets fed to pigs. High protein corn fermented products have been evaluated in several economically important livestock species, but additional information is required with respect to the use of these products in pigs. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) of high protein corn fermented products and in Post MSC DDGS.

McGhee, Molly L., and Hans H. Stein. 2022. Metabolizable energy in corn is greater than in hybrid rye when fed to gestating sows, but exogenous enzymes did not increase energy digestibility. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 102: 392–395 (2022) dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjas-2021-0054. Link to full text.