Casas, G. A. and H. H. Stein. 2016. Effects of exogenous xylanase on digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, neutral detergent fiber, and energy and the concentrations of digestible and metabolizable energy in rice co-products fed to weanling pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 94(Suppl. 2):107 (Abstr.) Link to abstract (.pdf)

Soybean meal is the main protein source used in diets for pigs in the United States, as well as most countries of the world, due to the high quality of the protein it provides. However, soybean meal also contains antinutritional factors that limit its use in weanling pig diets. Pigs do not secrete the enzyme needed for the hydrolysis of raffinose and stachyose, α-galactosidase, in the small intestine. Therefore, these oligosaccharides are not enzymatically digested, but are instead fermented in the small and large intestines. This results in decreased growth performance and increased incidence of diarrhea when fed to weanling pigs.

Oligosaccharides can be removed from soybean meal using an alcohol extraction process, creating soy protein concentrate. Soy protein concentrate has greater digestibility of most amino acids and greater concentrations of digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) than soybean meal. A new source of soy protein concentrate called Nutrivance (Midwest Ag Enterprises Inc., Marshall, MN) has recently been introduced, which is produced using a process combining non-alcohol extraction and enzymatic treatment of soybean meal. The nutritional value of soy protein concentrate produced using this method has not been determined. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to determine the concentrations of DE and ME in soy protein concentrate and to compare these values to DE and ME in soybean meal.

Liu, Y. and H. H. Stein. 2015. Effect of Sal CURB on digestibility of energy and nutrients by growing pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 93(Suppl. s3):855-856 (Abstr.) Link to abstract (.pdf)

Kiarie, E., L. F. Romero, S. Arent, R. Lorentsen, and H. H. Stein. 2015. Comparative efficacy of xylanases on energy and nutrient digestibility in growing pigs fed corn- or wheat-based diets. J. Anim. Sci. 93(Suppl. s3):225 (Abstr.) Link to abstract (.pdf)

Rojas, O. J. and H. H. Stein. 2015. Effects of chemical, physical, or enzymatic treatments on concentration of digestible and metabolizable energy and on apparent total tract digestibility of energy, organic matter, and detergent fiber in distillers dried grains with solubles fed to growing pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 93(Suppl. 2):135 (Abstr.) Link to abstract (.pdf)

Maison, T., Y. Liu, and H. H. Stein. 2015. Digestibility of energy and detergent fiber and digestible and metabolizable energy values in canola meal, 00-rapeseed meal, and 00-rapeseed expellers fed to growing pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 93:652-660. Link to full text (.pdf)

Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is a co-product of the ethanol industry and is often used as an economical source of energy and protein in swine diets. Conventional DDGS contains approximately 27% crude protein, 10% fat, 9% acid detergent fiber (ADF), and 25% (NDF). The concentrations of digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) in conventional sources of DDGS are approximately 3,500 and 3,350 kcal/kg, respectively. However, there is significant variation in the way different plants produce DDGS. For example, in recent years ethanol plants have begun extracting oil from DDGS to sell to the biodiesel industry. This results in DDGS with its fat content reduced to approximately 6 to 9%, which may result in lower concentrations of DE and ME.

If pigs are fed diets containing decreased levels of DE and ME relative to conventional DDGS, a reduction in growth performance may result. This would make DDGS a less economical feedstuff. An experiment was conducted to determine the variability of DE and ME in DDGS produced in and around Illinois.

Lowell, J. E., Y. Liu, and H. H. Stein. 2014. Comparative digestibility of energy and nutrients in feed ingredients fed to sows and growing pigs. J. Anim. Sci 92(E-Suppl. 2):226 (Abstr.) Link to abstract (.pdf)

Cervantes-Pahm, S. K. Y. Liu, A. Evans, and H. H. Stein. 2014. Effect of novel fiber ingredients on ileal and total tract digestibility of energy and nutrients in semi-purified diets fed to growing pigs. J. Sci. Food Agric. 94:1284-1290. Link to full text (.pdf)