Pistachio blanks are co-products from pistachio production and consist of unmarketable pistachio components including the hard outer shells, undersized or unripe kernels, hull fragments, and occasionally woody debris from pruning or sorting operations. As global pistachio production of pistachios increases increased quantities of pistachio byproducts are generated and interest in utilizing some of the co-products in livestock feeding has increased. Data from previous research indicated that pistachio shell powder can be utilized in diets for sows, but because pistachio shell powder and pistachio blanks are very high in fiber, the metabolizable energy in these ingredients fed to weanling pigs is expected to be less than in sows. However, weanling pigs may benefit from the insoluble dietary fiber in pistachio co-products to improve intestinal health, but there are no data to demonstrate effects of including pistachio blanks in diets for weanling pigs. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the null-hypothesis that pistachio blanks may be included in diets for weanling pigs without compromising pig growth performance. 

Acosta, Jessica P., S. Maria S. Mendoza, John K. Htoo, Hans H. Stein. 2025. Nitrogen retention was not different in pigs fed diets supplemented with 65 parts of DL-Methionine or 100 parts of MHA-Ca. Journal of Animal Science, Volume 103, Issue Supplement_1, May 2025, Pages 99–100, doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf102.107 Link to abstract.

Bailey, Hannah M., Natalia S. Fanelli, Joy M. Campbell and Hans H. Stein. 2025. Effects of spray dried plasma on litter growth performance and oxidative stress and inflammation of sows kept in a hot environment. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology (2025) 16:13. doi.org/10.1186/s40104-024-01139-9 Link to full text.

Acosta, Jessica P., Gemma Gonzalez Ortiz, Hans H. Stein. 2024. Effects of xylanase or a stimbiotic on growth performance and total tract digestibility of nutrients by pigs weaned from sows fed a lactation diet without or with xylanase. J. Anim. Sci Vol. 102, Suppl. S2. P 87 - 88. doi.org/10.1093/jas/skae102.099 Link to abstract.

Mallea, Andrea P., and Hans H. Stein. 2023. Supplementation of Valine, Isoleucine, and Tryptophan may overcome the negative effects of dietary excess Leucine in corn protein when fed to weanling pigs. XXXVIII Curso de especializacion FEDNA. Pag 329. Link to abstract.

Arabinoxylans are the predominant fiber component in cereal grains and cereal co-products. They have a backbone of β-(1− 4) linked xylose units with side chains of arabinose, glucuronic acid, acetyl, and phenolic acids. Xylanase hydrolyzes the β-(1− 4) glycosidic bonds between xylose units in the backbone and releases a mixture of xylose and xylo-oligosaccharides that can be either absorbed or fermented by pigs. Previous data indicate that xylanase increased the degradation of dietary fiber and increased energy digestibility in diets for growing pigs and lactating sows. Xylo-oligosaccharides improve growth performance of nursery pigs because they serve as prebiotics that modulate gut microbiota. A stimbiotic (i.e., xylanase in combination with xylo-oligosaccharides) may improve growth performance of weanling pigs to a greater extent than either additive alone by shifting the intestinal microbiome to favor fiber fermentation. However, there are no data on possible effects of xylanase in sows diets on growth performance and intestinal health of the offspring or on the impact of the stimbiotic on digestibility of nutrients when fed to nursery pigs. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that xylanase or a stimbiotic improves growth performance and the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter (DM), gross energy (GE), and total dietary fiber (TDF), and the concentration of digestible energy (DE) of diets for weanling pigs, but that the effect is greater in offspring of sows fed xylanase in lactation than in offspring of sows not fed xylanase.

McGhee, Molly L., Jessica P. Acosta, and Hans H. Stein. 2023. Weanling pigs consume more feed if hybrid rye replaces corn in diets, but average daily gain and fecal scores are not impacted by hybrid rye. Translational Animal Science, 7: 1–10. doi.org/10.1093/tas/txad022. Link to full text.

Bailey, H., J. Campbell, and H. H. Stein. 2022. The combination of spray dried plasma and reduced crude protein in diets decreases circulating cytokines of weanling pigs. 15th International Symposium on Digestive Physiology of Pigs. Animal - Science Proceedings 13(Issue 2): 214. Link to abstract.

Bailey, H. M., H. H. Stein, and J. Campbell. 2022. Optimum Concentration of Spray Dried Plasma for Maximized Growth Performance, Improved Intestinal Health, and Reduced Inflammation in Weaned Pigs Housed in a Challenged Environment. J. Anim. Sci. 100(Suppl. 2): 65–66. doi.org/10.1093/jas/skac064.104. Link to Abstr.