Editor's Note
The current issue of the newsletter contains the following:
- A research report on amino acid digestibility in blood meal fed to weanling pigs.
- A new brochure in the Swine Focus series, entitled "Feeding wheat to pigs."
- A new audio podcast on amino acid digestibility in blood meal.
- Two new press releases.
Sincerely,
Hans H Stein
Research Report
Amino acid digestibility in blood meal fed to weanling pigs
Dried blood meal is commonly used as a high-quality protein source in nursery pig diets. Growth studies have indicated that blood meal can be a better protein source than dried skim milk, fish meal, and soy protein concentrate. However, the growth effects of blood meal vary across studies; this may be due to differences in protein quality.
Limited data exist on digestibility of crude protein and amino acids in blood meal produced from different species and with different drying methods. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to measure apparent (AID) and standardized (SID) ileal digestibility of crude protein and amino acids in two sources of blood meal.
New audio podcast
September 13: Amino acid digestibility in blood meal fed to pigs
Dr. Rommel Sulabo discusses the results of recent research on blood meal fed to pigs, comparing the effects of drying method and animal of origin on amino acid digestibility.
Brochure: Feeding Wheat to Pigs
Wheat is a major crop in the United States and has a feeding value that is comparable with corn as an energy source for pigs. The concentration of energy in wheat is 91 to 97% relative to corn when fed to pigs. However, the concentration of standardized ileal digestible (SID) amino acids, particularly tryptophan, lysine, and threonine, is greater in wheat than in corn. Pigs fed wheat-based diets can grow as efficiently, and with similar meat quality as pigs fed corn-based diets when digestible energy and amino acids are equalized.
(Read more ...) (PDF format)
Press Releases
August 30: New information available on feeding wheat to pigs
URBANA – Research shows that wheat is a viable energy source for pigs, but little information is available about using this feedstuff in swine operations today.
Hans H. Stein, University of Illinois associate professor in the department of animal sciences, has just released a new brochure on “Feeding Wheat to Pigs.”
“Our goal is to increase awareness of wheat as an alternative feed for pigs,” Stein said. “We want to inform producers of the advantages of feeding wheat as well as considerations they will need to keep in mind if they choose to feed it.”
September 8: Swine researchers seek answers to fiber’s low digestibility
URBANA – As interest grows in feeding distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) to growing pigs, many questions are being asked about the digestibility of this alternative feed option.
“Previous research shows that while the amount of energy in DDGS is greater than that of corn, pigs have lower digestibility of energy in DDGS than in corn,” said Hans H. Stein, U of I associate professor in the Department of Animal Sciences. “Our goal was to find out why.”