Soybean meal (SBM) is the major source of amino acids (AA) and energy in diets for swine throughout the world. However, due to the emergence of feed-grade crystalline AA, it is estimated that SBM usage by pigs has been reduced by at least 35% over the last 25 years. Reduction on concentration of SBM and increasing the use of crystalline AA in diets may impact the digestibility of crude protein (CP) and AA. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to test the hypothesis that diets containing corn, SBM, and crystalline AA have greater AA digestibility compared with corn and SBM diets.

Corn is harvested at a high moisture level, and thus must be dried to less than 15% moisture to ensure safe storage. Improvements to reduce the energy consumption of the dryers have been implemented, especially by increasing the inlet air temperature. However, overheating may have a negative impact on the stability of nutrients, especially amino acids (AA), because Maillard reactions may occur if heat and moisture are applied to feed ingredients. Consequently, Maillard reactions result in a decrease in the concentration and digestibility of AA, and it is possible that energy digestibility is also reduced. Therefore, the objective of these experiments was to test the hypothesis that both the temperature used in drying and the time that heat is applied will affect the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of AA, and concentration of digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) in corn fed to growing pigs.

New sources of high protein corn co-products have been recently developed and may be included in diets fed to pigs. Phytase is often employed during fermentation in the bioethanol process to improve the efficiency of fermentation. However, the use of phytase during fermentation may impact the nature of phosphorus (P) in any post fermentation products, which could subsequently alter the levels of phytate-bound and non-phytate P. As a consequence, this may influence digestibility and concentration of digestible P in any feed product derived from fermentation. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to determine the standardized total tract digestibility (STTD) of P in high protein corn fermented products and in the residual distillers dried grains and solubles (DDGS) produced from a fermentation with or without the use of phytase. It is also the objective of this experiment to test the hypothesis that inclusion of phytase during the fermentation process increases P digestibility in corn co-products.

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.

Field peas (Pisum sativum L.) have been cultivated for centuries for human consumption, due to the high nutritional quality of pea protein. However, during the last years, increasing demand for field peas for livestock feeding has developed a market in Canada, Europe, and the U.S. Therefore, as is the case with some feed ingredients, differences in soil, varieties, agronomic practices, and growing method may change the nutritional characteristics of the peas as well as the digestibility of nutrients. Besides that, differences in the particle size of field peas may change the digestibility of nutrients. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to test the hypothesis that the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA) in field peas is affected by the particle size of the field peas and the region where the field peas were grown.

Data for the composition of wheat middlings from flour mills in the U.S. and for the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA) have been published for wheat middlings from the U.S. However, it is not known if the data obtained from wheat middlings from the U.S. also are representative for wheat middlings in Europe. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that there are no differences in composition and SID of CP and AA between wheat middlings sourced from flour mills in Europe and in the U.S.

Field peas have been produced mainly for human consumption, but lastly, the industry has been included in diets fed to livestock due to its content of starch and protein. In diets for swine, only peas that are harvested at maturity are used. Almost 80% of P in non-oilseed legumes is bound to phytate, and pigs do not synthesize an adequate amount of endogenous phytate to liberate the P bound to phytate. Therefore, the digestibility of P in field peas is relatively low. Values for apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) and standardized total tract digestibility (STTD) of P in field peas have been reported, but there are no comparative values for the ATTD and STTD of P among different varieties of field peas at different particle sizes. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to test the hypothesis that there are no differences in the ATTD and the STTD of P among different sources of field peas fed to young pigs and the second hypothesis was that there is a linear increase in the ATTD and STTD of P as the particle size of field peas increases.

SylPro enhanced torula yeast is a high protein feed ingredient derived from forestry by-products, and results from digestibility experiments indicate that SylPro yeast may be a great source of energy and digestible amino acids in diets fed to weanling pigs. Previous experiments further demonstrated that increasing levels of SylPro yeast resulted in increased feed efficiency of pigs, which is likely a result of a positive effect of SlyPro yeast on intestinal health and immune function of pigs. However, there are no data to demonstrate effects of SylPro yeast on the immune response of pigs. It is also not known if SylPro yeast influences pig performance and intestinal health similarly as conventional torula yeast. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that inclusion of SylPro yeast in diets fed to pigs improves growth performance and intestinal health. The second objective was to determine if there are differences between the two torula yeast sources in influencing growth performance and immune response of pigs.

Market opportunities for field peas (Pisum sativum L.) have rapidly increased for livestock feed and human food, due of the high nutritional quality of pea protein. However, as is the case with some feed ingredients, differences in soil, varieties, agronomic practices and growing method may change the nutritional characteristics of the peas as well as digestibility of nutrients. In addition, it is possible that differences in the particle size of field peas change the digestibility of energy and nutrients as has been reported for other ingredients. However, information about the effects of particle size of peas on digestibility of starch and amino acids (AA) are limited. Additionally, there is limited research to compare the digestibility of AA among field peas produced in different regions of the U.S. and Canada. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to test the hypothesis that the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of crude protein and starch, and the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of AA in field peas may be affected by the particle size of the field peas and the region where the field peas were grown.