In many parts of the world, including the United States, corn is the primary energy source used in diets for pigs, but there are no published data comparing the growth performance of growing pigs fed diets in which hybrid rye replaces corn. Unfamiliarity with hybrid rye also makes some producers in the United States reluctant to try feeding hybrid rye to pigs, as there is a long-standing belief that rye is less palatable than other feed ingredients. Therefore, two experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses that there is no difference in feed preference for diets containing either hybrid rye or corn as the exclusive cereal grain source, and that hybrid rye may replace a portion of corn in diets for growing pigs without adversely affecting growth. 

Bakery meal consist of unsalable bread, breakfast cereals, cookies, pasta, and other foods that are no longer intended for human consumption. Bakery meal converts losses from the food industry into ingredients for the animal feed industry, thereby preventing food losses in the food chain. Wheat flour is the main ingredient in most bakery products, and this results in bakery meal containing high concentration of starch. Therefore, bakery meal is a potential sustainable feed ingredient that can be used in animal diets without competing with the food industry. However, research demonstrating the effect of bakery meal on growth performance for weanling pigs is limited. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that replacing corn with bakery meal will not influence growth performance of pigs.

At weaning, pigs have to cope with abrupt withdrawal of sow milk, and this often causes appetite suppression due to marked changes in diet form and composition. Feed flavor and sweetener are believed to increase feed palatability, and subsequently improve feed intake, average daily gain, and immune response of weanling pigs. However, data that confirm this hypothesis are limited. Therefore, it was the objective of this experiment to test the hypothesis that supplementation of feed flavor and feed sweetener in diets fed to weanling pigs improve growth performance.

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 valuable source of energy and digestible amino acids in diets fed to weanling pigs. As a consequence, it is believed that Sylpro yeast may be included in diets for weanling pigs at the expense of fish meal and other animal protein sources. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that increasing levels of Sylpro yeast improve growth performance and blood characteristics of weanling pigs.

Recent research conducted at the University of Illinois Swine Research Center demonstrated positive effects of feeding copper hydroxychloride to weanling pigs, including improved growth performance and positive changes in intestinal health. It is, however, not known if copper hydroxychloride would also elicit positive effects in growing-finishing pigs. Additionally, it is also not known if the positive effects of copper hydroxychloride are obtained regardless of the origin of the mineral, or if the response is specific to the product produced by a specific supplier. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that inclusion of copper hydroxychloride in diets for growing-finishing pigs would improve growth performance, and secondly that the origin of the copper hydroxychloride is not important for the outcome.

Rye contains considerable quantities of intrinsic phytase and the presence of phytase in rye may result in an increased P digestibility in pigs without using exogenous phytase. It is possible that the endogenous phytase in rye also increases P digestibility in other plant feed ingredients by releasing P from the phytate. However, to our knowledge, no data demonstrating this effect have been published. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to test the hypothesis that inclusion of rye in diets containing corn and soybean meal (SBM) without or with microbial phytase improves the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of P and Ca and thus the ATTD of P is not additive in the mixed diet.

When soybeans are crushed, the oil may be solvent extracted and the resulting defatted soybeans are known as soybean meal (SBM). However, the oil may also be mechanically expelled from the beans and the defatted soybeans resulting from this procedure is an ingredient known as soybean expellers. The expelling procedure is less efficient in removing oil from the beans and soybean expellers, therefore, contain more residual oil than SBM. Soybean expellers can be produced using different technologies, and a new procedure involving a patented high shear dry extrusion procedure was recently developed (Insta-Pro International, Des Moines, IA). There are however, no data for the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of GE and total dietary fiber (TDF) and DE and ME concentrations in the soybean expellers that are produced from this procedure. Therefore, the objective of this research was to test the hypothesis that the ATTD of GE and TDF and concentrations of DE and ME are greater in soybean expellers than in SBM when fed to growing pigs.

When soybeans are crushed, the oil may be solvent extracted and the resulting defatted soybeans are known as soybean meal (SBM). However, the oil may also be mechanically expelled from the beans and the defatted soybeans resulting from this procedure is an ingredient known as soybean expellers. The expelling procedure is less efficient in removing oil from the beans and soybean expellers, therefore, contain more residual oil than SBM. Soybean expellers can be produced using different technologies, and a new procedure involving a patented high shear dry extrusion procedure was recently developed (Insta-Pro International, Des Moines, IA). There are however, no data for the digestibility of amino acids (AA) in the soybean expellers that are produced from this procedure. Therefore, the objective of this research was to test the hypothesis that the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of crude protein (CP) and AAis greater in soybean expellers than in SBM when fed to growing pigs.

Most diets for weanling pigs contain highly digestible plant and animal proteins, but there is an increasing trend to include more fibrous co-products in diets for pigs due to reduced diet costs. However, feeding diets to nursery pigs with high concentration of dietary fiber may reduce nutrient digestibility, induce intestinal inflammation, and subsequently depress growth performance. Addition of 100 to 200 mg/kg of Cu from Cu hydroxychloride (IntelliBond C^II; Micronutrients USA LLC; Indianapolis, IN) to diets improves feed efficiency and reduces post weaning diarrhea in pigs. However, there are at this point no data to demonstrate the effect of Cu hydroxychloride on intestinal barrier integrity of pigs fed low-fiber or high-fiber diets, and it is not known if Cu hydroxychloride influences immune responses of pigs. Therefore, 2 experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that inclusion of 150 mg/kg of Cu from Cu hydroxychloride reduces intestinal permeability and subsequently improves growth performance of pigs fed diets without or with high concentration of dietary fiber.