Stein Nutrition Newsletter, Fall 2009

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Editor's Note

Welcome to the first edition of the Stein Nutrition Newsletter. Every month, I plan to bring you reports on our lab's research as well as commentary on subjects currently in the news.

This month's newsletter focuses on alternative feeds for swine.

  • The Fall 2009 Research Report contains values for amino acid digestibility in corn, DDGS, hominy feed, corn gluten meal, corn gluten feed, and corn germ meal. These values may be used in diet formulations.
  • This month's Current Comment highlights opportunities for reducing feed costs.
  • Finally, the article ”Alternative grain sources in diets fed to pigs” discusses barley, wheat, DDGS, and field peas. It was published earlier this year in the proceedings from a conference on alternative feed ingredients at the University of Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica.

I hope that you will find this information useful. To subscribe to the newsletter, please visit http://nutrition.ansci.illinois.edu/newsletter.

 
 
Sincerely,

Hans H Stein

 

Research Report

 

The objective of this experiment was to measure the standardized ileal digestibility of crude protein and amino acids in hominy feed, corn gluten meal, corn gluten feed, and corn germ meal and to compare these values to the digestibility of crude protein and amino acids amino acids in corn and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). Results showed that the digestibility of most amino acids were greater (P < 0.05) in hominy feed and in corn gluten meal than in the other ingredients, whereas the digestibility of most amino acids in corn gluten feed was lower (P < 0.05) than in the other ingredients. For lysine, digestibility values of 79.6, 76.4, 61.0, and 28.6% were measured for hominy feed, corn gluten meal, corn germ meal, and corn gluten feed, respectively. The digestibility of lysine in DDGS source 1 was lower (P < 0.05) than in DDGS source 2 (46.1 vs. 65.4%), but no differences between these 2 ingredients were observed for the other amino acids. The SID of most amino acids in corn germ meal were lower (P < 0.05) than in corn, but for most amino acids, digestibility values in corn germ meal were not different from the digestibility of amino acids in DDGS. It is concluded that corn gluten feed has a very low digestibility of amino acids and should not be used in diets fed to swine. Hominy feed and corn gluten meal have digestibility values for most amino acids that are greater than in corn and in DDGS, whereas the digestibility of most AA in corn germ meal is similar to the digestibility of amino acids in DDGS.

Read more (.pdf format)

 

Current Comment

Options for reducing feed costs

The current challenges in the feed market emphasize the need for continuing to search for ways to reduce feed costs. Some of the options that are available include the following:

  1. Reduce soybean meal inclusion in the diets by adding as many crystalline amino acids as possible to the diets. Up to 0.4% crystalline lysine can be used in all diets for weanling and growing-finishing pigs, but it is necessary to balance diets with other crystalline amino acids to make sure no amino acid deficiencies are introduced. Crystalline threonine, methionine, and tryptophan may also need to be used.
  2. Make sure not to over-formulate with amino acids because that will increase the usage of soybean meal in the formulations. Work with your nutritionist to make sure diets are formulated correctly.
  3. Use alternative feed ingredients if possible. Diet costs can be reduced significantly by using distillers dried grains with soluble (DDGS). Other alternative ingredients that are attractive include hominy feed, corn gluten meal, and corn germ.
  4. Use phytase and reduce the use of inorganic phosphorus (dicalcium phosphate or monocalcium phosphate). If diets contain both DDGS and phytase, no inorganic phosphorus is needed in diets fed to growing pigs that are older than 8 weeks.

 

Paper: Alternative Grain Sources in Diets Fed to Pigs

 

Pigs may be fed diets containing barley, wheat, DDGS, or field peas as partially or fully replacements for corn. Barley and wheat may fully replace corn in diets fed to all categories of pigs without influencing pig performance. For barley, greater performance has been reported if included in diets fed to weanling pigs. Because of the greater concentration of amino acids and phosphorus in barley and wheat compared with corn less soybean meal and inorganic phosphorus is needed in diets containing barley or wheat compared with diets containing corn. Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) may be included in diets fed to weanling, growing, and finishing pigs in concentrations of up to 30% without influencing pig growth performance. However, because of the reduction in carcass fat quality in pigs fed diets containing DDGS, a lower inclusion rate is recommended during the final 3 to 4 weeks prior to harvest. In diets fed to lactating sows, 30% DDGS may also be used, and DDGS can replace all the soybean meal in diets fed to gestating sows. Field peas may be included in diets fed to weanling pigs in amounts of 60% and in diets fed to growing and finishing pigs, field peas can replace all soybean meal. However, in diets fed to sows, only 24% field peas is recommended.

Read more (.pdf format)