Manager of Monogastric Nutrition
Grand Valley Fortifiers
If we simply look at the nutrients in Table 1, we can see a typical separation of the ingredients based on if they contribute relatively more energy or protein. However, relying on their primary nutrient (e.g. fat or protein) can lead to shortfalls in diet creation. For energy ingredients, bakery meal and roasted soybeans are very popular and when considering energy content, this is due to a higher fat content. Roasted soybeans also come with the benefit of high protein, but it is in a lower concentration than soybean meal. This means that when high levels of roasted soybeans are used, amino acid supplementation is needed to provide the same levels as soybean meal. When we look at our protein ingredients, the first two, DDGS and canola, are expected, but having wheat shorts on that list may surprise some readers. It is lower in crude protein than both canola and DDGS, but it is a better source of digestible amino acids than DDGS. Despite the higher crude protein content of DDGS, wheat shorts still have a more favourable amino acid profile.
![SwineGrist.Summer2024_Figure1 Table 1: Nutrient Composition of Common Feed Ingredients](https://www.grandvalley.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/SwineGrist.Summer2024_Figure1.png)
Table 1: Nutrient Composition of Common Feed Ingredients (CVB, 2021)
*Net energy is the amount of energy in the feed minus the energy lost in the feces, urine, and in heat production through digestive and metabolic processes.
**Standardized Ileal Digestible Lysine. This is the most common measure of amino acid digestibility. Lysine is typically the first limiting amino acid in pigs.
![SwineGrist.Summer2024_canola_Canola Canola in the field.](https://www.grandvalley.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/SwineGrist.Summer2024_canola_Canola.webp)
![SwineGrist.Summer2024_Figure2 Figure 2: Limiting Factors For Use of Common Feed Ingredients](https://www.grandvalley.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/SwineGrist.Summer2024_Figure2.png)
Table 2: Limiting Factors For Use of Common Feed Ingredients
With all of this being said, when we consider the limitations of the ingredients and the nutrients contained in them, we can create a diet that provides everything that is needed by the pig at a specific life stage, while still encouraging adequate feed intake. The Nutrition Team at Grand Valley Fortifiers and Fortified Nutrition are experts at achieving this balance, while considering your on-farm ingredients and operation, to make optimal feeding programs for your pigs. If you’re not a GVF customer, but, interested in having our Nutrition Team review your diets please reach out to one of our Swine Specialists to get connected with us.
References: CvbPortaal, 2021.https://www.cvbdiervoeding.nl/pagina/10021/ home.aspx
This article was written for the Summer 2024 Swine Grist. To read the whole Swine Grist, click the button below.