RED DEER – Dried distillers grain (DDG) can be successfully fed to hogs, but a swine nutritionist says it’s important to know the sources of the feed and the quality of each batch.
“It is really important we know the source of the product and where the product is coming from,” Malachy Young told a swine technology workshop in Red Deer Oct. 23.
“Not only does the quality vary between plants but also it varies within the plants.”
Young, who works for Gowans Feed Consulting, said he has observed a wide difference in lysine digestibility between grain sources. Lysine is an essential amino acid in swine diets.
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He said DDG buyers should make sure the name of the ethanol plant and name of the feed mill are on the feed contract.
The colour of the delivered feed should be the same as the sample product. A light golden colour is indicative of high lysine digestibility. Producers should stay away from darker product, he added.
It is important to know if the grain was drum dried or spray dried. Spray drying is more expensive but produces a better end product and protects the lysine content, which is susceptible to heat damage.
Young also recommends a microtoxin test because fusarium is passed from infected grain to DDG.
“The good thing like your fats and proteins will triple in your final product but so will things you don’t want, like microtoxins,” he said.
More research has been done on DDG with soluables made from corn than on DDG from wheat. Corn DDG contains more fat compared to wheat, which is higher in crude protein.
Protein in corn can range from 22 to 32 percent, with total lysine at 0.40 to 0.99 percent, while protein in wheat is 23 to 37 percent with total lysine at 0.49 to 0.94 percent.
Gowans conducted a trial in Alberta using corn DDG with soluables from Minnesota. It fed six blends to grower pigs, that ranged from rations with no DDG to 25 percent of the diet. Researchers also observed better growth and feed efficiency over time using higher levels of DDG in the diet.
There was no difference in feed disappearance, but feed to gain decreased when more was added to the diet. There was also a reduction in pork firmness and more research is planned in this area.
Reduced carcass weight may be connected to the higher level of fibre in the diet, resulting in pigs feeling fuller. Young said it is important to take carcass weight into account when calculating the net return when using DDG.
In mid-October at Red Deer, corn DDG with soluables was quoted at $185 per tonne compared to feed wheat at $220, barley at $210, peas $215 and straight corn at $210 per tonne.
He said a starter diet could include five to 10 percent DDG with soluables, 20 percent for grower-finisher rations and zero to 10 percent for late finishers.
