LETHBRIDGE – More new and unusual feeds will be used in the hog barn of the future to raise a bigger pig for less money.
Alberta Agriculture researcher Eduardo Beltranena says 20 percent of the Canadian hog diet consists of byproducts such as dried distillers grain, meal and extruded products, but in Europe they account for about 60 percent of rations.
Alternate feedstuffs for hogs are being studied in Alberta as new technology makes it possible to create new feed out of familiar products, including the increased availability of dried distillers grain.
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Many byproducts are high in fibre, which is good for intestinal health, but protein levels are also higher than normal because the starch was removed to make ethanol. Such products still have value as pig feed, Beltranena told a recent producer meeting in Lethbridge.
He believes the livestock industry of the future will ask how many mega calories can be produced per acre as opposed to how many bushels.
DDGs, pressed canola meal, glycerol, fababeans, lupins, peas and cereals such wheat, barley and triticale are all potential hog feed in different forms.
Distillers grain is highly variable depending on how the product was treated at the processing plant.
DDGs from wheat contain more than 18 percent energy, 19 percent crude protein and 1.8 percent fat. However, when wheat is blended with corn, energy increases to 22 percent, protein to 30 percent and fat to 12.8 percent. There is also more fibre in wheat than corn DDGs.
Protein levels may test higher, but wide differences exist in amino acid content, colour and granule size.
Brown DDGs were scorched during drying at the ethanol plant. Scorching reduces the amino acid content and increases phosphorus levels. Photoset may be added to increase the amount of phosphorus available to the pig rather than being passed in manure.
Feed trials have found no difference in finisher hogs’ feed intake or growth when DDGs of different sources are included in ratios of five to 25 percent.
“The problem with the corn DDGs is that it is an unsaturated fat so it creates what is known in the pig industry as floppy bellies,” Beltranena said.
This results in raw bacon that tends to be floppy rather than firm. The effect seems to be more common in females than barrows.
“This level of the unsaturated level of the fat is a concern,” he said.
DDGs create floppy bellies when fed at 30 percent.
Studies are ongoing with various combinations of DDGs in rations, and further study will look at carcass quality.
Glycerol is another ethanol byproduct with a high fat content, but it does not flow well through augers. It is easy for pigs to digest and it can be used for energy and growth. It also has to be registered with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency as a feed additive.
Triticale has shown promise as a feed grain in Alberta government research. Yield is five to 20 percent higher when grown in brown soil zones than in other areas. It was examined as a possible feed for weaner pigs, even though it has a higher level of phosphorus.
Zero tannin fababeans yielded more than field peas when grown west of Calgary as a cool weather crop. It yields nearly 30 percent protein.
No differences in hog performance were found compared to other products. However, it is possible to achieve more pounds of pork per acre because these crops yield more than traditional feed, such as peas and soybean meal.
More research is needed into processing feed, but farmers looking for protein might consider substituting lupins for soybean meal. There is no difference in the pig’s ability to digest it.
Producers can also make canola cake on their farms by pressing seeds in a special machine.
An on-farm extruder could improve pulses as a feed because the machine can more easily separate the starch and protein.
It is possible to achieve the same gain in the nursery for less money than traditional feed.
