FEED ADDITIVES ▶▶▶


The value of feed additives: An economic analysis


BY DR C.L. BRADLEY, THE SUNSWINE GROUP, UNITED STATES E


conomic drivers of swine production can be common across systems or individually unique to a single farm. The common rule of thumb is that feed costs equate to 60% of a producer’s cost of production.


Thus key economic drivers are feed costs and cost of gain. But other production parameters can play a role in these line items for nutritionists. Production systems often focus on bulk ingredient purchasing, energy and/or amino acid com- position of diets to make the most profitable adjustments to their nutritional strategies, but rarely focus on feed additives. Let’s take a simple example of corn priced at US$ 4.00/bushel (25.4 kg, ed.), which equates to approximately $ 28.00 of feed cost for a grower-finisher pig (25–127 kg of body weight), whereas phytase may cost around $ 0.20 for the same period of time. It’s easy to see why nutritionists would spend the ma- jority of their time focusing on larger components of feed costs and less on feed additives. However, when researchers start evaluating other parameters, it’s possible to find hidden value in feed additives. Enzymes are the best example be- cause nutritionists usually apply a nutrient matrix to formula- tion, which results in lower feed costs when enzymes are uti- lised. Depending on the regional markets, these savings may be marginal or extremely valuable for producers.


Xylanase in corn-based diets In the last five years, xylanase in corn-based diets has become a shining example of looking beyond feed formulation costs in how to use a feed additive. In the USA, producers rarely uti- lised xylanase in swine diets, as – while the digestibility ef- fects were apparent in the literature – growth performance benefits were not consistent enough to justify their use. However, research in the last decade by Dr Dean Boyd within the Hanor System and others has found a consistent reduc- tion in finisher mortality when xylanase was added to the ra- tions, especially ones containing higher by-products of distill- ers’ dried grains and solubles (DDGS) and/or wheat middlings. Even in tough market conditions, for instance in August 2020, a 1% percent reduction (5% vs 6%) is over $ 1.00 per pig val- ue, but in peak market conditions could be greater than $ 1.50/pig value. But evaluating feed additives within a system requires careful consideration and evaluation of both the literature and sys- tem research or field trials. A system that is experiencing 6%


Feed costs are the largest costs on a pig farm, which is why feed additives are a welcome method of doing more with less feed. Is it possible to economically quantify the effect of feed additives on a farm?


mortality versus a system with 2% mortality in finishing are two vastly different value propositions; the value for the low- er mortality producer is only about a third of the value of the other producer. The same can be said with formulation changes. For instance, cheaper feedstuffs may not always be available regionally or fit into a producer’s mill management at an economic value.


Common economic drivers The easiest items to put on the list are average daily gain (ADG), final body weight (BW), feed conversion ratio (FCR), feed costs, mortality/morbidity and facility costs for a grow- ing pig. For a sow system the most common include non-pro- ductive days, pigs/sow/year (PSY) and mortality and/or cull- ing rate. Success for a system or manager are usually correlated to some of these items, but sometimes a deeper dive into management can reveal other economic drivers. Bi- osecurity is a prime example. Enforcing and implementing stringent biosecurity practices, both on the farm and in the feed mill, to potentially eliminate disease in the system is a huge cost savings opportunity, which improves animal


Finisher pigs enjoying a meal at a farm in Minnesota, USA.


▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 29, No. 3, 2021


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PHOTO: VINCENT TER BEEK


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