FEED FOR THOUGHT ▶▶▶ 7 ways to lower feed costs


Costs of virtually all feedstuff ingredients have increased tremendously. Therefore, many feed and pork pro- ducers are critically reviewing what can be done to decrease feed costs/kg of pork produced. Depending on different market and production systems, swine producers have a range of different options.


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Lowering slaughter weight The feed conversion rate (FCR) increases with increasing weight/age. So, moving the final live body weight from 125–130kg down to 115kg will significantly improve the FCR and will lower production costs in the current situation of high feed costs.


Split sex feeding FCR is considerably higher for barrows than for gilts, which is due to a lower lean daily gain in barrows but also a higher (ad lib) feed intake. Ideally, with barrows, the feed intake should there- fore be restricted to 80% of ad lib from > 75kg body weight. Feed for barrows can be restricted by


providing less feed to them or by physically increasing gut fill by lowering the net energy content of the feed and increasing the fermentable fibre content significantly. Therefore, a specific barrow feed can be formulated with a lower SID lysine and net energy compared to gilts.


Multiphase feeding With increasing FCR, most of the feed volume is consumed in the finisher phase (from 80kg until slaughter). From that standpoint adding different phases (e.g. two or multiple finisher feeds) can help reduce feed costs since the nutrient concentration can also be decreased in the later phases.


Feed formulation Depending on the market, apart from lowering the net energy and the SID lysine in the finisher phase, feed formulation will be one of the main drivers of feed cost. Looking critically at the nutri- ent density, crude protein and amino acid levels and using feedstuffs with an attractive price can


help reduce feed costs/kg of pork produced.


Feed additives A significant portion of feed costs comes from feed additives. Therefore, a careful re- view of which feed additives are effective and in what period (feed formulation) is rec- ommended. Schothorst Feed Research has shown that omitting vitamin and mineral premixes in the last month prior to slaughter does not reduce technical performance.


Phosphorus content and phytase Phosphorus is the most expensive inorganic mineral added to pig and sow feeds (0.5– 1.0% of feed costs). Because of legislation to reduce phosphorus emissions, the (di- gestible) phosphorus content in the EU has been reduced compared to in Asian coun-


tries without reducing technical performance. Furthermore, newer phytase qualities are more efficient in releasing phytin-bound (plant) phosphorus, reducing feed costs.


Feed processing Pelleting of feed reduces feed waste and improves nutrient utilisation compared to meal-fed feeds. In general, the improvement of feed conversion (1–2% lower) easily offsets the costs of pelleting. However, grinding too fine can negatively


affect intestinal health. 17 Francesc Molist


holds a PhD in animal nu- trition from the Universi-


tat Autònoma de Barcelo- na in Spain. He has been working for Schothorst


Feed Research in the Neth- erlands since 2011, most recently as manager re- search & development.


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