more digestible feed and improves pellet durability. However, this comes at a cost of not only the expense of running the equipment, but also the effect of poorer gut microbiology and an increased risk of gastric ulcers.” The final considerations Mick suggests are conditioning time and
temperature. “It’s clear that cooking improves FCR and the physical quality of pellets, but it’s a fine art to ensure feed is cooked to the correct level, as if temperatures are too high then valuable proteins will start to break down and energy could be wasted with excess heat and time cooking.” While there is no debate that pellet feeding can improve FCR,
it is clear that having the perfect pellet will not always improve pig performance and, in some cases, it could compromise on health and also increase mill costs without increased reward. “While we obviously don’t want a lot of dust with our feed
deliveries, and we want the delivery to flow, as an industry we have to question whether the costs of producing what is, by international standards, a very high physical quality pellet are justified. “Would we be better, particularly in the current financial climate
and with pressures on antibiotic use, accepting a poorer physical quality pellet containing, for example, a higher level of barley that has been more coarsely ground, and allowing our PDI minimum to fall to 90 or 88?,” he says. For this reason, Mick explains that Premier Nutrition has
An American point of view
Pig feed in the USA and several other nations across the globe is largely maize based, with their pelleted feeds being hardly recognisable as pellets – visually they are a mixture of pellets and meal. This is due to the nature of maize, which is extremely difficult to compress into a neat pellet. But according to research by North Carolina State
University , some studies have found no effect on performance with up to 60% fines, while others have seen a small deterioration in FCR, with authors suggesting the difference in results can be explained by the suitability of the feeders. The authors concluded that pellet quality generally has
less influence on finishing pig growth rate but may slightly increase feeder space requirements.
commissioned a trial to reveal what really is the perfect pellet by testing grist size against FCR to find the best balance for productivity and profitability both in the mill and on the farm.
For more information, please visit
www.premiernutrition.co.uk or call 01889 572500.
TAILORED
NUTRITION ENGINEERED TO MAKE A
DIFFERENCE TO YOUR BUSINESS
+44 (0)1889 572 500
PREMIERNUTRITION.CO.UK
FEED COMPOUNDER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 PAGE 27
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