33 Pork News & Views Pork News & Views Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Better Pork | April 2024 For more details on ingredient options for pigs and their nutrient composition, see: OMAFRA Factsheet 22-015 Nutrient Composition of Feed Ingredients for Swine (https:// www.ontario.ca/page/nutri ent-composition-feed-ingredi ents-swine). OMAFRA Factsheet 21-001 Feeding Small Cereal Grains to Pigs (https://www.ontario. ca/page/feeding-small-cereal- grains-pigs) If you are interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the principles of balancing swine diets, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture has an excellent resource to guide you through the process. https://swine. extension.org/principles-of-balancing-swine-diets/ Forages The digestive system of a pig is different from that of a cow, sheep, horse or other animals that consume large amounts of forage. Because of this, they are not able to obtain their full nutritional requirements by consuming forage or pasture. However, over the last years research has shown that pigs are able to use forages as a nutrient source to some degree, and they can be included successfully into swine diets. More mature pigs are better able to digest and absorb nutrients from forages than young animals. The Pork Information Gateway has an excellent factsheet called Forages for Swine that is available online (https://porkgateway.org/ resource/forages-for-swine/). This factsheet has the nutrient composition of different forages, example inclusion rates and descriptions on feeding methods. Improving Nutrient Utilization There are several ways to improve nutrient utilization of feed for pigs, including feed milling/mixing (particle size reduction, improving uniformity of feed mixing) and using feed additives such as enzymes. Feed milling/mixing Particle size refers to the average diameter of individual particles within a ration, or in other words, how finely ground the ingredients are. The impacts of reducing particle sizes for pig feed has been extremely well researched over the years and it is well documented that it can have a great impact on feed efficiency. When a grain is ground prior to mixing in the diet, it increases the surface area of the grain which allows for greater interaction between the ingredient and the pigs digestive enzymes, which in turn improves nutrient utilization by the pig. However, there are pros and cons to a fine grind, so determining the optimal particle size needs to consider both pig performance and the efficiencies of milling and feeding. Ingredient grinding can improve handling and mixing uniformity. However, too fine of a grind can lead to feed bridging in bins and feeders, and in some cases, gastric ulcers. Finer grinds also increase the cost of feed processing and dust levels in the mill. In most experiments, a dietary particle size of approximately 700 microns optimizes both pig performance and feed/milling efficiencies. If you are producing feed on farm, particle size analysis is a relatively inexpensive test and should be routinely incorporated into an on-farm quality control program. Producers should check ground grain or a complete diet at least twice per year and for larger operations, up to every 60-90 days. There are several commercial laboratories that can determine particle size along with several different on-farm use kits. The key areas to look for on the analysis are the average particle size (700 to 800 microns), shape of the graph/curve (bell-shaped or normal) and less than 10% percent of the sample being too coarse (>1850 microns) or too fine (<300 microns). When mixing feed on farm, it is important to ensure that all mill equipment is well maintained and calibrated properly. Regardless of the type of equipment used, regular maintenance can prevent the mixing of incorrect diets. Surveys of the calibration of on-farm feed mills often show that >50% of mills are out of calibration for one or more ingredients. The most common reason for incorrect calibration is that the bulk density (bushel weight) and/ or moisture levels of the grain and protein supplements are different from that for which the mill was originally calibrated. Bushel weight and moisture levels of grain can be quite variable from load to load, from bin to bin and field to field. Feed mills must be therefore calibrated regularly. The mill should be re-calibrated if density or moisture change more than 3%. To obtain a uniform mix of ingredients, mixers should not be under- or over-filled and the speed of the mix should follow the manufacturers recommendations. Horizontal batch mixes should be filled to at least one-third while vertical mixers should contain at least 50% of the mixer's capacity. Overfilling may be one of the most common problems. With vertical mixers never fill above the top of the elevator and with horizontal mixers you should just be able to see the top edge of the ribbons or screws above the feed. The order of loading ingredients into the mixer is critical for proper mixing. For vertical mixers,
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