March 10, 2010

High-protein DDGS can replace soymeal in swine diets

Swine producers will now have another alternative in formulating lowest-cost rations thanks to University of Illinois researchers.

High-protein DDGS can replace soybean meal in swine diets, according to a study. During recent feeding trials, a team of researchers have not only found that high-protein distillers dried grains can replace 100% of the soymeal in swine diets, but also found that doing so will not affect performance.

According to Hans Stein, associate professor of swine nutrition at the University of Illinois-Urbana, the objective for the research was to find out if pigs would do as well on the HPDDG that is produced by a new fractionation technology of corn.

Stein worked with University of Missouri animal scientists Gary Allee and Buddy Hinson on the project.

The new HPDDG is produced by first de-hulling and de-germing the corn, which removes most of the fat and fiber from the corn, Stein said. The remaining portion of the corn is the endosperm, which is high in protein and starch. The fermentation process removes the starch from the endosperm, leaving the remaining product high in protein.

Since fermentation concentrates the nutrients in corn in the resulting DDG, the protein is, of course, concentrated as well.

"That is why there is more protein in high-protein dried distillers grains," Stein said. He added that the research was prompted by the lack of information about the nutritional value of HPDDG compared with traditional DDGS.

The endosperm contains between 41 and 45% crude protein, but less fat and fibre. That makes the HPDDG ideal for pigs, since they need less fibre than beef or dairy cows. Pigs can handle fat and utilise it well. However, the corn oil from distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) can result in soft bellies and cause problems for packers, as firmer bellies are considered more desirable. This problem is avoided if HPDDG is used because it contains only 3-4% fat, whereas conventional DDGS contain more than 10% fat, he said.

The researchers found that producers can replace 100% of the soymeal in finishing pigs' diets with HPDDG, as long as it is fortified with crystalline lysine, threonine and tryptophan, which are amino acids that are needed by pigs and are present in lower concentrations in HPDDG than in soymeal.

Whether or not swine producers utilise HPDDG, however, will still depend on price, as all producers look for the lowest-cost ration.

"Producers will definitely not use HPDDG unless it is less expensive," Stein said. "It comes down to the producer, nutritionist and feed companies formulating the diet, and the economics on that particular day or period."

He added that HPDDG also is priced differently in various locations, so the lowest-cost ration may depend on how far their operation is from an ethanol plant that produces HPDDG or from a soymeal plant.