November 24, 2006

DDGS in diets would not affect swine, US scientists say

Swine nutritionists at a conference in Iowa this week have concluded that a diet with up to 15 percent DDGS may be added to pigs' diet without affecting performance.

Pigs are often said to be unsuited for distillers' dried grains as their stomach are unable to digest it that well.

Hans Stein, a swine nutritionist at the University of Illinois, found that DDGs had an average protein content of 27 percent, compared to about nine percent for straight corn, and 44 percent for soybean meal.

However one problem with DDGs is the inconsistency of its protein level, ranging from 24 percent to 30 percent in Stein's samples.

Moreover, lysine, the crucial ingredient for pig growth, can vary from 0.54 percent to 0.99 percent.

This meant a significant variance in costs when DDGS is bought in tonnes, Stein said, adding that DDGS would have to be analyzed before being sold to producers.