More profit from adding wheat to pig feed

“The Porcheck service was developed to help feed producers improve the
nutritional value of diets based on wheat, rye, triticale or barley, and
containing grain by-products,” explains Dr Gary Partridge, Technical Services
Director, Danisco Animal Nutrition. “Wheat is used extensively in pig feeds, but
can be a very variable feed ingredient. Variations in its feeding value will
result in variable pig performance, which can cost the pig producer around €1.50
per pig in reduced net margin.”

Fibres
Fibre is one of the main
factors affecting wheat’s feeding value. Soluble fibres in the wheat dissolve in
the pig’s gut, forming viscous gels which trap nutrients, and slow the rate of
digestion and the passage of feed through the gut. Insoluble fibres can also
hold water and bind water-soluble nutrients, as well as enclosing them so that
they are less available for digestion. Both types of fibre create more bulk in
the pig’s gut, which can reduce feed intake and subsequent
growth.

Specific enzymes
Adding specific enzymes which break
down fibre alleviates its negative effects on nutrient availability, feed intake
and growth. Danisco’s
Porzyme 9300 contains a highly effective fibre-degrading enzyme. An average
of 22 trials with grower/finisher pigs fed wheat-based diets showed that Porzyme
improved daily liveweight gain by more than 5% and feed conversion by 4.5%
compared to pigs fed diets containing no enzyme.

Most effective
dose
The magnitude of response to enzyme addition largely depends upon
the fibre characteristics of the wheat. Some wheats are more responsive to
enzyme addition than others, and this is the basis for the Porcheck service.
Porcheck combines a measurement of wheat’s response to enzyme with a unique
software program to calculate the most cost-effective dose of Porzyme. For the
first time, pig producers and feed manufacturers can optimise enzyme dose
according to specific measured wheat parameters.

Related
website:
Danisco Animal Nutrition