Feed is the greatest cost of pig production in Ontario. Grower-finisher pigs eat ~80% of feed consumed in the entire production cycle with energy, protein, and phosphorus as the most costly components.
Current extremely high feed cost due to post-pandemic ingredient shortage, transportation disruptions, international conflict, and severe weather events highlight the need for developing cost-effective and flexible feeding strategies for grower-finisher pigs.
As such, the use of locally sourced and on-farm processed ingredients is a promising avenue for ensuring stability in ingredient supply and quality and to minimize the feed cost per kilogram of salable pork produced.
Indeed, it is estimated that between 20 and 25% of pigs in Ontario are fed full fat (on-farm processed) soybeans as a less expensive protein source (versus soybean meal) in at least one diet phase. This poses a challenge for nutritionists however, since the nutrient availability between full fat soybeans can vary significantly among processing methods, making accurate diet formulation difficult.
For any feed ingredient to be used effectively in pig diets, it is also critical that the impact on pig physiology and carcass value is well understood and that specific feeding recommendations are well justified. Thus, this project aims to test improvements in feed formulations that include on-farm processed full-fat soybeans to optimize nutrient digestibility, growth performance, pig health, and carcass value and quality at slaughter.
Ultimately, we will determine whether such feeding strategies would impart any pig performance and economic benefits for Ontario pork producers.
