CB-Lancaat«r Fai’hnlng, Saturday, Juna 10.1995
FEED FOR
PORK OR
MANURE
We often think of the hog indus
try as aji efficient user of inputs.
But of the nutrients consumed by
growing-finishing pigs, less than
half are deposited in the carcass as
tissue gain. The rest drop through
the slats.
The good news is that with little
or no impact on hog performance,
nutrient excretion can be reduced.
This obviously saves on feed costs
and reduces the nutrients in the
waste stream.
Nitrogen
We feed nitrogen to crops in the
form of nitrates, ammonium, or
urea. We feed nitrogen to pigs in
the form of protein or amino acids.
To calculate how much nitrogen
is in the feed, divide the protein
percentage by 6.25. A 14 percent
crude protein diet contains about
2.25 percent nitrogen.
With a little work, we can esti
mate the nitrogen balance in the
pig. We measure the amount of nit
rogen consumed and the amount
excreted in the manure (both urine
and feces). The difference between
these two numbers is the amount
the body retains for conversion to
tissue or proteins.
If we apply that balance data to a
1,000-head finishing bam, we find
a staggering amount of nitrogen
flowing through the system (Table
1).
Tabic 1: Annual Nitrogen Flow in a 1000-Head
Growing Finishing Bam
Intake, tons:
Retained, tons
Excreted, tons
Of the more than 18 tons of nitrogen consumed,
only 7.1 arc retained by the pigs. More than 11
tons (61 percent) that was once part of the feed is
now part of the manure. These estimates are based
on the following assumptions (Table 2).
Table 2: Assumptions
Number of pigs:
Feed intake per pig:
Weight gain per pig:
Crude protein, grower:
Crude protein, finisher;
Number of groups/bam/yr:
Note that these pigs have an efficient feed con
version (3:1). For pigs that are less efficient, the
nitrogen waste is even higher.
A simple economical way for reducing nitrogen
excretion is through the use of lysine-HCI. You
can remove 100 pounds of soybean meal in each
ton of feed and replace it with 96.5 pounds of com
and 3.5 pounds of lysine-HCI. This reduces crude
protein about 2 percentage units, with no change
in performance or carcass traits.
What will it cost to make the change? At current
market prices, 100 pounds of soybean meal costs
$lO, 96.5 pounds of com costs $5.16, and 3.5
pounds of lysine-HCI will cost $3.50. So the total
for the com + lysine is $8.66. This is significantly
less than the $lO you’d pay for the equivalent
amount of soybean meal. (Normally, the price
comparison is closer to break-even.)
Besides cost, a second benefit is a 20 percent
decrease in the amount of nitrogen flowing
through the system (Table 3).
Table 3: Annual nitrogen flow,
using lysine-HCI in a 1000-head
finishing barn.
Intake, tons;
Retained,, tons:
Excreted, tons:
Phosphorus
Pigs require less phosphorus
than we feed them. The problem is
something called phytate—a pho
sphorus compound found in most
grains. Unfortunately this type of
phosphorus is not digested by the
pig, so we have to oversupplement
with inorganic phosphorus.
Phosphorus, unlike nitrogen,
does not leach away, so the level of
soil phosphorus tends to go up with
every load of manure.
Assuming a dietary level of .6
percent phosphorus, the nutrient
flow using our same sized grow
fmish unit is presented in Table 4.
Table 4: Annual Phosphorus
Flow in a 1000-Head Growing
Finishing Bam (.6 percent dietary
phosphorus).
Intake, tons:
Retained, tons
Excreted, tons
If we dropped the dietary pho
sphorus to .5 percent, we’d still be
above the NRC recommendation
18.3
7.1
11.2
1000
600 lb
200 lb
16.5%
14.0%
2.6
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INTERCOURSE
C.B. Hoober & Son
ALLENTOWN GREENCASTLE
Lehigh Ag Equipment Meyers Implement
BECHTELSVILLE LANCASTER
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(.4 percent), but the amount
excreted decreases by V* of a ton
(Table 5):
Table 5: Annual Phosphorus
Flow in a 1000-Head Growing
Finishing Bam (.5 percent dietary
phosphorus).
Intake, tons:
Retained, tons:
Excreted, tons:
A compound that will enable
further reductions in dietary pho
sphorus is phytase. This enzyme,
when added to the diet, releases the
phosphorus from phytate.
16.1
7.1
9.0
It comes in several forms, none
of which has received approval for
swine diets in this country. Hope
fully, a swine label will be soon
coming, as this can reduce pho
sphorus excretion in our example
by another half a ton per year.
Environmental concerns related
to copper in awine feeds are not
new. Pigs require less than 20 parts
per million (ppm) of dietary cop
per for normal growth and produc
tion. However, many starter diets
and even some grower diets con
tain as much as 250 ppm of copper
as a growth promotant.
Since the retention of copper is
already low, 95 percent of copper
when fed at a 250 ppm rate will be
excreted. Under those conditions,
copper levels in manure will gen
erally range from 1,000 to 2,000
ppm on a dry matter basis.
What implications does this
have for crop production? One
group of researchers in Virginia
applied manure to the same fields
for eight years, resulting in a total
copper loading of 235 pounds/
acre. This treatment had no effect
on com yields or copper concent
rations in the grain. Other studies
have produced similar results.
But there are precautions
regarding the application manure
that is high in trace minerals. First,
the pH should be over 6.5. Plants
tend to absorb metals more readily
under conditions of low pH. Sec
ond, leafy vegetables are more apt
4.7
1.3
3.4
LANDSCAPE SEEDERS
CONTACT YOUR BRILLION DEALER FOR DETAILS
ELIZABETHTOWN NEW HOLLAND
Maaalck Farm Equipment Co. A.B.C. Groff, Inc.
FREDERICK
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3.9
1.2
2.7
Copper
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Gutshall’s, Inc.
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to accumulate metals than are row
crops. And finally, sheep are sensi
tive to high levels of copper. Cop
per poisoning has been reported
when sheep grazed pastures in
which swine manure was applied.
Zinc
Zinc is normally added to the
diet at the rate of 200 ppm or less.
However, recent reports show that
pigs can benefit from higher
levels.
According to a recent review in
Feedstuffs, Danish scientists first
reported a reduction in post
weaning scours through the addi
tion of 2,500 ppm zinc. Research
ers at the University of Illinois
reported 16 percent increase in
weight gain by feeding 3,000 ppm
of zinc for two weeks post
weaning.
Kansas State University
reported that 3,100 ppm of zinc
resulted in occasional improve
ments in diarrhea and feed effi
ciency. Researchers at Michigan
State University saw a trend for
improved growth rate by feeding
3,000 ppm of zinc to weanling
pigs.
Despite these benefits, it is
doubtful that zinc will be used at
pharmacological levels to the same
extent that copper is. The response
is less consistent and short-lived.
Also, zinc interferes with iron,
copper, and calcium when fed at
high levels and for more than two
weeks. And according to Penn
State Agronomist Doug Beegle,
high zinc levels in the soil have
detrimental effects on plant
growth.
Chromium
Chromium is an essential ele
ment, but the amounts found in
normal ingredients eliminate the
need for supplementation.
Now it is reported that extra
chromium may benefit perfor
mance. Research at Louisiana
State showed that 200 ppb of
chromium (in the form of picoli
nate) increased loin muscle area
7-22 percent, and reduced 10th rib
fat 14-22 percent.
A study at-Kansas State Univer
sity showed that 200 ppb of chrom
ium (as nicotinate) reduced fat
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depth by .1 inch. Chromium, life
copper and zinc, is a trace element.
While generally considered no
more toxic than that of copper or
zinc, chromium toxicity may
depend upon the form.
For example, 1,000 ppm is con
sidered the maximum tolerable
dietary level for chromium chlor
ide. This is 1,250 times higher than
the 800 ppb of chromium (as pico
linate) found to impair perfor
mance in the Louisiana studies.
The environmental effects of
feeding chromium as picolinate or
nicotinate are unknown.
1. Manure handling took on new
significance when we began to call
it nutrient management The new
term implies that we must know
what is in the manure, what is in
the soil, and what the crop
requires.
2. As nutrient management
plans become standard practice for
swine producers, the challenge
will not only be to handle nutrients
effectively, but to reduce nutrients
in the waste stream.
3. Nitrogen excretion can be
decreased by 20 percent, without
changing hog performance, by
simply by using lysine-HCI. Pho
sphorus excretion may be reduced
in oversupplemented grower
finisher diets (more than .55 per
cent) by decreasing phosphorus
levels to .45 or .50 percent.
4. Be cautious when using cop
per, zinc, or chromium at pharma
cological doses. Unlike other feed
additives that are metabolized to
harmless forms, trace minerals are
stable. Little if any of the excess is
retained by the pig, which means
all the extra dietary dose ends up in
the manure.
5. The critical area for proper
formulation is in the finishing
stage. Pigs in this phase of produc
tion have the highest feed intakes
and therefore produce the most
manure.
Annenkov, B. V. 1979. Mineral feeding
of pigs. IN Mineral Nutrition of animals. V.
I. Georgievskij et al. Butterwonhs, London.
Cromwell, G. L. 1990. Application of
JJ3aC&€<**c-.
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FAIRIELD
Caldwell Tractor 6 Equipment
Summary
References
(Turn to Pago C 9)