Key Factors
(Continued from Page 34)
as well as the payment incentives in the packer’s
weight and grade program.
But difficult as it is, you must go through the pro
cess if you wish to remain competitive.
Minimizing Nutrient Excretion
Our industry is just beginning to consider the
amount of nutrients that are excreted by the pigs. In
fact, at least 60 percent of any nutrient we feed will
end up in the manure. The excretion of two of the
major soil nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus, can
be reduced by 15-20 percent through changes in diet
formulation
A simple and economical way to minimize nitro
gen excretion is to lower the protein content and
correct the deficiency by adding crystalline lysine.
For example, 100 pounds of soybean meal can be
safely removed from a one-ton diet by replacing it
with 96.5 pounds of corn and 3.5 pounds of lysine-
HCI. Many producers already do this because the
corn/lysine mixture is often cheaper than the soy
bean meal.
Our 'problem with this substitution is that it
lowers the nitrogen in the manure, while the phos
phorus remains unchanged making the nitrogen-
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:phosphorus ratio somewhat worse. Most producers
develop their nutrient management plans on the
basis of nitrogen. Under normal conditions, apply
ing manure to meet the crop’s needs for nitrogen
will provide more phosphorus than is required.
A relatively new approach is to use phytase, an
enzyme that helps improve phosphorus availability.
Much of the phosphorus in plant-based ingredients
is not digestible by the pig. To provide adequate
phosphorus, we use inorganic supplements.
By adding phytase to the diet, the phosphorus is
more readily available, and we can reduce the
amount of supplemental phosphorus. This means
the total amount of phosphorus excreted in the
manure is also reduced. This doesn’t completely
eliminate the nitrogemphosphorus imbalance in the
manure, but it’s an important step in the right direc
tion.
Feed Withdrawal
If possible, withdraw access to feed about 16
hours prior to the expected time of slaughter. This
reduces the risk of puncturing the gut during the
processing, and it also saves you at least 50 cents per
Pig-
Water Intake
Many producers are recognizing the benefits of
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(Turn to Page 36)
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