Integrating Camelina Into Organic Pig Production—Impact on Growth Performance of Pigs, Costs, and Returns

The sustainability of organic production and cover crops depends on production costs and the economic value of products. Feed cost, contributing 65–75% of the total production cost, has a significant impact on profitability of organic pig farming. Utilizing grains harvested from cover crops as a feed ingredient for organic pigs can potentially protect the environment and increase the economic value of cover crops. This study was the first to evaluate the viability of integrating winter cover crop, camelina, into organic pig production. Winter camelina was grown organically in single or relay with soybeans to increase the total yield per hectare. Camelina yields in monocrop and in relay-crop fields were 1,394 and 684 kg ha−1, respectively. Although the total yield of camelina and soybean (1,894 kg ha−1) in the relay-crop field was higher than camelina yield in the monocrop field, monocropping camelina is more economical than relay-planting with soybeans due to the difference in production costs. Camelina press-cake was supplemented in diets fed to pigs raised under near-organic standards. Supplementing 10% camelina press-cake in diets reduced feed intake, weight gain, final weight at market, carcass weight, and dressing percent of pigs, but did not affect feed efficiency, belly firmness or pork quality. The viability of integrating camelina into organic pig production depends on marketing organic pigs for $2.4 kg−1 of live weight and marketing camelina oil for $3.59 kg−1 or more if monocropping.

Effects of increasing dietary inclusion of camelina cake on growth performance of growing-finishing pigs

The objective of this experiment was to determine the dietary inclusion rate of camelina cake (CC) that would support the growth performance of growing-finishing pigs similar to that of a corn-soybean meal-based diet. Pigs (n = 192; BW = 35.2 kg; Duroc x (Yorkshire x Landrace)), balanced for sex and initial weight, were assigned to pens (8 pigs/pen) and pens were assigned randomly to one of four dietary treatments (6 pens/treatment). Treatments consisted of a non GMO corn-soybean meal control diet (CON), or CON containing 5% (5CC), 10% (10CC), or 15% (15CC) camelina cake. Feed disappearance on a pen basis and individual body weights of pigs were recorded every other week to calculate average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and gain to feed ratio (G:F) on a pen basis. Prior to harvest, real-time ultrasonic measurements of back fat depth and loin eye area were collected on all live pigs. Pigs were harvested as a single group at about 23 weeks of age at a commercial abattoir. Data were analyzed using Proc Glimmix with dietary treatment as a fixed effect and pen serving as the experimental unit. Growth performance data collected over time were analyzed using repeated measures within the Proc Glimmix procedure. Overall, pigs fed CON exhibited similar ADG to those consuming 5CC and higher ADG than pigs consuming 10CC and 15CC diets (1.10 kg vs. 1.05 kg for 10CC and 1.02 kg for 15CC; P < 0.05 for both mean comparisons). Pigs fed CON consumed more feed than pigs fed any of the CC diets (ADFI = 2.66 kg for CON vs. 2.46 kg for 5CC, 2.46 kg for 10CC and 2.47 kg for 15CC; P < 0.05 for all). These differences resulted in heavier (P < 0.05) CON-fed pigs at marketing than 10CC or 15CC-fed pigs. There were no differences in any carcass traits analyzed. From these data, we conclude that feeding up to 5% CC in corn-soybean meal-based diets did not negatively influence growth performance, or carcass traits of growing-finishing pigs.

Ultraviolet irradiation of spray-dried porcine plasma does not affect the growth performance of nursery pigs when compared with nonirradiated bovine plasma

Ultraviolet light irradiation of spray-dried porcine plasma (SDPP) decreases the risk of disease transmission, but it may decrease the activity of bioactive components in SDPP. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine growth performance, morbidity, and mortality responses of nursery pigs fed UV-irradiated SDPP (UV-SDPP) compared with nonirradiated spray-dried bovine plasma (SDBP). Pigs (n = 480; 6.09 ± 2.4 kg initial BW) were blocked by initial BW, and blocks were assigned to pens. the sex ratio was equalized within blocks and pens. Pens were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 dietary treatments (8 pigs/pen and 12 replicates/treatment) in a 3-phase feeding program (phase 1 = d 0 to 13, phase 2 = d 14 to 27, and phase 3 = d 28 to 55). Dietary treatments included a control diet without UV-SDPP or SDBP and diets containing 3% UV-SDPP, 3% SDBP, 6% UV-SDPP, or 6% SDBP during phase 1. Diets were formulated to meet or exceed nutrient requirements and contained the same concentrations of standardized ileal digestible Lys and Lys:ME ratio within phases. Pigs were provided ad libitum access to diets throughout the 55-d experiment. Dietary inclusion rates during phase 2 were reduced to 1.5% UV-SDPP, 1.5% SDBP, 3% UV-SDPP, and 3% SDBP, and all pigs were fed a common diet without UV-SDPP or SDBP during phase 3. Growth performance data were analyzed as a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments with a control within a completely randomized block design to evaluate the main effects of plasma processing (UV irradiated vs. nonirradiated) and dietary inclusion level, and block, room, and pen were random effects. In phase 1, there were no differences in G:F among treatments, but pigs fed 6% UV-SDPP and 6% SDBP had greater (P < 0.01) ADG (0.11 vs. 0.08 kg/d) and ADFI (0.17 vs. 0.15 kg/d) than pigs fed the control, 3% SDBP, and 3% UV-SDPP diets. After phase 1 (d13), feeding UV-SDPP or SDBP increased (P = 0.02) the BW of pigs. In phases 2 and 3 and the overall feeding period (d 0 to 55), there were no differences in ADG, ADFI, and G:F among dietary treatments. There was a linear decrease (P < 0.01) in mortality of nursery pigs as dietary inclusion rate of SDBP and UV-SDPP increased. In conclusion, feeding SDBP or UV-SDPP diets improved ADG and ADFI during the first 2 wk after weaning due to improved feed consumption, and UV irradiation appeared to have no detrimental effects on the feeding value of SDPP.

Effects of feeding diets containing distillers' dried grains with solubles and wheat middlings with equal predicted dietary net energy on growth performance and carcass composition of growing-finishing pigs

This experiment evaluated the effects of feeding distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and wheat middlings (WM) in diets with similar estimated NE content on growth performance and carcass characteristics of growing-finishing pigs. Pigs ( = 384; 29.1 ± 3.6 kg initial BW) were blocked by initial BW, and within blocks, pens were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 dietary treatments (8 pigs/pen and 12 replicates/treatment) in a 4-phase feeding program (29 to 50, 50 to 75, 75 to 100, and 100 to 120 kg BW). Dietary treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial design and formulated to consist of: 1) corn and soybean meal (CON), 2) CON with 30% DDGS, 3) CON with 15% WM, and 4) CON with 30% DDGS and 15% WM. Diets met or exceeded nutrient requirements published by the and were formulated to contain the same concentrations of standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys and meet or exceed minimum SID AA to Lys ratios within phases. No significant interactions for DDGS × WM × phase or DDGS × WM were observed for all growth performance criteria. Pigs fed diets containing 30% DDGS had reduced ( < 0.05) ADFI (1.76 vs. 1.86 kg/d) and ADG (0.85 vs. 0.91 kg/d) compared with pigs fed diets with no DDGS in phase 1 but not in other phases. The G:F of pigs fed diets containing DDGS was not different during phase 1 to 3 but was greater ( < 0.01) in phase 4 (0.313 vs. 0.291) compared with that of pigs fed diets with no DDGS. Pigs fed diets containing 15% WM had similar ADFI and G:F but reduced ( < 0.05) ADG (0.86 vs. 0.90 kg/d) compared with pigs fed diets without WM in phase 1, but no difference in ADG was observed in phases 2 to 4. No DDGS × WM interaction was observed for carcass traits. Pigs fed diets containing 30% DDGS had reduced ( < 0.01) HCW (86.5 vs. 89.9 kg), carcass yield (72.3 vs. 73.6%), LM area (45.0 vs. 47.9 cm), and percentage of carcass fat-free lean (52.1 vs. 53.4%), but backfat depth was not affected compared with pigs fed diets with no DDGS. Pigs fed diets containing 15% WM had lower carcass yield (72.7 vs. 73.1%; < 0.05) and HCW (87.7 vs. 88.7 kg; < 0.10) than pigs fed diets with no addition of WM, but other carcass traits were not affected. In conclusion, overall ADG and G:F were not affected by feeding 30% DDGS or 15% WM when diets were formulated on the NE basis, but more accurate and dynamic estimation of NE content for DDGS sources is needed to optimize caloric efficiency at different physiological ages of pigs.

Effects of abrupt introduction and removal of high and low digestibility corn distillers dried grains with solubles from the diet on growth performance and carcass characteristics of growing-finishing pigs

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding continuously a diet containing 40% dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) or intermittently diets containing 20 or 40% DDGS on growth performance and carcass quality of pigs. Responses of the pigs to abrupt introduction and removal of dietary DDGS with differing concentrations of standardized ileal digestible (SID) AA were also evaluated. In Exp. 1, crossbred pigs (n=216; initial BW=51.3±3.1 kg) were assigned randomly to 1 of 4 treatments, which included a corn-soybean meal control (CON), a 20% DDGS diet (D20), a switch between D20 and CON (D20-CON), and a switch between a 40% DDGS diet and CON (D40-CON) with 6 pens per treatment. Pigs abruptly introduced and removed from a 20% DDGS diet (D20-CON) exhibited no differences in growth performance or carcass quality compared with CON pigs. However, intermittently feeding a 40% DDGS diet (D40-CON) resulted in lighter HCW (P<0.05) compared with all other treatments. In Exp. 2, crossbred pigs (n=324; initial BW=33.2±3.0 kg) were assigned randomly to 1 of 6 treatments, including a corn-soybean meal control (CON), a 40% low SID AA DDGS diet (LD), a 40% high SID AA DDGS diet (HD), LD and CON diets alternated (LD-CON), HD and CON diets alternated (HD-CON), or HD and LD diets alternated (HD-LD) with 6 pens per treatment. Final BW and ADG were less (P<0.05) for LD and HD-LD pigs compared with CON pigs, but HD pigs tended to have reduced (P<0.10) final BW and ADG. Loin muscle area was smaller for LD and HD-LD pigs compared with CON pigs (P<0.05). Percentage carcass lean was not affected by dietary treatment. Backfat of DDGS-fed pigs was more unsaturated than CON pigs, but AA digestibility of DDGS did not affect this response. Digestibility of AA in DDGS can influence pig performance and carcass quality when fed at high concentrations (40% or more). The use of a high SID AA DDGS source may diminish some of the negative responses observed for growth performance and carcass characteristics when feeding high concentrations of DDGS if accurate values of SID AA are used in diet formulation. Periodic inclusion and removal of 40% DDGS from diets did not adversely affect growth performance or carcass quality regardless of the SID AA digestibility of the DDGS used. These results indicate that it is possible to abruptly incorporate and remove DDGS from grower-finisher swine diets without meaningful detrimental effects on growth performance or carcass quality.