By Joel DeRouchey, Mike Tokach, Jason Woodworth, Bob Goodband and Jordan Gebhardt from Kansas State University
The summer of 2021 will go down as one of the most unique times in swine production with historically high feed costs and market pig prices. Many producers and nutritionists face challenging decisions to strike the delicate balance between optimal nutrition and management for pigs going to market this summer and early fall.
Several user-friendly economic decision tools provide some clarity when making nutritional and management decisions that impact daily gain, feed efficiency and carcass yield. The K-State Applied Swine Nutrition Team and their graduate students helped develop Excel-based decision tools on important topics affecting feed costs and management practices to return the highest net profitability possible for producers of all sizes.
Feed Efficiency Evaluation Tool. This user-friendly tool gives specific information based on seven areas affecting feed efficiency, including diet lysine and net energy, barn temperature, and feed processing focused on particle size and pelleting. This tool is designed to provide information for pigs between 50 lb. and 300 lb. Users can evaluate different scenarios and optimize to their operation performance measures.
Optimal Net Energy Model for Finishing Pigs. One of the most challenging decisions is dialing in the economic dietary energy level. While producers realize an increased dietary energy content will improve daily gain and feed efficiency, the added cost of higher energy must be offset with increased revenue. This tool allows producers or nutritionists to calculate the dietary net energy level for maximum profitability in grow-finish pigs.
Estimated Energy Value of DDGS. The oil content of DDGS varies widely across ethanol plants impacting the actual “value” to swine rations. A clear understanding of DDGS energy concentration is required to help associate the “value” of DDGS in swine diets. To accomplish this, the K-State DDGS Energy Value calculator will help predict the net energy of DDGS based on actual performance measured in research trials. This information can be used in diet formulations to more accurately determine the optimal DDGS level based on all diet ingredient costs.
Optimal DDGS Inclusion Calculator. Along with knowing the estimated energy value, a calculator to give specific optimal inclusion rates of DDGS by weight phase is available. Users provide ingredient costs and market price, and the estimated optimal DDGS level by weight phase will be provided along with information on incremental 5% changes in diet DDGS levels on per pig economics.
Floor Space Evaluation Tool. Many swine producers balance floor space and stocking density needs with days on feed to achieve desired market weights. This is particularly important in summer when growth rates slow due to higher barn temperatures. While it is well known that floor space and stocking density negatively impact daily gain and feed intake of pigs as they go above the k value space requirement, feed efficiency is also marginally improved. Thus, accounting for this change along with reaching ideal market weights and total barn gain is important in this decision process.
Optimal Phosphorus Level Calculator. The dietary phosphorus level of a grow-finishing diet not only impacts bone integrity, but also growth, feed efficiency and carcass yield. Therefore, optimizing the dietary phosphorus level is needed based on feed cost and market price to return the highest net value during the grow-finish period. This calculator allows users to customize inputs and provide them with real-time ideal economics.
Access all these tools as well as others here.
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