Research

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Program 1: Securing more reliable and consistent supplies of protein and energy for pig diets
 
Securing more reliable and consistent protein and energy supplies for pig diets via innovative grain and pulse production, quality assessment and co-product utilisation will result in
a) reduced variation in the annual cost of pig feed
b) reduced total cost of pig feed
c) a wider range of feed ingredients available to more producers
d) a closer match of diet specifications to pig requirements

Subprogram 1a: Innovative grain production

Subprogram Leader : Dr Ray King (fully funded Program Consultant to the CRC)

Key Deliverables :
Commercial quantities of cereals (triticale and barley) and pulses (peas and lupins) that grow close to pig-producing regions, and that have a high yield, cost-effective agronomy and acceptable nutritional characteristics for pigs

A Guide to the Use of Triticale in Livestock Feeds - 2002 GRDC report prepared by Dr Rob van Barneveld

Subprogram 1b: Quality assessment of feed ingredients

Subprogram Leader : Dr John Black (fully funded Program Consultant to the CRC).
 
Key Deliverables:
a) Adoption, implementation, enhancement and maintenance of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) calibrations for measurement of the nutritional quality of cereals for pigs
b) rapid and objective analytical methods for the measurement of nutritional quality in pig feed ingredients (other than cereals)
c) processing methods to increase the nutrient yield from target grains (eg enzyme applications)
 
Subprogram 1c: Wider range of feed ingredients for use in pig diets

Subprogram Leader : Dr. Ray King (fully funded Program Consultant to the CRC)

Key Deliverables:
a) Identified potential for production of non-traditional or alternative protein and energy sources for pigs within existing grain production systems across Australia
b) assessment of the nutritional potential of novel protein and energy sources
c) production and delivery of non-traditional and alternative protein and energy sources for the pig industry

Glycerol Research findings published
A paper has been published in Animal Production Science to report the findings of Pork CRC’s project 1C-101 - Evaluation of glycerin (glycerol) from biodiesel production in pigs
The aims of this study were to determine the chemical composition of samples of crude glycerol collected from Australian biodiesel manufacturers; and to examine the effects of increasing levels of crude glycerol fed to growing-finishing pigs on performance, plasma metabolites and meat quality at slaughter.
Findings: Chemical composition of crude glycerol samples varied considerably. One of the samples was then selected to be fed to grower pigs, but there was no improvement in performance with increasing levels of added glycerol. Blood glycerol levels were initially unaffected but then increased with increasing levels of dietary glycerol before slaughter. The inclusion of crude glycerol did not influence any meat quality parameters at slaughter.
Issues: Diets containing added crude glycerol were less dusty after mixing, but some feeding difficulties were encountered, which might restrict inclusion of glycerol in mash diets to dietary levels less than 8%. Furthermore, levels of residues such as methanol and ash should be monitored to prevent excessive amounts of these compounds in pig diets.

Authored by Hansen CF, Hernandez A, Mullan BP, Moore, K, Trezona-Murray M, King RH & JR Pluske, the paper appears in Volume 49