Why Accurate Energy Values of Swine Feed Ingredients Are So Important

How does reducing dietary net energy impact growth performance and carcass characteristics of grow-finish pigs? “The effect of increasing dietary energy content on performance has been extensively studied,” Rafe Royall, a PhD student in swine nutrition at Kansas State University, explained at KSU Swine Day. “However, as we think about dramatic reductions on net energy, there’s relatively little published data. Elevated ingredient costs have led the industry to shift toward using more high-fiber, low energy diets.” Kansas State University conducted a study to evaluate the effect of dietary net energy (NE) on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and removal and mortality rates of grow-finish pigs and compare different net energy (NE) systems by using caloric efficiency. How Did the Study Work? A total of 1,927 pigs (initially 51.5 ± 0.52 lb) were used in a 125-day study. Pens of pigs were blocked by body weight and randomly allotted to one of five dietary treatments of decreas