December 5, 2008
Triticale shows promise on swine feed
Triticale has shown positive results in reducing feed costs and improveproduction efficiency, Australia''s Pork CRC.
Speaking at the release of the Pork CRC''s 2007/08 Annual Report, Pork CRC Chairman, Dr John Keniry, said the Centre''s work was vital to maintaining Australia''s strong domestic pork industry and its international competitiveness.
Dr Keniry said that the Pork CRC triticale project, with the University of Sydney, has identified and developed two varieties of feed, one of which is about to be released, with 8-16 percent higher yields than current benchmark varieties.
Dr Keniry added this is a major breakthrough in their research and it will not only benefit the pork industry by allowing grains to be more accurately valued; it will also reduce the cost of production for pork producers and increase income.
Pork CRC research discovered that increasing the dietary DE content for lactating gilts increased the number of sows having a second litter by 30 percent, a finding which will significantly increase revenue for the Australian pork industry, Keniry added.
The Pork CRC''s development of Near Infrared Spectrometry (NIRS) calibrations for rapidly determining the Digestible Energy (DE) and other nutrient contents of grains will raise the accuracy and cost effectiveness of pig diet formulation.
Research has also demonstrated the benefits of strategically using the additives Paylean and Porcine Somatotropin in pig feed. This has been shown to deliver potential increases in profit from US$5.10 to US$7.50 per pig and deliver big gains in feed use efficiency, a vital benefit given the current high cost of feed. Increasing the level of fat in the diet of finisher pigs has been shown to improve carcase weight and feed efficiency.
This important finding has clearly demonstrated that current pig nutritional standards need to be questioned if Australia is to reduce the cost of production that''s required for sustainable and profitable pork production, Dr Keniry remarked.
The Pork CRC will continue to trial the benefits of combining fat and fibre in pig diets, as well as investigating the adequacy of amino acids in the diets of grower pigs. Working with the Australian Pork Farms Group (APFG) and the Victorian Department of Primary Industries (VDPI), the Pork CRC has developed a vaccine and vaccination procedure for the disease Actinobaccillus pleuropneumoniae (APP).