Feeding Dried Distillers Grains to Hogs Ron Plain, University of Missouri

Production of Ethanol and Dried Distiller Grains with Solubles  1 bushel of corn (56 lbs) will yield:  2.75 gallons of ethanol  17 lbs of DDGS A 45 mil gal/yr plant generates: ~ 400 tons of DDGS every day

Dry Milled Ethanol Production Corn Ethanol Stillage Thin Stillage Wet Distiller Grain Wet Distiller Grain with Solubles Condensed Distiller Solubles DDGS

Wet Milled & Dry Milled Corn for Ethanol Source: PRX Blue Sky Forecast

DDGS Production in the U.S.  2000 – 4.3 billion pounds  2006 – 25.5 billion pounds  2010 – 42.5 billion pounds By comparison, U.S. hogs eat about 82 billion pounds of feed annually

Use of Dried Distiller Grains with Solubles  80% used in ruminant diets  10% exported  10% fed to non-ruminants

U.S. Ethanol Plants 5 bgy expanding to 8 bgy

Nutrient Composition (DM) ItemCornSBMDDGS Crude Protein, % Crude Fat, % Crude Fiber, % ADF, % DE, kcal/lb Lysine, % Phosphorus, %

Dried Distiller Grains with Solubles  Product variability – Nutrient Content  Crude protein  23 to 30 %  Amino acid digestibility  17.7 to 74.4 %  Lysine content  0.59 to 0.89 %  Crude fat  3 to 12 %

Why the variation in nutrient concentrations?  Nutrient variability of the corn  Processing methods  Type of yeast used  Fermenting and distillation efficiency  Drying temperature and time  Amount of solubles blended

DDGS Product Variability  Variability impacts on:  Nutritional value  Palatability (feed intake)  Indicators of quality  Color  Light golden to dark brown  Smell  Sweet to smoky or burnt

Dried Distiller Grains with Solubles Lower Quality Less Digestible High Quality Highly Digestible

DDGS Nutritional Issues  Micotoxins:  Any micotoxins (aflatoxin, vomatoxin, etc) in corn are concentrated by dry milling  Only purchase DDGS from ethanol plants which check corn for micotoxins before milling

DDGS Nutritional Issues  Amino Acids:  Imbalance of amino acids (lysine, cystine and threonine)  Reduced amino acid digestibility  Add synthetic lysine if DDGS >10% of diet  Add synthetic threonine and tryptophan if DDGS >20% of diet

DDGS Nutritional Issues  Minerals  Corn is 0.25% phosphorus which is 14% digestible by hogs  DDGS is 0.75% phosphorus which is 90% digestible  Add less dicalcium phosphate to hog diets containing DDGS  Less phosphorus in the manure

DDGS Nutritional Issues  High Fat Content (9-12%)  Negatively impacts pork fat  quality and belly firmness  Significant problem if DDGS>20% of diet

DDGS Impact on Pork Fat Belly Traits0%10%20%30% Thickness, cm Firmness score Adj firmness score Iodine number DDGS Content of Feed

DDGS Nutritional Issues  High Fiber Content  Valuable for ruminants  Low digestibility for hogs  Adds to volume of manure

DDGS Handling  Particle size  600 to 2,100 microns  Impacts  Flowability  Pelletability

Storing DDGS  Limited Storage  High in polyunsaturated fatty acids  Wet distillers  Summer – 7 days  Winter – 3 to 4 weeks  Dry distillers (> 85 % DM)  Summer – 1 month  Winter – 3 months

Dried Distiller Grains with Solubles  Health Considerations  Low soluble fiber diets may reduce the proliferation of pathogenic organisms in the GI tract (Hampson, 1999)  Illeitis or Lawsonia intracellularis  Hemorrhagic bowel syndrome  Fewer cases of:  Acidosis  Laminitis  Liver abscesses

Feeding DDGS to Sows  DDGS during gestation & lactation  Slightly improves next pregnancy’s  Feed intake  Litter size  Weaning weight

Substitution Rule for Swine Rations  Add 200 lb of DDGS + 3 lb limestone  To replace:  177 lbs of corn  20 lbs soybean meal (44%)  6 lbs of dicalcium phosphate

Hog Growth Performance ( pounds) DDGS F/GADFIADGCar Wt 0% % % 30% Source: University of Missouri feeding trials Some other trials show no negative impact on animal performance for low levels of DDGS in diet

Economic Value of DDGS for Hogs (0% reduction in ADG) Corn Price ($/bu) Soybean Meal Price ($/ton) DDGS values ($/ton) for various prices of corn and soybean meal

Economic Value of DDGS for Hogs (2% reduction in ADG) Corn Price ($/bu) Soybean Meal Price ($/ton) DDGS values ($/ton) for various prices of corn and soybean meal

Economic Value of DDGS for Hogs (4% reduction in ADG) Corn Price ($/bu) Soybean Meal Price ($/ton) DDGS values ($/ton) for various prices of corn and soybean meal

Recommended Inclusion Rates for DDGS in Swine Diets Phase Start pointMax Nursery (> 15 lbs) 5%25% Grow-finish10%20% Gestating sows20%50% Lactating sows 5%20% Boars20%50%

Limitations  Synthetic amino acids needed if DDGS >10% of ration  Quality of pork fat impaired if DDGS >20% of ration  Not recommended for pigs <15 lbs  Sows may need adaptation period to high levels of DDGS

Summary  DDGS can effectively be used in swine diets  DDGS can negatively impact feed intake  DDGS quality is highly variable  Producers should test samples or develop specification sheet with the plant to properly formulate the ration  200 lbs DDGS plus 3 lbs of limestone replaces 177 lbs corn, 20 lbs SBM and 6 lbs dical

Questions?

Acknowledgements This PowerPoint file was adapted by:  Ron Plain, Ag Economist, U of Missouri  From a PowerPoint file originally developed by Marcia Shannon, Animal Scientist, U of Missouri  Summarizing a lot of fine research, especially by Jerry Shurson, Animal Scientist, U of Minnesota A useful website: