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Why It Pays to Stop Feed Wastage Now

Why It Pays to Stop Feed Wastage Now
By Chris Hostetler
 
For every pig farmer in 2021, it could pay big dividends to know the answer to this simple question: How much feed never gets eaten by your pigs and ends up as waste?
 
Whether it’s in a manure pit below a farrowing or gestation barn or under multiple grow-finish barns, feed wastage this year could translate into massive losses, especially with corn prices above $5 per bushel and soybean meal north of $400 per ton.
 
The answer to the feed wastage question is most certainly that “you don’t know.” However, this is truly a case of what you don’t know may hurt you, especially in a high feed-cost environment. Regardless, it is likely to be far more than we would care to admit.
 
The current elevated grain prices have dramatically increased the cost of feed and have had a negative impact on every pork producer’s bottom line.
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Trending Video

Stress as a Nutrient Thief - Dr. Sarah Pearce

Video: Stress as a Nutrient Thief - Dr. Sarah Pearce


In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Sarah Pearce, Research Animal Physiologist with USDA ARS, explains why stress can act as a nutrient thief in pigs. She discusses gastrointestinal health, barrier integrity, inflammation, feed efficiency, stress interactions, and emerging biomarkers that may help predict performance challenges before they occur. Listen now on all major platforms!

Click here to read the full research article: https://academic.oup.com/af/article/1...

"Stress can steal calories and nutrients because energy normally used for growth is redirected toward immune activation, gut repair, and other costly survival responses."

Meet the guest: Dr. Sarah Pearce / sarah-pearce-phd-3a5881a5 earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from Iowa State University and currently serves as a Research Animal Physiologist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service. Her research focuses on gastrointestinal physiology, nutrition, stress biology, immune function, and productivity in pigs and poultry. Learn more from Dr. Sarah Pearce on the Swine Nutrition Black Belt Podcast, available on all major platforms.