Canada - Swine Producers Cautioned Again Over Using By-Products of Ethanol Production

A research scientist with the University of Alberta is cautioning against the over inclusion of the by-products of ethanol production in swine rations. A heightened demand for ethanol based fuel, particularly in the US, has increased the volumes of corn dried distillers grain available for feeding livestock. University of Alberta feed industry research chair Dr. Ruurd Zijlstra notes, the cost of dried distillers grains have dropped to the point where they are now cost competitive for inclusion in swine diets but there are several considerations to keep in mind when feeding these products to swine. For example, for corn dried distillers grain, you will have a drastic increase in the amount corn oil in this dried distillers grain so that might pose a limitation for inclusion rate if you're looking at maintaining the quality of the carcass, in particularly the softness of the fat in the carcass. There might also be some concern by some with regards to voluntary feed intake so some people put restrictions on corn dried distillers grain for that reason. Variability is a concern because we have a drastic range in quality of the feedstock going into the ethanol facilities, we have a drastic range in processing conditions during the ethanol fermentation and also during the drying process meaning that the variability of the dried distillers grain that is available to the industry is considerable. Dr. Zijlstra notes we expect increased supplies of both corn and wheat dried distillers grains which will mean prices will drop and they'll become increasingly attractive to use in swine rations. He says, when you consider cost per unit of lean gain, in the future increased feedgrain costs and reduced by-product costs, might affect the ingredient mix.