Rising ingredient, energy (petroleum) and transportation costs are changing feed manufacturing practices across the U.S. pork industry. Feedmill and production unit managers are being challenged to evaluate the value of feed ingredients, feed form (mash, pellet, liquid) and particle size and cost of feed delivery.

Long-term goals should focus on ingredient purchasing and logistics (delivery and storage) and feed processing with the potential for improving animals' efficient use of feed. Feed ordering and delivery schedules have garnered new interest as the costs of fuel and the workforce climb.

Replacing cereal grains with alternative feed ingredients and byproducts may have specific storage requirements that affect their economy, the feasibility of use and the cost of manufacturing a palatable, quality feed product that allows the pigs to reach their genetic potential.

Swine producers looking for saving opportunities should focus their efforts in three areas:

1. Least-Cost Formulation

   Least-cost formulation and alternative ingredients,

2. Feed manufacturing to improve animal efficiency, and

3. Lower feed delivery costs.

A swine producer's greatest opportunity to lower feed cost is through least-cost formulation of alternative ingredients. Least-cost formulation savings of as little as $2/ton would be difficult if not impossible to achieve through cost reductions or changes in the manufacturing process.

Pork producers who can develop a plan to incorporate alternative ingredients (distillers' dried grains with solubles, wheat midds, bakery byproducts, hominy feed) into their feed will experience feed cost savings.

However, the savings associated with alternative ingredients do not come without added costs and manufacturing challenges. Operations that develop processes to overcome these obstacles will realize the most feed savings.

On paper, alternative feed ingredient savings may look attractive, but producers, nutritionists, purchasing agents and feedmill managers must be prepared for the following challenges associated with new alternative ingredients:

• Added analytical costs to develop and maintain a new ingredient matrix;

• Additional receiving time and logistics management;

• Slower batching times due to additional ingredients and poor flowing bins;

• Reduced inventory of primary ingredients;

• Reduced pellet mill throughput and higher electrical energy costs;

• Changes in pellet quality, feed palatability, feed density and feed-flow characteristics; and

• Additional labor costs in the receiving, batching and pelleting production areas.

These challenges affect all operations regardless of their size. Small producers may have more flexibility than larger production companies to make system changes to capture alternative ingredient price opportunities.

Manufacturing Savings

Each producer must ultimately determine how many resources they are willing to devote to managing these challenges.

Particle Size Reduction

Producers who have traditionally fed corn-soybean meal (SBM) diets should talk with their nutritionist and determine which ingredients and feeds have the greatest savings opportunities.

The simplest approach is to start with a single ingredient that can be used in all feeds.

The next step, which requires more planning and coordination, is to optimize the inclusion level across all diets to capture the greatest cost savings.

Since most alternative ingredients are byproducts of the food and biofuels industries, their nutrient content (energy, amino acids, minerals) and physical properties (moisture, density, flowability) will vary based on raw materials, processing equipment and plant design.

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