The Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council has joined the Pork Checkoff’s Nutritional Efficiency Consortium, groups that have banded together to address the increasing cost of producing pork through research.

Consortium members include the National Pork Board, state pork associations, state and national corn growers associations and several allied industry organizations.

“We are 25 partners-strong in our quest to maximize feed efficiencies in the pork industry,” says Larry Kline, vice president of finance and business development for the Pork Board. “This is a great example of pork producers working together and partnering outside the industry to find solutions.”

The nutritional efficiency consortium has funded over $1.1 million in research. Projects include a review of alternative feed ingredients for swine rations; the use of co-products, such as distiller’s dried grains with soluble; the estimation of net energy for feedstuffs; a study looking at the physiology of nutrient utilization by pigs; and the impact of co-product use on pork quality.

“The benefits to the industry are huge. This consortium allows us to leverage checkoff monies with funds from our partners, but the benefit is not only financial,” explains Mark Boggess, director of animal science for the Pork Board. “This consortium pools together the expertise of all of the different partner organizations. We set better priorities and make better decisions for the industry as a group. The Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council is a great new partner.”

More information on the consortium is available at pork.org or by following the Pork Science tab.