Technical and financial results in pig production depend largely on the proper formulation of pig feeds. Production costs for pig farms are dominated by feed costs. Jan Fledderus and Paul Bikker show how the right start can save resources later.

Under the brand name optigrain the German feed milling company deuka introduces a newly developed piglet feed consisting of a combination of wheat, barley and corn. This is mechanically-hydro thermally processed into a mixed package with opticon technology.

Digestible, metabolisable and net energy values of feed ingredients for pigs can be estimated by different methods. We present the reference methods used in the preparation of the INRA and AFZ feed tables and, more importantly, simplified methods to be used for ingredients differing from those presented in these tables or absent from them.

Emulsifiers. Nothing new, many will say. And indeed their use has long been practiced in our industry. Although their main use was to improve fat solubility in aqueous media, farmers using them were found to be adding more than was recommended- and getting better performance. Research has since confirmed what these farmers knew all along.

Pig producers could lose €1.5 per pig if they ignore the potential variability in digestible energy (DE) in wheat-based diets, according to Danisco animal Nutrition.

European White breed pig lines (Yorkshire, Large White, Landrace) formed the basic genetic material of most breeding programmes, and in time have evolved into specialised sire and dam lines. This has also led to a different level of nutritional requirements for each of these different lines and forced nutritionists and geneticists to work together closely to obtain optimal performance records.