George Libal South Dakota State University

Publish Date: March 25, 2010

Feed costs comprise approximately 65-70% of the cost of pork production. While most U.S. producers think of strictly corn and soybean meal (SBM) when feeding pigs, they need to realize that pigs require amino acids, energy, vitamins and minerals, and not any particular feedstuff for normal growth. In most regions of the U.S., a corn–SBM combination is usually the least expensive ingredient combination that meets the pig’s nutrient requirements. However, in times of higher corn and SBM prices or in regions of the U.S. that are removed from the Corn Belt, producers need to look at alternative feedstuffs in order to keep diet costs down.

Publish Date: June 3, 2006

The purpose of the breeding herd is to consistently produce a targeted number of high quality weaned pigs in an efficient manner and at low cost. Feed costs in the breeding herd constitute about 12% of the cost of producing a market hog. More importantly, the feeding program in the breeding herd can significantly influence sow productivity and longevity in the herd. Most costs, including feeding costs, in the breeding herd are fixed costs and therefore, increased breeding herd efficiency will reduce overall production costs. Therefore, there is considerable scope to reduce input costs and increase production efficiency through improvement in the feeding of the gestating and lactating sow.