Tim Schell University of Georgia

Publish Date: June 3, 2006

A balanced swine diet contains the necessary nutrients in the correct proportions to nourish the animal properly. Required nutrients are energy, amino acids, minerals, and vitamins. Fat is required to supply essential fatty acids, but it is usually adequate in practical diets. Water is an important nutrient and normally is provided with free access, so it is not considered for diet formulation purposes. A palatable and economical energy source like corn or grain sorghum can be transformed into a nutritionally balanced ration if nutrient deficiencies are corrected by using additional ingredients.

Publish Date: June 3, 2006

Having waste of any kind implies that there is inefficiency, and wasting feed is a very costly inefficiency. The average feed cost on a swine farm represents approximately 60-70% of the total cost of production. Wasting 5% of feed equates to 3% of an operating budget as lost costs. A farm with an annual operating budget of $100,000 would be losing $3,000 per year to feed waste; the larger the operation, the larger the economic loss. Estimates suggest that between 2%-20% of feed is wasted on swine farms. Table 1 illustrates the cost of feed waste on a per pig basis.