Economic Evaluation of Ractopamine Step-up Programs Using a Biological Growth Model

Purdue University 2002 Swine Research Report. Recently, three trials have been conducted to compare the response of ractopamine (RAC, Paylean) fed at increasing dietary concentrations to feeding a similar constant level throughout late finishing. These trials indicated that the magnitude and duration of the RAC response could be increased by using a step-up program, increasing the RAC concentration during the late finishing period. The objective of this research was to evaluation the economic returns of using a step-up RAC program in which the dietary concentration of RAC is increased over time in comparison to feeding a constant RAC concentration.