Research

Pig looking at the camera

Swine

Using dried distillers grains can lead to improved cost savings. Due to lower fat composition, Dakota Gold can be fed at higher inclusion rates and still maintain high carcass quality.

Wrinkle: DDGS Reduce Ration Costs - Even as Prices Increase

Published February 19, 2019

Many producers and nutritionists start to wonder if DDGS still provides value in swine diets when DDGS prices start to trend upward. This question becomes more difficult to answer when we start to consider the factors that determine value of DDGS. Costs of ingredients like corn and soybean meal, inclusion of DDGS, and even variables such as estimated carcass loss related to feeding fibrous feeds all become important. In the end, even though DDGS may increase in price, continuing to include DDGS in diet formulations may still provide cost savings for the swine producer.

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Wrinkle: DDGS Effects on Swine Production

Published November 20, 2018

A recent meta-analysis of DDGS research provided new insights into swine performance. A team led by Dr. Jerry Shurson collected several references from the past 10 years and looked at swine performance as well as diet formulation. This summary provided an interesting background of previous research while at the same time, introduced guidelines for future DDGS research. Dr. Shurson's team found evidence which suggested that in order to optimize swine performance, we need to have accurate energy estimates for DDGS.

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Wrinkle: Open Sesame to Unlock Dakota Gold Treasure

Published August 21, 2018

Determining the nutritional value of DDGS can sometimes prove difficult. We can measure value based on dollars per unit of protein or energy or perhaps calculate as a percentage of corn. However, DDGS provides both protein and energy and as a result, when we calculate value based on a single nutrient such as protein, we underestimate DDGS value. Comparing nutritional value to other ingredients using software such as Sesame provides a compromise between these two different approaches.

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