The rise in basic feed ingredient costs has resulted in a skyrocketing cost of production for swine producers. Corn prices, fueled by ethanol demand, have added roughly $1.50+/bushel to the cost of this most widely used swine feed ingredient in the last year or so. The combination of shifting acres to corn and rising foreign demand for soybeans and soybean products has given rise to the old cheer, "Beans to the Teens!" among the crop producers and marketers.
These "shocks" to feed ingredient prices have driven a very big interest in the use of alternative feedstuffs among swine producers. There is no doubt a very nice savings that can be captured from the careful addition of alternatives to corn and beanmeal but some caveats are clearly in order. To understand the issues beyond simply plugging these alternatives into a least cost ration analyzer, it would be wise to visit a couple of very informative websites that detail the sometimes forgotten potential consequences of such a strategy.
SwineCast 0629
