When Dr. Mike Tokach, a swine nutritionist at Kansas State University, and his colleague, veterinarian Dr. Steve Dritz, were asked to present some practical nutrition tips at a prestigious industry seminar recently, they joked with the audience that their big "take-home" point was as simple as: Don 't forget to adjust your feeders.

Adjusting feeders may seem like a small job in a swine operation. "But, when we looked at farm consulting visits from the past few years, we knew that feed waste was a problem in many production systems," says Tokach. According to Tokach and Dritz, proper feeder adjustment is one of the important steps producers should take to reduce waste, and ultimately, improve feed efficiency. You may also need to upgrade your feeders and they suggest you keep a watchful eye on feed ingredient particle size.

While diet — mainly energy level and amino acid profile — and genetics play important roles in feed efficiency, Tokach says these inputs may be out of many producers' hands to control. Producers involved in production networks or contracts often don't have management say over those areas. In addition, other considerations such as competing genetic goals or ration economics may preclude making sweeping improvements in feed efficiency.

Measures to control feed waste are often what separate the farms with 2.6 feed:gain ratios from those chugging along at 3.0, according to Tokach. He says that when he sees two production systems, each using similar genetics and nutrition programs, but one with a significantly better feed conversion average, the difference is usually related to the feeders and how well they are being managed.

Feeder Design

According to Tokach and Dritz, many feeders are simply not up to snuff when it comes to waste prevention. "There are a lot of producers using feeders that can't be adjusted easily," he says. Many older designs have outmoded adjustments or they have an adjustment that's accessible only when the feeder is empty. Even some of the newer models have adjustment devices that just aren't accurate enough, says Tokach. With some tube feeders, for example, "one click may make the agitator too tight and two clicks may fill the trough all the way up with feed," says Tokach. He and Dritz recommend feeders with adjustment mechanisms that can be finely tuned. That way you don't overdo the adjustment if you need to make only a slight change.

Another common problem Tokach points to is the design of the agitator gate, sometimes called the agitator plate or feed gate. He says some agitator gates don't allow the pigs to easily move them and others have too much play, especially over time. In either case, precise adjustment is difficult

"The agitator plate plays a very important role," he says. If there is not enough movement, feed gets plugged. Or a producer may end up raising the agitator gate up too high to compensate, which means wasted feed.

According to Tokach and Dritz, producers can conservatively expect about a .2 improvement in feed:gain ratios just by replacing older, hard to-adjust feeders with newer designs that offer precise adjustment such as the Farmweld Jumbo Feeder or the Farmweld Nursery Feeder.

For grow-finish pigs, that .2 improvement yields an extra $2.20 per pig or $330 per feeder per year, which easily pays back the cost of a new feeder. For nursery pigs, the .2 improvement results in an extra $.80 per pig or $260 per feeder per year.

Proper trough design is also important for reducing feed waste. Adequate depth and width in a finishing feeder are needed to allow for a large pigs natural eating behavior. The more comfortable the less feed they waste. For nursery pigs, feed spaces must be designed so igs don't make a habit of lounging in the trough and dragging feed out with their feet. Tokach says pigs can get trapped in the feed trough in some poorly designed feeders.

Feeder Adjustment

As mentioned earlier, proper feeder adjustment is also essential. Tokach and Dritz say aggressive feeder management, especially within the first week after weaning, results in improved feed-to-gain ratios and average daily gains.

Tokach and Dritz recommend producers set finishing feeders so that only about one-third of the feed pan is covered by feed at any given time. "This doesn't necessarily mean that the front one-third of the feeder is covered," says Tokach. Nursery feeders are set according to the diet type, and also monitored to make sure that no more than one-third of the pan is covered by feed.

ECONOMIC RETRUN OF IMPROVED FEED CONVERSION

FEED:GAIN IMPROVEMENT OF .2 YIELDS:

NURSERY

$.80 per pig x 50 pigs x 6.5 turns = $260 per year

GROW-FINISH

$2.20 per pig x 50 pigs x 3 turns = $330 per year

KSU 1999

To stay on track with feeder adjustment, Tokach and Dritz urge producers to use a photo guide such as the one found on page 8 of this newsletter. When these are posted in the barn, they provide a constant reminder of the goal. "With the photo, there's no disagreement about what the feeder should look like," says Tokach.

Particle Size

The KSU researchers also suggest producers keep close tabs on the particle size of the grain portion o their pigs' diets. They recommend routine particle size monitoring, whether milling is done on or off the farm. Ideally, grain particles should be about 700 microns, according to Tokach. "For every 100 microns over the ideal, it costs about $.50 per pig during the grow-finish period," he says.

Consistent particle size not only enhances the pig's ability to digest nutrients, it also allows producers more flexibility in diet formulation changes. For example, "with a meal diet, if you want to have a high energy diet, you can't add as much fat if you don't have consistent particle size," says Tokach. In addition, consistent particle size makes it easier to properly adjust feeders.

Feeder choice, feeder adjustment and particle size are areas that greatly impact feed efficiency. The good news is that with latest technologies and information, they are also areas that are "within the producers' hands" to control, concludes Tokach.