With large meat processing facilities shuttering and small local meat lockers running at full capacity, farmers need to change their feeding plan to hold hog weights until shackle space returns.

Marcia Shannon, University of Missouri swine nutritionist, says pork producers should feed more fiber and less fat.

“This is a good time to move to feeding low-energy, high-fiber diets with an adjusted lysine-to-calorie ratio and remove any growth-promoting technologies,” Shannon says.

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The goal is to increase the neutral detergent fiber content of the diet to 20%. Pigs fed NDF content of 10% to 15% will eat more to meet their daily energy requirement. As NDF nears 20%, pigs get too full to eat. Also, remove additives such as copper sulfate and extra protein packs that raise the cost of the diet.

Doing this will increase time in the finisher by as much as four to seven days, Shannon says. If producers remove growth promoters, they might be able to add two or three days more on top of that. The younger the pigs are, the easier it is to slow growth.

Show-pig producers have used this growth technique successfully for many years to continue to show in certain weight classes at fairs, Shannon says.

What to feed

Don’t add any extra fat, she says. Pork producers need to cheapen diets during these uncertain times. Shannon recommends increasing fiber intake.

Fiber is the carbohydrate part of the diet that can’t be digested by enzymes secreted in the pig’s intestinal tract. While fiber is a poor source of energy, it will fill pigs up. Pigs might eat more, she explains, but the feed is cheaper than traditional mixes.

Shannon suggests replacing all protein and fat sources with soy hulls, wheat middling, wheat bran, corn gluten or sugarbeet pulp, but probably not distillers grains because those sources are drying up as well because of lower gas prices and reduced ethanol production. Most other fiber sources currently are easy to find in Missouri.

One drawback is that confinement pits will fill with more manure when feeding high-fiber diets. “This means confinement producers will need to monitor their manure management more closely,” Shannon says.

Hog market concerns

COVID-19 is affecting swine management and markets. If it persists, it could cause major disruptions up and down the food chain.

Shannon does not recall anything that has closed meat processing plants for this length of time. Even a day’s closing for an ice storm can cause a backlog in the food supply chain.

“If some of these meat processing plants stay closed for an extended period,” she says, “we’ll see a backlog. Some estimates are four days of backlog for every day the plant is closed.”

Shannon recommends related resources at pork.org. MU Extension also lists numerous COVID-19 resources at extension2.missouri.edu.

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