According to studies by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, feeding dried distiller’s grains (DDGS) to piglets can give their immune systems an extra boost. Results of the study were published in de Agricultural Research magazine, february 2009.
The U.S. ethanol industry generates an estimated 10-14 million metric tons of DDGS annually from the milling of corn grain that yields fermentable sugars for conversion into fuel alcohol. The majority of DDGS are fed to beef and dairy cattle. But DDGS is also supplemented to the diet of older pigs. Tom Weber, a physiologist at the ARS Swine Odor and Manure Management Research Unit in Ames, Iowa, partnered with research leader Brian Kerr and microbiologist Cherie Ziemer to study the effects of feeding DDGS to young pigs. Kerr and others have found that adult pigs can be fed with a corn and soy-meal feed that is up to 40 percent DDGS. However, piglets are given feed with a maximum DDG content of 7.5 percent, because their growth may be reduced when they consume too much fiber. Full story: Agricultural Research magazine, february 2009
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