Utilizing Dried Distillers Grains With Solubles and Phytase to Alleviate Phosphorus Costs in Finishing Swine

A total of 24 barrows (86.7 lb) were used over a 12-week experiment to evaluate the effects of utilizing dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) and phytase as alternatives to inorganic phosphorus (P) sources. Pigs were assigned to 1 of 4 dietary treatments. Treatments consisted of a common corn and soybean-meal fortified diet (CSB), a diet similar to CSB with phytase added in place of dicalcium-phosphate, a corn and soybean-meal diet with 20% DDGS, and a diet with 20% DDGS and phytase added in place of dicalcium-phosphate. Treatment did not affect (P \u3e 0.10) pig performance for any of the growth criteria measured. Utilizing DDGS and phytase together helped to numerically reduce the price per ton of feed compared to the other treatments in the experiment. The results of this experiment suggest that alternatives such as DDGS and phytase can be used to manipulate the necessary inclusion rate of calcium-phosphates needed in the growing-finishing phase of swine production