Lysine and Protein Supplementation of Barley Rations for Growing-Finishing Swine

Barley is an important crop for north central South Dakota. It is higher in protein content than corn, ranging from 11 to 15 percent. However, it is lacking in adequate quantities of the amino acid lysine to support normal growth of growing-finishing pigs. A series of trials have been conducted at the North Central Substation, Eureka, using barley as the only grain in rations for growing-finishing swine. These trials have indicated a moderate improvement in gain and feed efficiency when barley-soybean me al rations have been supplemented with lysine. The objective of the experiment reported herein was to study the influence of lysine in the drinking water when pigs were fed a barley ration without additional protein and to compare this ration with barley-soybean meal rations of low (12%) and high (16 %) protein content