Silage for pigs Silage for pigs Gillian Butler 1 Chris Walton 2 Diane Holmes 1 David Michie 3 1 Nafferton Ecological Farming Group, Newcastle University 2 Peelham Farm, Berwickshire 3 Soil Association, Scotland

Why feed silage to pigs? Cost - forage much cheaper to produce than cereals or more concentrated feeds Animal welfare – after initial vegetation cover is destroyed, gut health might be improved by feeding forage Ethics and environment – potential to reduce imported soya bean meal and other potential foods Possibly – consumer health?

What did we do? 72 Tamworth and Duroc crosses - boars and gilts Planned assessments: Weight, KO%, carcase quality, cost, gut measurements and eating quality 19 th August initial weighing kg 38 <50kg (small) 34>50 kg (big) 2 groups of pigs 1.Control: ad lib access to 18% CP balanced cake 2.Silage: cake mixed 50:50 with barley (offered ad lib) + access to grass/red clover silage to appetite Interim weighing 13 th October – average weight 100kg All pigs grew better than expected Details:…..

Pig performance (55 days) Stats - ANOVA diet: ns breed:** size t breed x size **

Bottom line? Pelleted diet = £370/t Organic £180/t, 50:50 mixed diet = £275/t Consumption ~ 0.5kg higher for silage group (20%?) Silage costs: baling and wrap ~ £5/bale + growing, haulage…? Consumption: 1 x 420kg bale over 4 days for 45 pigs = Kg silage per pig per day Silage wastage 25% “On feed consumption of the two rations we can afford to finish pigs 1 month slower at reduced cost on mixed diet”

Eating Quality 2 carcases (1 from each group) used to assess ‘quality’ Queen Margaret University & New Town Cookery School, Edinburgh Assessing meat before and after cooking Not robust science but an initial indication if any detrimental impact

Verdict: potential to reduce imported protein by using home grown clover silage for pigs