Whole-plant high-moisture maize
Pigs · Agronomic solutions
Whole-plant high-moisture maize for finishing pigs: a great on-farm resource.
Premixes, supplements, feeds and agronomic solutions aimed at excellent performance combined with lower on-farm production costs.
See also
Technical tool · Feed industry
Reference rations
The rations published in technical articles written by Alpha’s technical service and in related studies: composition by phase, stacked bar chart and analytical data, with a link to the original article.
Ration composition
Analytical data · 40/80 kg
Danish finishing pigs on whole-ear maize silage Table 1, % of dry matter
Ration used on a farm in the Lodi area (about 4,000 Danish pigs): no wheat bran or beet pulp, the fibre comes from the whole-ear maize silage.
For pigs: biscuit meal, former foodstuffs and distillers’ grains only for pigs outside the Parma ham PDO circuit.
Composition % of dry matter
| Component | 40/80 kg | 80/120 kg | 120/165 kg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole-ear maize silage (5.8% crude fibre) | 33.0 | 33.0 | 33.0 |
| Solvent-extracted soya bean meal | 17.0 | 14.0 | 11.0 |
| Whey | 12.0 | 11.0 | 12.0 |
| Wheat distillers’ grains | 8.0 | 12.0 | 14.0 |
| Broken biscuits (biscuit meal) | 27.0 | 27.0 | 27.0 |
| Mineral feed | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Total | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 |
Analytical data
| Parameter | 40/80 kg | 80/120 kg | 120/165 kg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crude protein % DM | 18.04 | 17.71 | 17.09 |
| Crude fat % DM | 5.57 | 5.72 | 5.81 |
| Crude fibre % DM | 4.48 | 4.34 | 4.20 |
| Crude ash % DM | 6.50 | 6.55 | 6.60 |
| Total lysine % DM | 1.07 | 1.00 | 0.92 |
| Digestible energy kcal/kg DM | 3,875 | 3,875 | 3,875 |
Source: M. Rizzi, “Pastone integrale: un tesoro in azienda” (Whole-ear maize silage: a treasure on the farm), Suinicoltura no. 1, January 2014, pp. 44–46, Table 1. Read the article (PDF, Italian)
PDO heavy pig: maize and bran or whole-ear maize silage Table 2, % of dry matter
A whole-ear maize silage with 4.8% crude fibre used at 50% of the ration replaces the wheat bran entirely; the ration should be corrected for the slight drop in protein.
Composition % of dry matter
| Component | Maize + bran | Whole-ear maize silage |
|---|---|---|
| Maize meal | 53.5 | 15.0 |
| Barley | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Solvent-extracted soya bean meal | 15.0 | 16.0 |
| Wheat bran | 12.5 | – |
| Mineral feed | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Lard | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Whole-ear maize silage (4.8% crude fibre) | – | 50.0 |
| Total | 100.00 | 100.00 |
Analytical data
| Parameter | Maize + bran | Whole-ear maize silage |
|---|---|---|
| Crude protein % DM | 16.80 | 16.45 |
| Crude fat % DM | 4.25 | 4.17 |
| Crude fibre % DM | 4.75 | 4.70 |
| Crude ash % DM | 5.25 | 4.90 |
| Total lysine % DM | 0.87 | 0.86 |
| Digestible energy kcal/kg DM | 3,635 | 3,650 |
Source: M. Rizzi, “Pastone integrale: un tesoro in azienda” (Whole-ear maize silage: a treasure on the farm), Suinicoltura no. 1, January 2014, pp. 44–46, Table 2. Read the article (PDF, Italian)
Lactating sows: standard diet and diet with biscuit meal Table 7, % of feed (analysis as fed)
Biscuit meal partly replaces the raw cereals: with the other ration parameters unchanged, sugars double. In the chart, herring meal and soya oil are combined.
For pigs: biscuit meal, former foodstuffs and distillers’ grains only for pigs outside the Parma ham PDO circuit.
Composition % of feed (analysis as fed)
| Component | Standard diet | Biscuit meal diet |
|---|---|---|
| Maize | 38.5 | 30.8 |
| Barley | 15.0 | 10.0 |
| Solvent-extracted soya bean meal | 13.0 | 12.0 |
| Wheat bran | 25.0 | 25.0 |
| Herring meal | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Soya oil | 2.5 | 1.2 |
| Mineral supplement | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Biscuit meal | – | 15.0 |
| Total | 100.00 | 100.00 |
Analytical data
| Parameter | Standard diet | Biscuit meal diet |
|---|---|---|
| Crude protein % as fed | 16.8 | 16.9 |
| Crude fat % as fed | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| Crude fibre % as fed | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Ash % as fed | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| Lysine % as fed | 0.95 | 0.95 |
| Sugars % as fed | 3.1 | 6.2 |
| Digestible energy kcal/kg | 3,190 | 3,195 |
Source: D. Cevolani, V. Massa, M. Rizzi, “Biscotti nella razione di scrofe e suinetti” (Biscuit meal in sow and piglet rations), Suinicoltura no. 9, 2007, pp. 54–58, Table 7. Read the article (PDF, Italian)
Heavy pig: control and diet with 10% bakery products Table 2, % as fed
Isoproteic diets, estimated to be isocaloric, for heavy pigs from 40 to 160 kg; in the chart, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, sodium chloride and supplement are combined as “Minerals and supplement”.
For pigs: biscuit meal, former foodstuffs and distillers’ grains only for pigs outside the Parma ham PDO circuit.
Composition % as fed
| Component | Control 40–80 kg | Control 80–120 kg | Control 120–160 kg | PDPF 40–80 kg | PDPF 80–120 kg | PDPF 120–160 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maize meal | 41.90 | 44.50 | 48.00 | 32.16 | 35.00 | 41.00 |
| Barley meal | 14.00 | 21.00 | 26.40 | 14.00 | 21.00 | 23.86 |
| Solvent-extracted soya bean meal 44% | 24.00 | 18.70 | 13.00 | 24.00 | 18.50 | 12.70 |
| Soft wheat bran | 12.00 | 13.00 | 10.00 | 12.00 | 13.00 | 10.00 |
| Flaked maize | 5.00 | – | – | 5.00 | – | – |
| Calcium carbonate | 1.50 | 1.70 | 1.70 | 1.40 | 1.60 | 1.50 |
| Dicalcium phosphate | 1.00 | 0.30 | – | 0.80 | 0.10 | – |
| Sodium chloride | 0.30 | 0.30 | 0.40 | 0.30 | 0.30 | 0.40 |
| Bakery products and by-products (PDPF) | – | – | – | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 |
| Vitamin-mineral supplement | 0.30 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.30 | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| Total | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 99.96 | 100.00 | 99.96 |
Analytical data
| Parameter | Control 40–80 kg | Control 80–120 kg | Control 120–160 kg | PDPF 40–80 kg | PDPF 80–120 kg | PDPF 120–160 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protein % as fed | 17.72 | 16.55 | 14.14 | 17.82 | 16.47 | 14.24 |
| Fat % as fed | 3.49 | 3.29 | 3.16 | 3.94 | 3.38 | 3.69 |
| Starch % as fed | 44.57 | 41.85 | 45.20 | 42.80 | 42.93 | 42.68 |
| Digestible energy (Whittemore, 1989) kcal | 3,416 | 3,384 | 3,412 | 3,406 | 3,390 | 3,408 |
| Net energy (Noblet, 1994) kcal | 2,569 | 2,503 | 2,523 | 2,565 | 2,509 | 2,526 |
| Linoleic acid C18:2 % DM | 1.49 | 1.36 | 1.53 | 1.89 | 1.62 | 1.77 |
Source: A. Prandini, M. Morlacchini, C. Cerioli, G. Piva, “Derivati della lavorazione di prodotti da forno nella razione di suini pesanti” (Bakery by-products in heavy pig diets), Suinicoltura no. 5, 2007, pp. 81–86, Table 2. Read the article (PDF, Italian)
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