Friday, April 13, 2012

UK pig producers try legumes in Green Pig project


    A group of UK pig producers in the midlands region is hosting commercial-scale trials to assess the potential of using home-grown legumes in growing/finishing pig diets as a means of reducing environmental burden and soya bean meal dependency in UK pig production.
    The “Green Pig” project is a collaborative effort between research and industrial partners and is sponsored by the government through the Sustainable Livestock Production LINK Programme. The project has already revealed that higher levels of peas and beans than are currently used in the UK can be included in rations for grower and finisher pigs without significant penalties on growth performance or slaughter measures. Furthermore, there is no difference between pea and faba bean-based diets, suggesting that farmers can choose the pulse which best suits them.

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