Pig Feed from Local Resources - ARI - Japan
by the Asian Rural Institute
submitted October 2022
Network e-Bulletin No. 11, November 2022
ARI's Pig Feed
Made from Resources Available Locally
https://gyazo.com/be39bfb1353bf1443e0ad3143ba4f640
Are they smiling because of their good food?
Going Local
Did you take care of the pigs at ARI? Did you mix their feed? Do you remember the ingredients you used? Most likely each of you will have a different answer, depending on what year you were at ARI. This is because ARI is continuously experimenting and improving its feed.
In earlier days we depended on purchased ingredients, mostly corn, which was imported, expensive, and probably GMO. Now we use materials that can be found in our local area – much if it waste products from our farm or nearby businesses, like a tofu company or sake factory.
Using local ingredients can be a challenge. It takes time to establish consistent supply sources, and design a nutritious, balanced feed formula. But with patience and careful observation, it can pay off greatly. The costs are low, “waste becomes resource,” and it is overall more sustainable and healthier for our farm and planet.
https://gyazo.com/be2c3fb910f0d329f132111d5549a1c5
This must be a familiar scene for those who worked in the pig section
ARI's Home Mixed Feed
At ARI we feed our pigs a mixture of concentrate and fermented feed, along with a few interesting surprises!
Feed Components and where we get them
Carbohydrates
Rice powder – waste from making Sake (Japanese alcohol); bought from factory (low cost)
Rice powder – ground from uncooked rice; obtained as donation from food bank (free, it is leftover rice)
Barley – low quality barley, or barley mixed with grass and seeds; obtained from local farmer (free, the farmer used to throw it away)
Wheat – low quality wheat, or wheat mixed with grass and seeds; obtained from Rice Center (free, the Rice Center used to throw it away)
Fermented sweet potato – for use in the winter, cooked and mixed in layers with sawdust and fermented in a sealed container (grown on the ARI farm)
https://gyazo.com/ac9453ea698a900833b76d393e0cdaab https://gyazo.com/faed75b50b1ce7e2e0625387b8daff22
Rice powder from sake factory / low quality wheat
Protein
Soybean oil cake – ARI soybeans (free, ARI grows soybeans, presses them to make oil, and feeds leftover cake to pigs)
Soy sauce cake – ARI soybeans and wheat (free, ARI grows soybeans and wheat, sends it to company to make soy sauce, and feeds leftover cake to pigs)
Okara (byproduct of tofu) – obtained from local factory (free, the factory used to throw it away)
Fish meal – purchased from company (expensive, but high protein level)
https://gyazo.com/2922b20e5b3837b5254d3685a09ebc3b https://gyazo.com/128f901fd28db02d1f409e688776c817
Soybean oil cake / Fish meal
Lipids and oils
Rice bran* – ARI rice bran (free) / purchased (low cost)
Wheat bran – ARI wheat (free, when available)
* ARI uses rice bran for making fertilizer and feed, and often cannot produce enough for all of its needs
Minerals
Salt – purchased (low cost)
Red soil – dug from nearby pigpen; it is dried and pounded into powder (free)
https://gyazo.com/74dc39a4e7d4adaa7c93eb0e38db7832 https://gyazo.com/8a50683bee2c78cb37da0ccd7e0854ab
Rice bran / red clay soil
Other
Bone and eggshell (calcium) – leftovers from ARI kitchen; it is burned and crushed (free)
Grass* (vitamins and fiber) – from around the farm (free)
Charcoal** (for digestion) – rice husk charcoal or wood charcoal made on the farm (free)
Sweet potato leaf silage*** (vitamins and fiber)] – for use in winter when grass is not available, a large amount of leaves are mixed in layers with a small amount of sawdust and fermented in a sealed container
* Grass increases the micro-organisms in the stomach; after giving the ARI pigs grass, their manure turned from diarrhea to solid, especially in pigs under 40kg
** For pigs raised on fermented flooring, if they are fed charcoal it will pass through their bodies and mix into the floor materials; the millions of pores in the charcoal provide good living spaces for IMOs which improve the fermentation of the flooring
*** Grass and sweet potato leaves help make the meat tender and juicy
https://gyazo.com/d1c7bc9a6340b1d7778e965b08e8f692 https://gyazo.com/dddae2a2ba9872c81fbd637a9364bbe5
Bone and eggshell for calcium / Rice husk charcoal for digestion
https://gyazo.com/c80f071da673deaa3eec2779981677fb https://gyazo.com/b99eb558407056ec1021b66c62747b3e
Grass & mulberry leaves for vitamins and fiber
How we mix our feed
We make two kinds of feed and mix it at feeding time - fermented feed and concentrate feed. The ratio of the fermented to concentrate feed is roughly 2:1, but it depends on the growth rate of the pigs, which we carefully observe
Fermented Feed
Mix okara and rice powder at a ratio of 3:1 by weight
Store in sealed, air-tight container.
https://gyazo.com/ef532a6910ad15e1d8956c097ab4dd54
Mixing fermented feed
Concentrate feed (example for 400kg)
Starter - 15-40kg pigs
Carbohydrates – 210kg
Protein – 90kg
Lipids & oil – 86kg
Other – 14kg
Finisher - 40-100kg pigs
Carbohydrates – 326kg
Protein – 40kg
Lipids & oil – 40kg
Other – 14kg
Mother sow
Carbohydrates – 220kg
Protein – 40kg
Lipids & oil – 136kg
Other – 14kg
https://gyazo.com/182c2b9376fd01d450aa72316105fd54 https://gyazo.com/226b7144d48954af3ae4dbef2299c6eb
Feed amounts are adjusted according to the growth rate of the pigs, which is monitored by regular weight checks.
Breed and Growth Rate
Breed – LWD - Landrace White Yorkshire Durok
On average, ARI pigs reach 100kg in about 8 months
https://gyazo.com/3e41252731340a6294aae69605a1eb62
Finisher pigs on fermented flooring
https://gyazo.com/9a924cd6b8fcc39ed1de0c960ca582d3
Big mama
Changes in the feed
No more cooked rice and bread!!
Some graduates may remember the cooked rice and bread we got from the school lunch center? Every day we packed it into the blue containers and stepped on it to ferment. Many were shocked to see so much leftover food from the local schools, but at ARI we could turn this waste into something useful! Unfortunately, we are no longer able to use this resource. The waste is still there, but the animal hygiene center warned us that using it has a risk of spreading Swine Fever. This is because of the possibility that pork products could be mixed in with it. Losing this source of free feed was difficult for ARI and challenged us to find alternative sources, such as the low-grade barley.
Here is a video on how we mixed feed in 2013
From 2013 until today there have been many changes in the content and ratio of ARI's feed mix. The most important thing to keep in mind regarding livestock feed is that there is no “perfect” formula. We need to closely observe the health and growth rate of the animals and consider what local resources are readily available to us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DW4MadlNOg
Do you recognize the star? It's Jil from the Philippines - ARI staff 2008-2020
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