Spreadsheet Aids Swine Producers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2, 2008

URBANA - An Excel spreadsheet that helps swine producers calculate the value of including distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in their feeding program, has been developed at the University of Illinois Department of Animal Sciences. The spreadsheet can be found at the Illinois Pork Producers Association website (http://www.ilpork.com).

"My post-doctoral student, Beob Kim, and I recently developed this Excel spreadsheet to calculate the value of including DDGS in diets fed to swine," explained Hans Stein, University of Illinois Extension swine specialist. "Producers can use their own costs for corn, soybean meal, DDGS, and other ingredients and then calculate how much their diets will cost without and with DDGS."

Stein said the spreadsheet resulted from producers' questions about the economy of feeding DDGS.

"The answer to that question is not universal because producers have different costs," he said.

Phil Borgic, a pork producer from Nokomis and current president of the IPPA, praised the work of Kim and Stein, noting, "We are proud of the fact that IPPA helped fund the swine Extension specialist position that brought Hans to Illinois.

"IPPA realizes the serious financial situation facing pork producers, and we are doing everything we can to help producers deal with higher feed prices. The DDGS calculator gives producers another tool in making management decisions related to utilizing DDGS in swine diets and reducing the cost of feed rations."

Stein, he added, has been active in numerous research projects related to utilizing DDGS in swine diets. His research has received funding from the National Research Efficiency Consortium coordinated by the National Pork Board and the Pork Checkoff. IPPA contributed Checkoff dollars to the consortium and participated in the selection process.