SLU news
OK with ley forage to pigs
Published: 18 January 2013
New trials at SLU show that pigs can grow optimally when 20 percent of the energy in the diet is in the form of roughage. The ley forage that was given as full feed pellets gave slightly lower growth than the commonly used feed. On the other hand, the pigs are getting more occupied with roughage and there are benefits for environment and yield to introduce ley cropping on a pig farm.
Feeding pigs with roughage has been done before, both in Sweden and in other countries. With increasing awareness of environmental benefits of grassland farming, and the value of a local feed production has new Swedish trials been conducted by scientists led by Magdalena Presto at SLU. Getting into grassland farming with its environmental benefits of carbon sequestration, low nitrogen leaching and low need for plant protection in a cereal-based crop production on a pig farm would be good.
Final report from the project (in Swedish)