Industry Summary
Overall, 14/15 respondents “Completely Agree” that lower feed loss is possible. The estimated feed loss from feed mills, loading to unloading of feed, and at the production farm, were 0-2%, 0-2% and 4-6% respectively. A total loss of feed in swine production, which includes mill shrink, transportation loss, and farm loss, can be estimated to be 6-8%, or 8-10% when including above average wean-finish mortality. Specific production systems that regularly assess critical control points and hazards at the farm report 2-4% total feed waste. The major hazards for feed waste or inefficient feed utilization are provided in Figures 4-9. The active management of the hazard by most respondents led to the identification of it as a critical control point. Examples include: 6/7 operations responded that they consistently monitor the particle size of corn, whereas only 1/7 of the operations did not. Farms consistently identified major feed loss events (spills of >1 T per group) even though the events were rare. Major inventory inconsistencies and ingredient damage at mills are the major sources of waste. The lack of reporting of feed waste events by all respondents is an important missing step towards a progress goal.
The survey results use n=# if multi-selection questions were available and a fractional response (X/X) when there were limits for selections or a lack of and unknown responses.
