Utilization of Local Feedstuffs for Swine Feeding in the American Pacific

Utilization of Local Feedstuffs for Swine Feeding in the American Pacific

Summary

The American Pacific has an abundance of local feedstuffs such as breadfruit, bananas, coconuts and fish by-products. During harvest season, these feedstuffs are readily available for swine feeding. The primary reason these feedstuffs are not utilized is the lack of information on the nutritional contents and the absence of demonstrative studies of these resources for swine feeding. Hog producers feed their pigs different local feedstuffs but have no records on how these pigs perform under such feeding conditions.

Feeding trials were conducted on three different sites, Pohnpei, Tinian and Guam. Each feeding trial utilized coconuts, bananas and a combination of these two ingredients.

Feeding a combined ration of 50% bananas and 50% commercial feeds combination resulted in a reasonable growth rate among grower hogs. This feed combination if adopted by producers can result in 50% reduction in utilizing commercial feeds.

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Objectives/Performance Targets

1.Develop a feeding program to reduce feed cost by 50% for growing-finishing and breeding stocks using local feedstuffs (breadfruit, bananas, copra and fish-byproducts.

2. Develop feed combination using these local products. After establishing the nutritional values, these combination will be converted to simple measurements by containers for hog producers.

3. Develop sustainable practices in terms of preparation of local feedstuffs for breeding swine.

4. Educate hog producers on proper ways of feeding swine utilizing available local feedstuffs. Hog producers will be trained to combine available ingredients into a ration instead of piecemeal feeding of these products. Farm sites will be open for visits from all hog producers, interested individuals and the public.

5. Publish educational materials of results in PEOPLE’s project, as a ready-to-print publication. Conduct local and regional workshops on the project.

6. Determine actual cost of hog production in the region.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Feeding trials were conducted to compare the growth rate of grower pigs using commercial feeds and local feedstuffs like bananas, coconuts or a combination of these feedstuffs with commercial feeds. Trials were conducted in Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia, in Tinian of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas and on Guam.

a. Pohnpei: A high school pig farm was used to compare the growth rate of grower pigs fed with 100% commercial feeds and 100% coconut. This trial was conducted to gather data hard data on how grower pigs would perform on this kind of feeding. The feeding trial demonstrated that feeding a 100% coconut hog ration severely affected growth rate. Other local feed materials should be added besides just coconut.

b. Tinian: On-site feeding trials were conducted on two producers’ farms. Grower pigs were fed 100% commercial feeds for the control group while the experimental group were fed 30% commercial feeds and 70% local resources such as papaya, coconuts, tapioca and breadfruit. This feeding trial showed that adding commercial feeds to local feeds improves growth rate.

c. Guam: Three batches of grower pigs were fed to determine the best ration of mixing commercial feeds and bananas. Grower pigs fed 50% commercial and 50% bananas gained as much weight as those fed with 100% commercial feeds. Another interesting finding was grower pigs fed with 33% commercial, 33% bananas and 33% coconuts gave a reasonable growth rate.

What Work Is Left To Do?

1. Continue conducting more feeding trials using more local feedstuffs such as breadfruit, fish by-prodcuts, bananas, coconuts or combinations thereof.

2. Analyze nutritional requirements of individual local ingredients and rations composed of combining different local feedstuffs.

3. Conduct workshops to show the results of the different feeding trials to hog producers in the region. Hog producers that conducted feeding trials will be invited to present their findings.

4. Measure the nitrite and phosphorous content of manure from experimental hogs.

5. Produce fact sheets in a print-on-demand publication format.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

I chose to conduct the feeding trials directly with producers for them to see and observe the actual effects of feeding local feedstuffs. Their participation from preparing the feeds to daily observation of growth rate of their pigs gave the producers a first-hand knowledge and experience. Although there were 4 producers/sites involved on these feeding trials, these producers will share their experiences to other hog producers. The farms were also open to farm visits.

At the Mangilao Hog Farm, the farm manager calculated that he could save 50% of the feed costs for his grower population by feeding 50% commercial and 50% bananas. He was convinced that the growth rate at this feed combination would still be profitable and fits to the market situation of hogs on Guam.

The inital results of these feeding trials reflected the performances of hogs based on the current feeding practices. These findings will be helpful for farmers to see what feeding practices need to be modified to improve their farm production and save feed costs.

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