Ethanol Blog

Grains Council Educates Japanese Swine Producers on DDGS

Cheryl Anderson
By  Cheryl Anderson , DTN Staff Reporter

The U.S. Grains Council recently sent a team to the International Poultry and Pigs Show 2015 in Japan to educate Japanese swine producers with the latest information on U.S. dried distillers grains with solubles, according to an article by the Council (http://bit.ly/…).

Currently Japan is the seventh largest importer of U.S. DDGS, importing 98,650 metric tons so far this year. However, the Council believes that market could grow as there is room for expansion of inclusion rates in the country's livestock rations.

The Council team that traveled to Japan was part of its ongoing efforts to build international awareness and demand for DDGS. The team included Dr. Gerald Shurson, professor of swine nutrition and management at the University of Minnesota, and Bruce Roher, past president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and Council staff and consultants.

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Those swine producers in attendance were given technical information on subjects that could enhance productivity, such as DDGS inclusion rates, nutritional benefits, etc.

The low-oil DDGS that have become popular in the U.S. should not be a problem for swine producers; in fact, the lower oil content should increase use by the Japanese swine industry. To date, the higher levels of oil in DDGS have been a limiting factor, as it makes the fat in pork excessively soft, an undesirable quality.

Another limiting factor has been price, making U.S. DDGS less competitive in Japanese markets. However, the Council is confident that further promotion and education will work to increase sales when prices are lower.

The Council will follow its work at the show with visits to individual feed companies and continuance of a series of technical seminars that distribute nutritional information about U.S. DDGS to Japan's livestock industry.

Cheryl Anderson can be reached at Cheryl.anderson@dtn.com

(ES)

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