A note on the effect of the composition of barley produced at different locations on performance of growing pigs.

Abstract

Location of production has been shown to affect the nutritive value of barley for growing pigs, but there is a lack of information regarding the effect of this factor on pig performance. The barley variety “Riviera” was produced at nine different locations in Northern Ireland and formulated into diets (barley, soyabean meal and tallow at 650, 283 and 30 g/kg, respectively) for growing pigs. Diets were offered ad libitum to a total of 72 individually housed pigs from 8 to 11 weeks of age. Average start and end weights were 19 and 34 kg, respectively. Location of production had no significant effect on animal performance although a wide range was observed, which may be important under commercial conditions. Barley specific weight was not strongly correlated (r2 < 0.10) with any performance trait indicating that an alternative means of predicting the nutritive value of barely for pigs is required. A significant positive relationship was observed between barley β-glucan concentration and feed conversion ratio (r2 = 0.65).