By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

URBANA, Ill. — The ink had barely dried on the University of Illinois’ Hans Stein’s newly-published brochure examining the economics of using wheat for pigs, when wheat prices skyrocketed – due, in part, to the Russian drought.

Stein, associate professor of animal science, said the purpose of the brochure Feeding Wheat to Pigs was to increase awareness of wheat as an alternative feed for pigs; however, the current market prohibits Midwest farmers from taking advantage of wheat as a feed source for now, he said.

“Not this year,” he acknowledged. “This is an unusual year because wheat prices are very high. We don’t plant as much wheat as we used to, and prices have gone up dramatically over the last month because of the drought in Russia.

“Although there are big (wheat) quantities stored around the world, there is concern that there will not be enough wheat. The major wheat-producing countries such as the Ukraine have stopped exports this year.”

Stein described the ideal economic conditions for producers to use wheat as feed for swine: “Wheat, on a per-bushel basis, has to be less than 35 or 40 cents above corn. If corn is $4, you can use wheat economically, if it is up to $4.30 or $4.40.

“The main point is that pigs can get about the same amount of energy out of wheat as from corn, but there are more amino acids and more phosphorous in wheat than in corn. That’s the reason producers can pay slightly more for wheat than for corn.”

Stein’s research shows that pigs fed wheat-based diets can grow as efficiently, and with similar meat quality, as pigs fed corn-based diets when digestible energy and amino acids are equalized. Geography and availability usually influence a producer’s choice of feed regardless of their country of origin, he said.

“Probably less than 25 percent of Illinois farmers use wheat, but it is much more widely used in states such as the Dakotas, Montana and Minnesota,” Stein explained. “In the U.S. we have high yields for corn, therefore corn is usually less expensive than wheat. However, in other parts of the world such as Canada and northern Europe, wheat is the primary crop and feed for pigs.”

Hoping that wheat prices will right themselves with next year’s crop, Stein encourages producers to continue to compare wheat and corn prices when making feed decisions.

“Oftentimes local wheat prices are attractive when compared with corn ... when wheat has been harvested, but new corn is still not available,” he added.

Stein’s brochure is available online at http://nutrtion.ansci.illinois.edu or may be obtained through local Illinois extension offices.