High protein dried distiller grains are a novel protein source for commercial swine diets. Questions related to how concentrations of branched chain amino acids (BCAA) in corn protein sources affect pig performance remain. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) grow-finish experiment was conducted at the South Dakota State University Commercial Research Facility using NexPro® protein ingredient (HPDDG) to determine the performance response of grow-finish pigs fed corrected levels of BCAA through soybean meal (SBM) or synthetic amino acids (SAA). Pigs (n = 1,170; 59.5 ± 0.48 kg) were used in a 79-d study (9 replicates per treatment). Pens of pigs were allotted to one of five dietary treatments which consisted of 1) corn-SBM diet, 2) HPDDG not corrected for BCAA levels or HPDDG corrected for BCAA levels through additions of 3) SBM, 4) 50% SBM and 50% SAA blend or 5) SAA only. The HPDDG were included in diets at 15% in phase 1 and 10% in phases 2 and 3. Additions of SAA were included to maintain a SID Ile:Lys of 65% and SID Val:Lys of 75% for BCAA corrected diets. Data was analyzed as a RCBD, pair-wise comparisons and single degree of freedom orthogonal polynomials (BCAA corrected only) were used to evaluate treatment responses, and pen served as the experimental unit for all analyses. Reducing SBM in BCAA corrected diets decreased cumulative ADG and G:F (linear; P < 0.05). Decreasing SBM in BCAA corrected diets tended to decrease (linear; P = 0.09) standardized fat-free lean but increase (linear; P = 0.07) dressing percent and back fat depth (quadratic; P = 0.08) while not impacting hot carcass weight (P > 0.14).
This data indicates HPDDG is a suitable feedstuff for grow-finish swine diets at low inclusion levels due to minimal impact on performance and carcass characteristics. Correction of BCAA levels through SBM inclusion provided an improved performance response compared to SAA only.