IF the Australian pork and grain industries are successful in developing varieties of wheat and barley specifically for pigs, then pork producers may find their cost of production is decreased and graingrowers might see more money in their pockets.
A new project initiated in WA plans to evaluate potentially high-yielding, high digestible energy (DE) varieties of wheat and barley specifically for pigs that could lower the cost of production.
Professor John Pluske from the Animal Research Institute at Murdoch University said because feed is a major cost associated with the production of pork, then the cost of production could be lowered if the efficiency and/or cost of the feed can be improved.
"We want to try and reduce the cost of feeding pigs to improve the efficiency and profitability for Australian pork producers," Prof Pluske said.
The project is a collaboration between the Animal Research Institute at Murdoch University, Animal Research and Development (Pig Group) at the WA Agriculture and Food Department (DAFWA) and InterGrain.
The Australian Cooperative Research Centre for an Internationally Competitive Pork Industry (Pork CRC) has provided funding for the project with in-kind contributions from Murdoch University and DAFWA.
The grain lines are currently being trialled in WA, SA, Victoria and NSW but experts won't know if the grain is suitable until after harvest in 2010.
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