Cereal grains provide the primary energy source for swine diets.
Producers must be concerned not only with the composition of the grain, but also how it is processed. Because feed cost represents approximately 80 percent of the cash cost of producing swine, feed utilization is critical for economic profitability. Producers mixing feed on the farm may be able to improve whole-herd feed conversion by making minor adjustments in feed processing such as particle size reduction, or uniformly mixing feed. Particle size can be determined by passing the feedstuff through a series of sieves with progressively smaller openings. Particle size reduction has a great impact on the efficiency of feed utilization.