High Synthetic Amino Acid in Finishing Compromises Growth
Allowable limits in growing phase diets are higher than feasible for finishing phase.
Over the past two decades, the commercial amino acid family has expanded beyond L-Lysine HCl (synthetic lysine) to include theonine and tryptophan (in addition to the already existing methionine). These new compounds in the amino acid library enabled the increase of synthetic lysine in diet formulation.
However, while high amino acids can be used from weaning to early finishing without harming growth and profit, there is a barrier to extraordinary synthetic lysine use after 150 pounds.
When considering the 150- to 200-pound pig, research found that using over eight pounds of synthetic lysine led to a dramatic erosion in performance. For pigs between 200 and 290 pounds, the maximum is six pounds.
“This negative effect on growth is observed even when essential amino acids are at or above an animal’s requirement.”
- Aaron Gaines, Managing Partner, Ani-Tek
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