Managing DON in Swine Diets: Economic and Practical Insights for Grower-Finisher Pigs

Key Insights:

Economic Impact

• Feeding >1 ppm DON reduces margin over feed cost, especially when introduced during the finisher phase.
• Economic losses range from $2–$7 per hog depending on DON level and timing.
• To offset losses, DON-contaminated grains must be purchased at a discount (up to $70/tonne depending on contamination level).

Practical Implications

• Earlier introduction of DON-contaminated feed (during grower phase) reduces negative impacts.
• No effective feed additives currently approved in Canada to mitigate DON effects.
• Producers may consider adjusting market timelines or diet costs to accommodate DON-contaminated feed.

Recommendations

• Avoid feeding >1 ppm DON when possible.
• If unavoidable, introduce DON early, monitor biological markers, and adjust feed costs or production timelines.
• Further research is needed on feed intake stimulation strategies and effective additives.

Project Overview:

Long-term feeding of graded levels of deoxynivalenol (DON) in grower-finisher pigs

The mycotoxin deoxynivalanol (DON), is of significant importance to agriculture since it commonly contaminates critical feedstuffs such as corn, wheat, and barley and is one of the most prevalent mycotoxins.

DON intake general causes reduced performance and can have potentially negative impact on animal health. In general, the majority of studies on the effects of mycotoxins in swine are performed in young animals with the assumption that the physiological effects of consuming mycotoxin contaminated feed is highest in the young animal. Moreover, previous studies have examined the impact of mycotoxins over a relatively short period of time.

We conducted two studies to determine the impact of long-term feeding diets containing 0, 1, 3, or 5 ppm DON to either grower-finisher or finisher pigs. While there was an initial reduction in feed intake and average daily gain in both groups of pigs upon initiation of DON intake, performance recovered after a period of time, indicating that pigs can adapt to DON intake. The negative effects of DON were less when the initial introduction of DON-contaminated feed occurred earlier.

There appears to be little impact of DON intake on feed efficiency, nutrient utilization, or carcass characteristics. There was no indication of negative effects of DON intake on organ function or immune function. Feeding of DON-contaminated diets containing > 1 ppm DON significantly reduced margin over feed costs.

Overall, while pigs are capable of adapting to intake of DON-contaminated diets, adjustment would be needed in order to allow for feeding of diets containing > 1 ppm DON to reduce financial losses.