Swine diets can be formulated using rather simple mathematical
procedures with a hand-held or desk calculator
when a few ingredients are used in the diet. However,
more sophisticated formulation procedures are needed to
more precisely meet the dietary requirements on a bioavailable
nutrient basis and when using larger numbers of ingredients
that differ in their nutrient bioavailability. These
formulation procedures often require computer programs
and the expertise of a professional nutritionist.
The nutrient requirements generated by the models and
the feedstuff composition tables in this publication allow
the user to formulate diets on the basis of bioavailable (true
107
or apparent ileal digestible) amino acids and bioavailable
phosphorus. The procedures used to formulate diets on a
bioavailable nutrient basis, though more complex, are similar
to those used to formulate diets on a total nutrient basis.
The following section gives examples of the calculation
procedures. For the sake of simplicity, the procedures
address formulation of a diet on a total nutrient basis, using
corn and soybean meal as the primary feed ingredients.