Biodiesel production yields co-products that can be useful for a variety of agricultural operations. The director of the Iowa Pork Industry Center (IPIC) at Iowa State University, John Mabry, said a new fact sheet on one such co-product, crude glycerol, provides answers to some commonly asked questions about its potential as a swine diet component.

"Crude glycerol is the second in the publication series called Feeding Bioenergy Coproducts to Swine," Mabry said. "The series is available in pdf format on the IPIC Web site only."

The publication provides facts on composition and quality of crude glycerol, including results of a recent Iowa wean-to-finish study using three levels of crude glycerol. It also describes the effects of methanol as a part of crude glycerol and includes information on determining the relative value of crude glycerol. Producers will want to read through the list of advantages and disadvantages, as well as the suggested strategies for starting to use the co-product in swine diets in their operations.

Animal science professors Brian Kerr and Mark Honeyman and research assistant Pete Lammers prepared this fact sheet and are developing additional topics for inclusion in the series.

"In the bioeconomy, the competition for corn is fierce, and pork producers will need to consider new alternative feedstuffs to stay competitive," Honeyman said. "Iowa State University and the USDA have conducted pioneering work in feeding glycerol to swine. This fact sheet may help answer questions about using a new co-product as an energy source in swine feed."

Further Reading

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