Farmscape for March 24, 2006  (Episode 2096)

A new strain of low phytate hulless barley will allow swine producers to reduce the amount of supplemental phosphorus added to rations while lowering the amount of phosphorus being returned to environment from manure.

Concern over the amount of phosphorus ending up in waterways has prompted several juridictions to consider water quality regulations designed to cap the amount of phosphorus applied annually to cropland.

Last month a new strain of  hulless barley, based on the variety CDC Freedom, developed at the University of Saskatchewan's Crop Development Centre, received support for registration.

Oat and Barley Breeder Dr. Brian Rossnagel indicates the new strain has a 75 percent reduction in phytate phosphorus which means about 80 percent of the phosphorus in that barley seed will be available to the pig as opposed to five or ten percent in regular barley.

Clip-Dr. Brian Rossnagel-University of Saskatchewan 

By having a lower percentage of the phosphorus in the barley tied up in this form we refer to as phytate, or phytic acid, that phosphorus is not available to monogastric animals like pigs.

It's unfortunate in two ways.

One is that you have to add phosphorus to the diet of the pig to make sure they get enough and so that's an added cost for pork producers but perhaps more importantly, in the long run, is that the phosphorus that's tied up in phytate ends up going in the front end of the pig and out the back end and then is a potential pollutant concern in the effluent from swine operations.

By having the low phytate barley the phosphorus is in an available form in the barley so the pig can actually use it so, theoretically at least, you shouldn't have to add as much to the pig diet reducing that end of the cost and then out the other end, hopefully, obviously you would have less phosphorus in the effluent.

Dr. Rossnagel says the first Breeder seed was grown last year and it will need to be grown as Select and Foundation seed over the next year or two, so we could see commercial production in 2008 or 2009.

He notes other low phytate barley varieties in the pipeline also offer improved agronomic potential.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council