Small Grains, Large Gains: Feeding Barley to Pigs

By Celize Christy

Barley is an annual cereal grain used for livestock feed and forage, as well as for malting. Barley cultivars are available for fall or spring planting. Spring-seeded barleys are commonly planted in Midwest areas where well-drained, fertile soils provide optimum production.

Barley grain can be arranged in two-rows or six-rows and hulled or hull-less. These different barley varieties result in various growth rates, feed intake, and feed efficiency. Two-rowed barley produces fewer, but larger kernels per plant than six-rowed barley, so it generally has better-feed efficiency, but lower grain yields per acre. Hulless barley has higher crude protein and lower crude fiber than hulled barley, as the hull contains a large portion of the fiber.

Nutritional Quality and Health Benefits of Barley

Barley has a similar nutrient profile to corn making it a versatile feed grain. Compared to other small grains, barley has a lower metabolizable energy (ME) value than rye and corn. Like oats, barley has higher fiber content than other small grains because the kernels are encased in a hull. Barley contains more phosphorus, with a higher bioavailability than other small grains; reaching 20-30%, while corn bioavailability is 10-15%.

Barley also has a high heat increment content, which increases heat produced from feed digestion. High heat increments of a feed grain help to keep an animal warm in cold environments. Keep in mind – during warm conditions, more barley will need to be fed due to lower feed intake caused by additional generated heat (Iowa State Extension, 2005)


Nutrient Analysis comparing Corn, Oats, Rye and Barley (as-fed basis)
 

Source: Iowa State Extension, 2005

Feeding Barley in Different Production Phases

Barley is well suited for grow-finish rations since feed intake is not a limiting factor and pigs can perform as well as they do on corn-based diets. Feeding Small Grains to Swine reports the high fiber content of barley does not negatively affect gains in growing-finishing pigs, and found pigs fed barley-based diets tended to have a higher quality fat than those fed corn-based diets. Even though barley-based diets are lower in energy than corn-based diets, pigs can meet their energy requirements by eating more.