Understanding and Preventing Acidosis

Jun 02, 2023

By Francis L. Fluharty

As the movement to regional food production increases, smaller-scale beef processing plants are opening. The result is that many people who have not had a long history of finishing cattle on high-grain diets are starting to feed cattle. The diets used in growing yards are more forage based, whereas finishing diets have more grains and grain by-products. So, why do we need to feed diets that have a greater percentage of grain in order to get more average daily gain (ADG), be more efficient, and get better marbling?

Well, the major volatile fatty acids (VFA) produced by rumen microorganisms are acetic acid (CH3COOH), propionic acid (CH3,CH2COOH) and butyric acid (CH3,CH2,CH2COOH). These VFA are the main products of the digestion of feed by bacteria in the rumen, and serve as the main precursors for both glucose and fat in ruminants. On a forage-based diet, the proportion of VFA would be approximately 65-70% acetic, 15-25% propionic, and 5-10% butyric. Feeding grain-based diets high in readily fermentable carbohydrate (starch) increases the proportion of propionic acid produced through ruminal fermentation, and results in . . .

Source : osu.edu

Video: Validating Net Energy in Commercial Swine Systems - Gustavo Lima

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Gustavo Lima, PhD candidate at Iowa State University, explains how soybean meal net energy is evaluated using growth assays and calorimetry. He discusses caloric efficiency, validation under commercial conditions, and differences between controlled and real-world environments. Gustavo also highlights practical implications for diet formulation and ingredient valuation. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Indirect calorimetry provides a precise estimation of ingredient energy, yet validation under production conditions remains essential for accurate application in real systems.”

Meet the guest: Gustavo Lima / gustavo-lima-a9867127 is a PhD candidate in Animal Science at Iowa State University, specializing in swine nutrition, ingredient evaluation, and energy metabolism. With over 15 years of experience across Latin America, his work focuses on soybean meal utilization, caloric efficiency, and applied research for commercial production systems.