“The nutritional efficiency consortium was developed to determine what

research had been completed and what would need to be done on behalf of pork producers,” said Bruce Samson, pork producer from Three Forks, Mont. and National Pork Board member. “It was determined that research and education should be focused on nutritional efficiency and not just ethanol co-products.”

The objectives of the nutritional efficiency consortium include:

• To economically maximize production efficiencies through improved feed conversion and reduced/optimized feed costs.
  
• To help producers lower feed costs through improved feeding technologies and information about the use of lower-cost alternative diet components.
  
• To develop comprehensive research programs to address genomic and cellular level nutrient utilization processes and capabilities.
  
• To develop real-time decision making tools to evaluate the opportunities and challenges created by corn and other ingredient prices and co-product availability.

Participants in the consortium include Arizona Pork Council, Illinois Pork

Producers Association, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Kansas Pork

Association, Mississippi Pork Association, Missouri Pork Producers

Source: Midwestbullseye