- CHICAGO (Reuters) - American
pigs are getting bigger by the day thanks to a new drug called Paylean
that has boosted the average weight of porkers to a record level, university
researchers said.
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- Pigs have been getting bigger for years with the average
slaughter weight rising about a pound a year because of breeding of animals
with less fat and bigger hams.
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- But Paylean has led to a boost in size that would have
taken animal scientists 14 years to breed. The Iowa-Southern Minnesota
average hog weight for the week ending Nov. 3 reached a record 267.1 lbs,
up from the previous week's record of 265.4 lbs and last year's 261.6 lbs.
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- Hog weights always rise in the fall when cooler weather
and the newly harvested corn make for ideal growing conditions.
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- ``Increased use of the feed additive, Paylean, is also
contributing to higher average weights,'' said Ron Plain, agricultural
economist at the University of Missouri.
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- Paylean is the trade name for ractopamine hydrochloride,
a pharmaceutical product that causes the hog's metabolism to shift nutrients
from fat to muscle growth. It is a drug known as a beta-agonist -- it is
not a steroid, antibiotic, or biotechnology product, according to researchers.
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- In the past, controversy has erupted over gene modified
crops and hormones in the feed of U.S. livestock but so far there has been
no uproar over Paylean.
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- Researchers have found no bad effects from feeding Paylean.
The European Union still considers it a growth hormone and does not allow
use of the drug in pork exported to EU countries.
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- Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Co.,
manufactures Paylean. The company said Paylean increases average daily
gain by as much as 275 grams during the early weeks of feeding, but that
amount decreases as the hog matures. It is recommended that hogs be marketed
within four weeks after the start of Paylean feeding.
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- Paylean costs between $2.00-$2.50 per gram and the cost
is usually included with feed from suppliers or in premixed bags that are
blended with the producers' own feed. The premixed
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- feed contains 4.5 or nine grams of Paylean per ton of
feed.
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- The cost of the additive is offset by hog producers receiving
$2.00-$3.50 more per head for their hogs because they gain weight quicker
and end up bigger.
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- But hog prices are down this year compared to last year,
partly due to increased weights. Paylean is one factor influencing prices.
Others include weather conditions that were exceptional for growth, low
feed costs and market hog numbers that were running larger than expected.
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- Lean hog carcass prices recently ranged from $44.00 to
$45.00 per 100 pounds for the most desirable 51-52 percent lean, compared
to $50.00 to $51.00 last year.
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- The first use of Paylean on the open market was in July
2000 after years of testing by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Researchers quickly noticed an increase in lean muscle in hogs using Paylean.
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- Pork packers like big, lean hogs, said Missouri economist
Plain. During the past 45 years, improved genetics have increased average
hog slaughter weights about 1 pound per year. In 1956, the average weight
of barrows and gilts sold at Midwest markets was 222 pounds while this
year's average should exceed 260 pounds, he said.
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- Hogs using Paylean are ready for market four days sooner
than hogs not using the additive, and Paylean can be fed to hogs right
up to the time they are marketed. There is no withdrawal required prior
to marketing because there are no harmful residues.
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- ``The first two weeks we see improvement in average daily
gain of 0.3 to 0.5 lb and then it's lower week three and week four to about
0.15 lb'' compared to hogs in tests that are not fed Paylean, said Allan
Schinckel, professor of animal science at Purdue University. ``We are seeing
an increase in dressing percent from about 1 to 1.5 percent.''
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- Schinckel noted that recent studies conducted on hogs
using an increased dosage of Paylean and a higher fat content in the feed
had even better results in producing a lean, heavy hog. The idea is to
have the pig grow as fast as possible before going on Paylean, because
``almost all of it (fat) can be converted to lean if the pig is on Paylean.''
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- ``I think the use of Paylean will steadily increase,''
Schinckel said. ``Weight gains will continue because the Paylean is going
to surprise people and increase growth rate more than they expect.''
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- The heavier hogs also increase pork production.
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- ``Relative to how many hogs they can kill per day, they
are still putting out more pounds of pork,'' Schinckel added.
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