A Systems-Approach to Understanding the Nutrient Cycle Across the Pork Ecosystem

This project is aimed at increasing the understanding of key elements of the pork production system to improve the National Pork Board (NPB) and its members’ ability to complete life cycle assessments (LCAs) of U.S. swine operations. Manure handling, on-farm feedstuff production, feed ingredients and the nutrient cycles driving them are the focus. 

A $1 million grant, funded by the NPB, is led by Iowa State University in partnership with IFEEDER, Kansas State University, University of Minnesota and North Carolina State University.

The objectives of this proposal are multifactorial and are as follows:

1. Review and compile empirical data regarding specific nutrient utilization efficiency and conservation within the pork industry (manure -> soil -> feed crops -> pigs).
2. Develop nutrient-use models that will lead to new strategies to enhance nutrient utilization.
3. Provide a LCA value for each primary ingredient utilized in swine diets.

IFEEDER’s role is focused on objective 3, leading the effort to advance knowledge of swine feed LCA data for both commodity crops and feed ingredients.

This is a three-year project, which started in January 2023.