The American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI), Elmhurst, Ill., said it executed three contracts to fund research trials to study the role of feeding dairy permeate to pigs.

"About 75-80% of total U.S. permeate produced annually is fed to pigs," says Dr. Jim Sullivan, ADPI Center of Excellence member and an expert on animal nutrition. "While previous research has documented the value of feeding permeate to pigs, commercial practices for pig production have changed dramatically in recent years. These new research projects will determine the value of feeding permeate in controlled research trials under conditions that are relevant to today's commercial pig raising practices.”

Additionally, ADPI said it commissioned a comprehensive review of the published scientific literature on use of dairy ingredients in pig nutrition as part of this effort.

Dr. Kevin Halpin, chair of the ADPI Permeate Steering Committee that reviewed the projects for funding, indicated that while each of the three projects will be conducted independently, their study objectives are similar, and corroboration of research findings will strengthen the overall conclusions. Approximately 6,000 pigs will be fed during these studies and monitored for key markers of productivity and health. The three projects are underway and will be completed over the course of the next 12-14 months.

"In addition to its many other activities, ADPI is committed to funding research to enhance our understanding of the value of dairy ingredients," stated David Thomas, ADPI CEO. Funding these three permeate research projects is part of our new effort to implement plans to identify and fund innovative dairy ingredients research projects in coordination with other dairy research partners." 

A 10-member Research Steering Committee was recently formed within ADPI to help ensure the success of this initiative. Dr. Phil Tong, technology consultant to ADPI, will help to ensure ADPI's research effort is complementary to, adds value to and/or leverages the ongoing dairy ingredients research programs being funded across the United States, ADPI said.

For further information about ADPI and funding research, call Tong at ADPI at 630-530-8700, ext. 229, or by email him at ptong@adpi.org.