The Concept of Standardized Ileal Amino Acid Digestibilities: Principles and Application in Feed Ingredients for Piglets (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Feed costs represent at least 55 to 65% of the variable costs in swine production, and play a major role in determining the profitability of a swine enterprise, especially in view of recent increases in feed costs (Yacentiuk, 2001; FAO, 2008). Diets which accurately match the piglet's protein requirement rely, firstly, on the exact knowledge of the animal's requirement for indispensable amino acids (AA) and, secondly, on a precise description of feed ingredients in terms of their capacity to supply these AA for maintenance and growth (Williams, 1995).