How pig farmers can benefit from growth of hybrid rye production in Ireland

The use of native grown hybrid rye in pig diets has increased in recent times, with the quantities available for feeding seem set to increase in the years to come.

According to Teagasc, the area set to winter rye in Ireland for 2026 is projected to be 5,000ha – more than 10 times greater than the area grown in 2020.

This increase has come about because cereal growers see rye as a relatively high yielding, low input crop with greater resistance to many common diseases.

Meanwhile, results from a Moorepark feeding trial, conducted in 2020, showed that hybrid rye was successfully fed to finisher pigs at dietary inclusion levels of up to 60%.

Nutritionists’ confidence in feeding hybrid rye in pig diets should be further boosted by the findings of another recent study.

The University of Illinois work reviewed the use and application of hybrid rye in diets for weaner, grow-finishers, and sows.

The researchers reviewed every published study on feeding “hybrid rye”, a modern, cross-bred variety of rye, to pigs.

They wanted to answer one practical question: how much hybrid rye can safely replace maize, wheat, or barley in pig diets, and what happens to growth, health, and meat quality when it does?

The team searched three scientific databases and screened 116 articles, eventually drawing data from 67 peer-reviewed papers plus six conference abstracts.

No new feeding trial was run; the work pooled existing evidence.

Hybrid rye contains about 60% starch, which pigs digest very efficiently (around 90-95%), and it has more soluble fibre and more natural phytase (the enzyme that unlocks phosphorus) than maize or wheat.

Modern hybrid rye

The old concern regarding the presence of “anti-nutritional factors” in rye is now small. Early rye varieties contained ergot, rye alkaloids, and other compounds that reduced feed intake.

The modern hybrid rye has been bred to have very low levels of these inclusions.

On the basis of the information that has been collated, Teagasc is confirming that hybrid rye is a very useful home-grown alternative to imported cereals that can safely be fed to all stages of pigs.

Beyond the cost savings that may result from its availability, it may also help improve gut health in young pigs.

Moreover, because of its naturally higher natural phytase content it is beneficial in improving phosphorus digestibility and lowering phosphorus excretion.

As a result, the inclusion of hybrid rye may allow for reductions to phytase supplementation to diets.

Additionally, it seems that the cereal’s inclusion at up to 35% in lactation sow diets may benefit litter growth.

Furthermore, substituting native grown hybrid rye for imported grains in pig diets will reduce the carbon footprint of pig production which is becoming an ever-increasing consideration.

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