U.S. Grains Council (USGC) staff and consultants recently crisscrossed Vietnam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s famous Mekong River Delta to begin a historic undertaking for distiller\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), launching two independent aqua feeding DDGS trials in March.<\/p>\n
The impetus for the program came from news that Peruvian fishmeal, Vietnam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s accustomed source of protein for aquaculture, may not be available until May 2015 due to concerns about supply. Between this announcement and climbing fishmeal prices in the past decade, the product is now more than $2,400 per ton \u00e2\u20ac\u201c offering an opportunity to introduce DDGS as a protein source to the pangasius (a medium to large shark catfish) industry in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Many Vietnamese fish feeders are reluctant to feed DDGS to catfish because they are afraid that xanthophyll, a yellow or brown plant pigment, will turn their fish filets yellow. To overcome this challenge, the Council began a feeding trial with two private sector companies feeding out fingerling pangasius with a variety of DDGS inclusion rates to study feed conversion ratio and color of final filets. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The goal of this project is to show the industry you can feasibly utilize plant-based proteins, both DDGS and soybean meal, as combined sources of protein in fish diets,\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd said Kevin Roepke, USGC regional director of South and Southeast Asia. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The two ingredients complement each other very well and can at least partially replace expensive fishmeal.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re conducting the tests in ponds using 5, 10 and 15 percent inclusions along with a control diet. All of the diets containing DDGS are cheaper than the control.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd <\/p>\n
Roepke intends for this study to be a starting point to introduce Vietnamese catfish producers to corn and DDGS as an energy source as well. Cassava meal is the traditional energy source in Vietnam, but Council work has indicated low inclusion rates of DDGS and corn won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t materially affect fillet color and will provide an alternative to fishmeal and cassava. <\/p>\n
This replicates a preliminary study the Council did almost 10 years ago in Vietnam on a pilot scale.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153These studies are being done on a commercial scale, simulating real world conditions,\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd Roepke said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Once the fish producers realize DDGS can save them money in their formulations without sacrificing quality, increasing the inclusion rates of DDGS and corn will quickly follow.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
U.S. Grains Council (USGC) staff and consultants recently crisscrossed Vietnam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s famous Mekong River Delta to begin a historic undertaking for distiller\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), launching two independent aqua feeding DDGS trials in March. The impetus for the program came from news that Peruvian fishmeal, Vietnam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s accustomed source of protein for aquaculture, may not … <\/p>\n