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Comparison of Metabolic Energy Content of Organic Cereal Grains for Chickens and Turkeys

University of Minnesota, Department of Animal Science, 1364 Eckles Ave., St. Paul 55108

¹ Corresponding author: jacquie.jacob{at}uky.edu

Although there is an extensive database on the nutrient content of conventionally produced feedstuffs, there is very little published research on the nutrient content of feedstuffs that are organically grown. Industrial and organic crop production differ in both crop and soil management. There are data to suggest that these differences may result in differences in the nutrient content of organic grown feedstuffs. The purpose of this study was to determine the ME content of organically grown amaranth, buckwheat, white corn, yellow corn, and wheat samples obtained from the University of Minnesota’s organic research farm. Both chickens and turkeys were used in the assays to compare the ME content for these 2 species. The TME_n content, on an as-fed basis, of amaranth, buckwheat, yellow corn, white corn, and wheat for chickens were found to be 3,146, 3,072, 3,603, 3,324, and 3,592 kcal/kg, respectively. The TME_n content of the same samples, on an as-fed basis, determined with turkeys were found to be 2,748, 2,227, 2,810, 2,757, and 2,959 kcal/kg, respectively. True ME content of the organically grown feed ingredients was found to be greater when chickens were used in the bioassay as compared with turkeys and differed significantly from published values for the same cereals grown using conventional means.

Key Words: organic grain • metabolizable energy • chicken • turkey