By Yuzhi Li, professor of swine behavior and welfare, University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center. The Challenge Organic pig producers face significant economic pressure from two key inputs: high-cost organic feed (primarily corn and soy) and expensive bedding materials (like wheat straw). The market for these inputs is often volatile, making long-term financial planning difficult. A newly completed study (Li et al., 2025) evaluated how integrating winter hybrid rye as a dual-purpose crop could reduce production costs, using the grain as a partial feed replacement and the straw for bedding. The Study at a Glance The two-year study was conducted on organic land at the University of Minnesota, where winter hybrid rye was grown for pig feed and bedding. A feeding trial compared a conventional organic system with an integrated hybrid rye system: Control System: Pigs were fed a standard organic corn-soybean meal diet and bedded with purchased organic wheat straw. Inte...
