How This Cover Crop Is So Nutritious for Pigs: Pig Feed

I've recently discovered a cover crop that meets many of the unique nutritional feed requirements for pigs and other livestock. Grow your own pig feed.
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00:00 Introduction
00:31 Understanding Pig Nutrion
01:40 Protein Is Not Enough
02:06 The Importance of Lysine for Pigs
03:04 How Much Lysine Do Pigs Need
03:47 High Protein Cover Crops for Pigs
04:40 Buckwheat as a Cover Crop for Pigs
05:31 Lysine Content of Buckwheat
07:23 Buckwheat in Our Cover Crop Mixes
08:01 Problems with Feeding Buckwheat to Pigs
08:43 How Well Can Pigs Perform on Buckwheat
09:16 Feeding Buckwheat in Various Stages of Maturity
09:48 Buckwheat Is One of the Best Cover Crops for Pigs

[@timprice1742]

I'm not a livestock producer but I feel smarter every time I watch and listen to one of your videos.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Wow. Thank you. I’m just trying to find ways to reduce my feed costs and share that with others. Just out of curiosity, if you don’t have livestock, why do you watch the videos? I’m really curious so that I can help produce better videos. I’m honored that you watch them.

[@timprice1742]

@@DowdleFamilyFarms Your question deserves a good answer, which means it may be longer than you anticipated lol. First, as someone who grew up in a small town in Indiana, there is entertainment value for me in well done farming videos. For example, I enjoy the Dodge Brothers Farm & Ranch videos, which are primarily about a conventional row crop and hay operation. Second, anything that can show how to feed people more efficiently and as naturally as possible is valuable. My favorite charity is Heifer International, which as you likely know started as a way to provide livestock and fowl to people in developing nations, and also the expertise so the families and the animals can thrive. Third, even though you are raising your animals for meat (appropriately), I've seen enough of your videos showing the critters feasting on pumpkins or acorns to know the folks on your farm care about them, and I respect that. Fourth, I'm a numbers guy, and I know properly applying the right numbers can have a big impact in almost all vocations. Clearly, and this particular video is a good example of it, you've researched your numbers. Those are the top reasons that come to mind as to why I feel smarter after watching your channel; I'm certain there are others. Hope this helps.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

It does. Thank you. Interestingly enough I’ve supported heifer international and talked with heifer USA about pastured pork in Mississippi. They have been on my farm one several occasions! Long story but interesting connection. Anyway. Thanks for your feedback.

[@JanineMJoi]

I don't have livestock cause I've only been on this 3 acres for 1.5 yrs. But I LOVE to learn. I planted buckwheat as cover, but I see now, not NEARLY ENOUGH

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Get a couple feeder pigs. 3 acres is plenty and they will add a lot of value you your three acres. Plus they are a joy to have around the place for the 6 months you will have them.

[@MetaCarbonFarm]

Your cover crop videos have been invaluable. Thank you so much

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

You're very welcome!

[@Foxtrap731]

Man, I have found the right place. I am beginning a pig operation soon. This information is gold. Thank you so much.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Glad it helped! Where are you setting up a pig operation?

[@Foxtrap731]

@@DowdleFamilyFarms Wilkes County, GA

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Oh, here it is. I just asked what part!

[@Foxtrap731]

I meant that I have found the right YT channel to follow. I like your videos. I am familiar with how northeast MS is compared to Wilkes County, GA. I learned about farming down in Macon, MS at my friends place. I enjoy seeing that what I want to is possible. Thanks for the good information.

[@promansplainor5245]

When I was younger, I grew buckwheat and tall biannual white and yellow sweet clover in a grass-bare abandoned home garden plot. The patch reseeded itself and even the dead stalks, some 10 ft tall, provided flitting/edge of tree canopy bird species perches. In active grazing fields, these same birds could provide insect and parasite control as livestock soon recognize the back scratching and pest insect capture. Some bird species will reach in and harvest mites in the ears. Buckwheat groats are one of the few plants that concentrate lithium for more even emotions. Buckwheat pancakes, anyone? I love the strong dark honey also; a man's honey.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Buckwheat was 10ft tall? I’ve never tried the sweet clovers but I want to. I love buckwheat honey too. Great flavor.

[@promansplainor5245]

@@DowdleFamilyFarms Not buckwheat, Sweet clover can grow that tall; huge root systems. I ordered from a bee supply house. It reseeds itself after second year. The bee traffic is loud, amazing.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

nice. Where are you located? Does soil in your area tend to be more acidic or alkaline, or do you know?

[@promansplainor5245]

@@DowdleFamilyFarms WNC, southern mountains, somewhat acidic so lime is our friend.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

interesting, I had heard that sweet clovers don't produce nectar in acidic soils. apparently they do. Thanks for the reply.

[@ashleehouse5204]

Great info. I planted buckwheat for my other animals. Now I know the pigs can eat it too!

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Yes you can. Its great.

[@danpszeniczny9664]

Great info thanks!

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Glad it was helpful!

[@danpszeniczny9664]

@@DowdleFamilyFarms I just began raising pigs last year and I will implement some of your ideas on my wallow of pigs. Berkshires.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Nice!

[@sammybwalya6590]

Wonderful

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Thanks for watching. I love this crop.

[@joanneward9324]

Very cool, which zone do you farm in? I'm in UK, I'm sure I can grow most of the same cover crops. Sorgum is not keen on our conditions, but the rest should grow. I actually rewound and took notes second watch.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Im in zone 7b I think according to the USDA.

[@Deadwoodrabbitry]

Beat pig feed video ever!

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Thanks

[@bryanausinheiler2755]

So great to see what you are doing here. I am shooting for the same goal of growing all my pigs feed here on my own farm in their own pastures. I am in Panama so things are quite different. Easier in most ways since I can grow year round and grow high energy crops like colocasia esculenta and manihot esculenta that the pigs can dig up themselves. But I struggle with growing lysine. I have found coix lacryma is high in lysine and have a lot in their pastures but they can’t eat enough, you might also try cyperus esculentus another decent lysine source. Currently the only supplement I provide my pastured pigs that is about 3/4lb of soymeal because it is the highest concentration of lysine I can buy. They are around 70lbs now and each gained 7-10lbs each last week from When I take away the soy supplement they stop gaining weight which is immensely frustrating. I’m not sure if I can grow buckwheat down here but I’ll look into it. Have you considered adding some ipomea to your sward? Might have rodent problems but it would increase the energy concentration.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Buckwheat should grow really well as long as you have some soil moisture. Its not very good in drought. We do have a lot of ipomea in our area. Morning glory grows wild everywhere around here along fence rows and road ways particularly and the pigs will graze. I do not plant much sweet potato, though their vines are high in protein. Cowpeas and mung beans may be your best way of adding more lysine. I have found that If I focus on growing protein right crops, the energy usually comes on its on, but as you say, its a different growing environment. I suspect that if you grow more protein rich feeds, the rest will fall into place. Duckweed is one thing you may be able to grow for your pigs, though you would have to harvest it for them, but it might be easier than the soymeal, depending on how expensive the soybean meal is for you.

[@andrewmcdonald7077]

Where are the best places for small farmers to shop for these cover crop mixes you talk about?

[@jeff-hh9mc]

So what’s the ideal crop rotation you utilize to eliminate the purchasing of feed ie corn? What do you plant and grow and allow your hogs to forage?

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

It all depends on climate, time of year, etc. I have a series on growing cover crops for pigs that includes nutritional needs for pigs as well. I'd suggest starting there to get a good idea.

[@dalenedrow2456]

God bless you for the information you are putting out on this channel. I am a new subscriber my background is I retired from the army and started up a 1200 Sow confinement farm. I got very sick and was sick for 2 years and lost the farm got my house back thank God and now I am starting a pasture based pig farm. Could you please explain to me what you use for a spring crop for your pigs and a summer crop for your pigs? Thank you very much sincerely Dale

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Hey Dale, I've got a video coming out later this week that goes into detail about what we are planting through the year and why.

[@dalenedrow2456]

Thank you

[@Foxtrap731]

Do you offer tours? I hunt a little south of there near Macon. Maybe I could stop by one day.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

We dont really do tours, but we can set up a time for you to stop by and look.

[@Foxtrap731]

@@DowdleFamilyFarms I understand. I get out that way a few times a year, but will watch the videos for now.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

let me know if you come out this way!

[@justinamae7377]

what about amarynth? my pig runs to it all over my yard but theres conflicting information. i grow the red and gold for my chickens.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

If you mention amaranth in my area people will go crazy, in much of the south, spiny amaranth, or pig weed is a noxious weed. Our pigs eat it, but we do not grow it for them. It has small thorns or spines on the plant, though I am aware than many types of amaranth do not have thorns. Anyway, pigs eat it but I do not plant it for them. I think there are better forages for them.

[@richjageman3976]

I am looking into starting with 2 or 3 meat pigs in a 1/4 acre pasture and rotate between 1/4 pastures with a mixture of rye, buckwheat and clover for the most part. I have 1.5 acres to rotate between. Does this sound doable? What other nutritional plants would the pigs need?

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Without knowing your region for growing, its hard to give a definitive answer, but that mix is a great start. Brassicas like rape, collards, turnips, etc add a lot to the mix as well.

[@richjageman3976]

@@DowdleFamilyFarms the region is southern Missouri in the Ozarks. Thanks for the reply.

[@certifiedhoarder]

Excellent info. Your crop looks exceptional. One thing i dont see the ag extension literature ever really mention.. well 2 things... Monogastrics are just like us, they lack an organ to digest fiber. The large intestine is colonized by the bacterial species that do digest fiber and produce a soluble probiotic compounds that can be absorbed through the epithelial lining. But part 2, they wont have much of this bacteria if living on sack feed because today its basically all GMO and directly sprayed by glyphosate or glufosinate.. monsanto or bayer, pick your poison. Glyphosate is a powerful antibiotic, it wipes out the species that help make soluble probiotic from fiber, and the ones that keep pathogenic bacteria in check. Thetes great average daily gain on gmo feed because of inflammation from essentially diabetes and sickness. Look at cornish cross growth rates and mortality. I make and feed the occasional plop of yogurt into my chickens and pigs to ensure they are colonized by probiotic species. It slows "gains" but increases the immune system. Weeds with zinc and copper are big immune regulators too. But we are paid on the pound afterall. Great vid, i will have to get some more buckwheat into my last available plot.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Thanks. This crop is looking good because it’s grown on land where I’ve been growing cover crops for some time. Other plots that were planted earlier don’t look as good bc it’s the first year of growing on them. There’s a movement to ferment pig feed much like a yogurt to increase the gut bacteria. It’s interesting. I try to give the pigs forage year round, if for no other reason than to help them digest it better and keep feeding the gut microbes. Thanks for the feedback.

[@certifiedhoarder]

@@DowdleFamilyFarms takota coen is big on that with his pigs. I did it with cornish cross chicks.. 5 gallon bucket of rainwater (no chlorine) and a bag of grass clippings from the push mower. Really it was a pile of cool season grass, dock, plantain, clover and so forth that i hand harvested and chopped with the mower. Then any punky tomatoes and such from the garden went in the blender, plus corn and wheat. Dumped in salt and vinegar to ensure it would not be a suitable medium for pathogenic bacteria. Splop of yogurt to innoculate and let it set until theres a white skin of kahm yeast on top, then feed it out. The yeast is also beneficial. I kept one hen from that batch, she can live on pure grass and clover..i feed her limited grain, then some days she fasts to engage autophagy.. only 1 feeding per day when on grain to keep insulin functioning. She can have all the bugs and greens she wants Will be 2 yrs old in september. Never been medicated or sick.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Yes I have seen some of his videos. Our contexts are really different though! Do you mind sharing a pic of your Cornish cross hen? I’m interested in her body condition. Is she as fat as they are at processing with full feed.

[@certifiedhoarder]

@@DowdleFamilyFarms at this age she'd be so tough youd need to stew her. I dont raise broilers anymore since my wife contracted alpha gal and cant eat hardly anything, and im not gonna compete with a neighbor friend with market birds. But she will immediately inflate if you set her on grain. I did this regimen to produce a bird that is NOT full of omega 6 fatty acids. I couldnt figure how to share pics through YT so here is a vid on what i done. kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3-kaKBsYp6ro9E

[@richienell]

Thanks for the video and information. I am a largely meat based eater and wild pig and venison I hunt and harvest is an everyday item for me. Regarding the wild nutrition of a wild pig, I believe the diet is is very high in protein and reason why the pigs physicallity drastically changes on that diet.....more muscle, less fat, long hair, long tail, long teeth, long nose. Just a stinkin rhino tank. They certainly do eat vegetation as well as a lot of animal products in the wild but I wonder, like our human monogastric system, the real bioavailablity of the protein from the plants they eat. I believe I have seen an excellent amino acid make up as well as excellent omega 3 and 6 fatty acid ratio versus commercial pork being poor. Vitamin K2 is very high in pork in general and would assume evern better in wild pigs. It certainly seems your type of pig farming is much better than most I know of that use very poor low nutrition feed. Thanks again.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Thanks

[@Art-ot2jn]

The pigs are my combine

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

We use our pigs to harvest their feed as well.

[@TheCrunchbird]

I read that buckwheat can cause skin problems and hypersensitivity to sunlight in pigs. Did I read this right or was it a bad article?

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

You probably read it right. I have seen similar articles if not the same one. But I think they were using it as the dominant feed source and probably fed the grain. I have dark skinned pigs and they have shade in their paddocks when grazing it. Further, they have other forages in their mix that they eat so it may be a dominant component one day, but then for three more days they are eating other stuff. Diversity is key here I think.

[@abequiner9815]

Have you done a video on finishing hogs?

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

No.

[@michiganhay7844]

That protein percentage sounds extremely high for a mammal. I would’ve thought energy would be the more limiting factor. Excess protein in monogastric’s usually gets processed. I have the energy Sounds like you got it down to a science not many people doing what you’re doing actually out on pasture. I have read about how they will pasture pigs in acorn groves in Spain. I think it’s on the same type of trees that they get cork from Around here it seems like the White Oak group mostly produces an annual mass crop where the Redoak group seems to be only every three or four years to get acorns from so do you always count on acorns in the fall and are those mass crops, the main pastor type crap How much of the diet would you say is invertebrates or from avian products in mammals while on pastUre?

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

For grower pigs under 125 pounds or so the recommended protein is 16%. It drops down at around 150-200 pounds to 14% or a tad less for some producers. If the amino acids are at correct levels I think it can be dropped by a percentage point but I’m not sure. CAFO pork producers really know their stuff better then most pastured producers. Mast crops like acorns, beech nuts, hickory nuts, and others are lower in protein and are usually used to finish pigs after they hit that 150-200 pound range. There are little worms in most acorns that increase the protein some. For 2-3 months in the fall I can reduce my feed costs significantly by grazing on acorns, depending on how many pigs I have pastured at one time. I have not gotten much nutritional information on hardwood masts like acorns. I can’t find the nutritional information yet. It takes really good pasture to significantly reduce feed costs for pigs without hurting growth. You had a pasture in one of your videos that had a good bit of clover and some kind of tender grass line rye grass or maybe blue grass. That would work for pigs, though they may not eat as much of the grass as they would clover. The problem I run into with clovers is getting them into a rotation that works really well. They take a long time to grow in our area and then they are short lived. I may do a video on that some day. Anyway. Thanks for watching.

[@nicolem376]

Is this the same for lard pigs?

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Yes. Though I suspect lard pigs don’t need the same nutrition as meat pigs, it still works well in my experience.

[@Walker010]

If rearering 2 feeder pigs 250lb what land size of said mix forage would work , thank you

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

This is a wildly complex question to answer that would take a couple hour long conversation for your particular environment, soil type, time of the year, etc.

[@Walker010]

If the land was on your farm

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

It still depends on the time of year etc. maybe I’ll do a video to answer this question.

[@Walker010]

Thank you kindly 🙏

[@KC-jq9kw]

I do not grow cover crops. I disced in some Landino clover and some alfalfa and then let my registered Red Wattle hogs get the native grasses back to growing. They keep everything at about 6 inches high. If it gets any higher like with weeds, I just brush hog at about 8 inches.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Nice!

[@kingfrank6877]

What’s the name of the crop

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

It’s in the video. Buckwheat.

[@stephaniedurham2889]

Have you noticed any photosensitivity as a result of feeding buckwheat?

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

No. I'm not saying that it isnt an issue to be concerned about, but ive never had a problem with it. We raise mostly dark skinned pigs though and give them shade.

[@Art-ot2jn]

Pumpkins turnips peas put pounds on

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

We feed a lot of pumpkins, though we don't grow them. We also use turnips, winter peas, and others and the pigs grow well with them. Where are you growing stuff for the pigs? Have you tried buckwheat? It works wonderfully well in the summer for our breeder pigs. Have only used it once for our feeder pigs.

[@mikeh8047]

What breed of pigs are you growing

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

We have used Berkshire with most success but breed is less important than genetics in my experience. Some pigs are better foragers than others. Other pigs are more inclined to sit around waiting for feed.

[@hackinglife9710]

Duckweed 4.8% lysine

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

cool

[@ThreeRunHomer]

Burgers. Okay, maybe not most nutritious but let’s be real. Pigs love burgers, or anything from McDonalds. Or Dunkin’ Donuts.

[@DowdleFamilyFarms]

Sorry. Not following your train of thought and relation to video.