Paylean^TM (Ractopamine) and 4H - FFA Youth Swine Projects

Livestock Update, January 2001

Allen Harper, Extension Animal Scientist - Swine, VA Tech Tidewater AREC

After roughly a decade of research and evaluation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the feed additive ractopamine for use in finisher phase swine feeds. The product was developed and will be marketed by the Elanco Animal Health Division of the Eli Lily Company. The trade name for the product is Paylean^TM. The product is now commercially available through feed ingredient suppliers and certain animal health product dealers.

The active ingredient in Paylean^TM, ractopamine hydrochloride, is a member of a group of compounds called beta-adrenergic agonists. These compounds are synthetic analogues of noradrenaline and adrenaline, which are hormones that impact energy and fat metabolism in the body. In pigs and other meat animals the principle effect of ractopamine is to redirect energy and nutrients away from fat deposition and toward lean (muscle) tissue deposition. Supplementation of the diet with 9 to 18 grams of ractopamine per ton during the last 4 to 5 weeks before slaughter results in improvements of up to 9% in growth rate and 13% in feed efficiency. Carcass effects are even more striking with backfat depth reductions of up to 12% and loin muscle area increases of up to 14%. Because ractopamine increases protein deposition in pigs, the product label indicates that any swine feed to which ractopamine is added should contain at least 16% protein. The approved label allows the addition of 4.5 to 18 grams of active ingredient per ton of complete feed. It is only approved for market hogs from 150 to 240 pounds of body weight. There is no pre-slaughter withdrawal period required for Payleanî.

Should Youth Swine Project Pigs Be Fed Diets Supplemented With Paylean^TM?

Because Paylean^TM is so new to the feed additive marketplace, it is not known how extensively it will be used in the commercial swine feeding industry. Undoubtedly commercial hog operations will assess use of Paylean^TM like any other new input cost. For Paylean^TM to be used extensively in the competitive world of commercial swine production, the cost of adding the product to swine finisher feeds will have to be more than offset by added returns in feedlot performance and carcass premiums. It is expected that major commercial operations will conduct on-farm feeding trials and carcass evaluations to determine the impact of Payleanî use with the specific genetic lines and feeding conditions at the farm.

Youth market hog projects are in some respects a miniature scale model of a commercial hog finishing operation. Yes, the facilities are very different and the individual attention to each hog is much greater with youth project pigs. But the goal remains the same, to raise a quality market hog from which quality pork will be produced and to do so in a way that returns a net profit. Under these condition it is reasonable to expect that youth swine project participants, with the help of their advisors, will assess the use of Paylean^TM much the same way as commercial swine producers. But, there is an added consideration. Most youth hog projects culminate with a local or regional market hog show. It is certainly reasonable to strive to do well at these shows and it is reasonable to be interested in a product like Paylean^TM that has the potential to reduce backfat depth by as much as 12% and increase muscling by as much as 14%.

So what is the bottom line? Should youth market hog participants be using finisher feeds with Paylean^TM? In reality there is no universal answer. For example, there is really not a lot of information available to indicate if Paylean^TM performs differently in hogs from high lean gain gentetic lines verses lower lean gain genetic lines, or the effects of Paylean^TM in gilts verses barrows. Different youth project participants and their advisors will come to different conclusions depending on their conditions. What is known about Paylean^TM use is outlined as follows.

• It's legal. In the past a few unscrupulous hog show participants were occasionally caught using illegal compounds similar to ractopamine to increase carcass leanness. Now that ractopamine is FDA approved it may be used in market hogs as long as all label directions are followed.
• Following label directions are critical. We live in an era when the general public is sensitive and even skeptical about their food supply and the products that are used to produce it. Misuse of Paylean^TM will only contribute further to these concerns. Paylean^TM is only approved for use in finisher hogs weighing from 150 to 240 pounds of body weight. The approved feeding level of the active ingredient (ractopamine) is 4.5 to 18 grams per ton of complete feed. Market hog participants and their advisors should also be aware that research shows that the response to ractopamine in pigs starts to decrease in magnitude after 4 weeks of feeding.
• It is commercially available and does increase the cost of purchased or prepared feeds. Recent contact with a major feed ingredient supplier indicates that purchase of Paylean-9^TM as a feed additive to prepare feeds at the farm or feed mill will cost about $1.09 per pound of product. Product addition rates will be 1 pound per ton to achieve 9 grams per ton of active ingredient and 2 pounds per ton to achieve 18 grams of active ingredient per ton of finished feed. Therefor at larger farms and feed mills making swine feeds, Paylean^TM use will increase finished feed cost by about $1.00 to $2.00 per ton. For youth hog project participants purchasing complete feeds, the cost increase will be somewhat greater because the feed supplier will have to build in his cost of handling and adding Paylean^TM to complete feed products.
• Pigs fed Paylean^TM have slightly elevated protein requirements. Because the effect of ractopamine is to increase lean tissue growth in finisher pigs, pigs that are fed diets with ractopamine have higher dietary requirements for protein. The Paylean^TM label indicates that feeds supplemented with the product should contain a minimum of 16% crude protein. This is somewhat higher than the protein level of many finisher phase hog feeds.
• Paylean^TM is no "magic bullet" to greatly increase the chances of winning at market hog shows. It has always been true that anti-microbial feed additives and other growth modifiers are tools to assist in production management but not substitutes for good management. The same is true for Paylean^TM. It will not make a pig of poor genetic potential for growth and carcass quality into a top quality market hog. Nor will it serve as a cover-up for poor management, a poor pig environment or sub-optimal health and feeding program.

Visit Virginia Cooperative Extension