Replacement value of cashew nuts in swine diets

The objective of the present study was to calculate the replacement value of cashew nuts used in corn-soybean meal-based swine diets based on metabolizable energy and nutrient concentrations in cashew nuts by using Microsoft^® Excel 2020. The replacement price of cashew nuts was determined by calculating the replacement coefficients of corn, soybean meal, crystalline amino acids, choice white grease, limestone, and dicalcium phosphate with cashew nuts based on metabolizable energy, standardized ileal digestible amino acids (_L-Lys-HCl, _DL-Met, _L-Thr, and _L-Trp), total calcium, and standardized total tract digestible phosphorus to fully replace the conventional feed ingredients with no changes in the nutrient composition of diet. The equation for the replacement coefficient was: 1 × cashew nuts + 0.16635 × corn + 0.01302 × _L-Lys-HCl + 0.00163 × _DL-Met + 0.00521 × _L-Thr + 0.00143 × _L-Trp + 0.00139 × limestone = 0.68860 × soybean meal + 0.49980 × choice white grease + 0.00063 × dicalcium phosphate. Based on the equation for the replacement coefficients and the current prices of the conventional ingredients, the optimum price of cashew nuts was 1,126 won/kg. When an estimated price of cashew nuts is 1,000 won/kg with inclusion rate of 5% in pig diets, the feed cost is saved by approximately 6.30 won/kg. Overall, the Excel spreadsheet developed in the present study enables the estimation of feed cost changes by updating the price of the ingredients and the inclusion rate of cashew nuts.