Dr. Patience speaks about the importance of caloric efficiency rather than feed efficiency, as  feed efficiency is influenced by so  many factors including composition, processing, and the individual pig’s health and housing state. The cost of energy can vary between ingredients, but overall has risen $0.16 per pig in the last few years. Therefore, it should be a focus to reduce the energy a pig spends on maintenance. One way which to achieve this is to provide greater feeder space. While nutritional content in feed remains important, Dr. Patience stresses the need to reduce the cost of energy.