USING AGRICULTURAL AND AGRO-INDUSTRIAL BY-PRODUCTS IN FEED
Partially replacing cow concentrate feed with industry by-products is an efficient way to reduce feed costs and facilitate feed autonomy.
Last updated on March 24th, 2023
A contribution from Danone Ecosystem
Why does it matter?
Importing concentrates for feed is costly for farmers and contributes to GHG emissions, due to higher transport emissions. Depending on a famers location, food industry by-products can be used to partially replace concentrates. Introducing local by-products in animal feed encourages a circular economy, is less expensive, reduces transport related GHG emissions and can have positive effects on cow productivity.
How did we solve this?
In Algeria, two main food industry by-products are available: tomato pulp and olive by-products (solid residue from olive skin, pulp residues and olive pit pieces). This project showcased the possibility of successfully adjusting feed rations by introducing olive by-products or tomato pulp to replace part of the concentrates (up to 4kg/cow/day). During the project, the quality and quantity of milk and the cow’s health were monitored.
The project resulted in significantly reducing feed costs: saving around 255€/cow/year, as the by-products are purchased at a very low price or gifted to the farmers. The effect on milk production was quite interesting: cows fed with tomato pulp more than doubled their milk production (13L/day to 28L/day) and cows fed with olive by-products maintained production levels, but the milk fat content increased by roughly 4%.
Opportunities for other farms?
This approach may be replicated on all farms that are looking to foster a circular economy, source locally, reduce feed costs and reduce GHG emissions, taking into account the availability of local by-products and nutritional requirements.
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