Animal feed
is food given to domestic animals in the course of animal husbandry. There are
two basic types: fodder and forage. Used alone, the word "feed" more
often refers to fodder.
As long as
livestock remains an integral part of agricultural society, there will always
be the demand for animal feed on a large scale. With a large variety of
livestock, from cows to chickens to horses to ducks, there must also be a large
variety of different feed to accommodate their individual needs.
Basics
The commercial sale and industrial
production of animal feeds has a history dating back as far as the 1800s. It
was during this time period that the significance of balanced diets and
nutrients in the diets of humans and animals was beginning to make steam as a
mainstream ideology. One of the first big feed producers, which was the first
to manufacture corn gluten feed, was called Purina and was
established in 1882. It expanded its operations near the beginning of the 20th
century and still operates today. In modern times, there are three major types
of feed used by farmers, each with their own uses and benefits.
1. Compound Feed
One of the most common types of feeds used by commercial farmers is compound feed. Also known as feedstuffs, they are blends of various additives and raw materials that are formulated to specifically suit the intended animal. They are often produced as pellets or crumbles.
Like modern vitamins with humans, they can be used to either satisfy
the complete nutritional requirements of their target animals or as a
supplement to other staples of the animals’ diets. They are often complemented
with extra vitamins and minerals. It is produced in astronomically large
amounts, with over 600 million tons produced annually on a global scale.
Compound
feed is fodder that is blended from various raw materials and additives. These
blends are formulated according to the specific requirements of the target
animal. They are manufactured by feed compounders as meal type, pellets or crumbles.
The main ingredients used in commercially prepared feed are the feed grains,
which include corn, soybeans, sorghum, oats,
and barley.
Compound
feed may also include premixes, which may also be sold
separately. Premixes are composed of microingredients such as vitamins,
minerals, chemical preservatives, antibiotics, fermentation products, and other
essential ingredients that are purchased from premix companies, usually in
sacked form, for blending into commercial rations. Because of the availability
of these products, a farmer who uses his own grain can formulate his own
rations and be assured his animals are getting the recommended levels of
minerals and vitamins.
2. Fodder
"Fodder" refers particularly to foods or forages given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them), rather than that which they forage for themselves. It includes hay, straw, silage, compressed and pelleted feeds, oils and mixed rations, and sprouted grains and legumes. Feed grains are the most important source of animal feed globally. The amount of grain used to produce the same unit of meat varies substantially.
According to an estimate reported by the BBC in 2008, "Cows and sheep need
8kg of grain for every 1kg of meat they produce, pigs about 4kg. The most
efficient poultry units need a mere 1.6kg of feed to produce 1kg of
chicken." Farmed fish can also be fed on grain, and use even less than
poultry. The two most important feed grains are maize and soybean. Other feed
grains include wheat, oats, barley, and rice, among many others.
Fodder, is used primarily to feed
domesticated livestock such as goats, sheep, cattle, horses and pigs. It is
typically composed of plant matter like hay, straw and grains. The term is used
to describe these plants being given to the animals after the plants have been
harvested, which contrasts with forage, as will be explained below. Meat and
bone meal are occasionally mixed into fodder, which has been frequently blamed
for the spread of mad cow disease and has been banned in many countries.
Hay is one type of fodder as animal feed |
Traditional sources of animal feed include household food scraps and the by-products of food processing industries such as milling and brewing. Material remaining from milling oil crops like peanuts, soy, and corn are important sources of fodder. Scraps fed to pigs are called slop, and those fed to chicken are called chicken scratch. Brewer's spent grain is a by-product of beer making that is widely used as animal feed.
Animal Feed -pelleted fodder |
Forage
"Forage" is plant material (mainly
plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term
forage has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture,
crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used more
loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the
animals, especially as hay or silage.
Unlike fodder, which is harvested plant matter fed to animals in bunches or bales, forage is plant matter that is literally grown in a confined area with the intention of having it grazed upon by various livestock. It can be composed of legumes, grasses, corn, oats, alfalfa and other edible plants. The act of eating or grazing upon the plant matter is known as foraging.
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