Previous Page | Right click this page to print.

Introduction

This section talks about feed processing. Since feed is major part of the cost of production, as much as 55% in dairy and sheep, perhaps 80% in poultry, it is important to get more nutrients out of the feed to reduce the waste of feed products offered to livestock and to provide more palatable rations, provide for more intake, efficient use of nutrients in the higher producing livestock like dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, fast growing swine.

Processing can alter the physical form and particle size of feeds to make them more available to the animal, can help reduce spoilage as in the case with acidified grains and special storage, can isolate plant parts, such as grain from the plant or starch from the grain. Processing can improve or reduce palatability, for example animals prefer steam rolled grain and, on the other hand, finely ground grain is more difficult for them to eat and tends to be less palatable. Processing can also inactivate toxins in the plant or other antinutritional factors such as typsin inhibitors in legumes. And finally processing can improve the handling of feedstuffs for animals.

Previous Page | Right click this page to print.