Non-ruminant Production Research Articles

Environmental impact assessment of Finnish feed crop production with methodological comparison of PEF and IPCC methods for climate change impact

The impact of livestock production on the environment is already well acknowledged. When non-ruminants are considered, the major contributors to products' environmental impacts are related to feed crop production. Feed crop production sustainability is therefore especially relevant in addressing the sustainability and mitigation potential of non-ruminant production. Here, the climate change impact and water scarcity (WS) impact of the current Finnish feed crop production was assessed. The impact of methodological differences on the climate change impact of national-, regional-, and farm-level feed crop production were investigated for utilising the European Commission's Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) guidance and the guidelines provided by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).Feed crops selected for the assessment were considered as typical for Finnish pork and broiler chicken production, and included wheat (T. aestivum), oat (A. sativa), barley (H. vulgare), turnip rape (B. rapa ssp. oleifera), pea (P. sativum), and faba bean (V. faba). The farmgate climate change impact varied from turnip rape's 1.22 kg CO2 eq./kg to faba bean's 0.37 kg CO2 eq./kg, while cereals resulted in 0.47–0.63 kg CO2 eq./kg, and pea 0.49 kg CO2 eq./kg according to IPCC methods. Similarly, with PEF methods, the results varied from turnip rape's 1.18 kg CO2 eq./kg to 0.31 kg CO2 eq./kg of faba bean, cereals resulted in 0.42–0.58 kg CO2 eq./kg, and pea 0.43 kg CO2 eq./kg. The absolute difference between methods ranged between −0.045 and −0.068 kg CO2 eq./kg. The analysis showed that even if the relative error varied from 3% to 19% between methods, the relative order was the same, independent of the methods. The farmgate WS impact of Finnish feed crops was 0.23 m3 eq./kg for turnip rape, 0.05 m3 eq./kg for faba bean, 0.08 m3 eq./kg for barley, 0.08 m3 eq./kg for oat, 0.09 m3 eq./kg for wheat, and 0.06 m3 eq./kg for pea.It was observed that the PEF and IPCC methods functioned similarly in distinguishing better and worse performing crop production between cases. It was shown that the major contributors to feed crop production in Finland were energy and input production, N2O from N inputs, and peat soil degradation. The amount of N2O emissions from peat soil degradation especially demonstrated high variability and was therefore identified to have high mitigation potential. The investigation demonstrated the importance of including N2O emissions in the widest form when finding production hotspots.

Mulberry leaves as a feed source for livestock in Kenya: A Review

In Kenya, Mulberry is grown in less than a piece of an acre by most of the farmers. Current acreage of mulberry stands at 250, spread over Western, Nyanza, and Rift Valley and Coastal regions. Mulberry leaves are highly palatable and digestible (70-90%) to ruminants and can be fed to non-ruminants as part of feed ingredient. Protein content and essential amino acid profile in the leaves and young stems varies from 15 to 35% depending on the variety. The Mulberry leaves are highly applicable as supplements replacing concentrates for dairy cattle, as the main feed for goats and sheep, and as an ingredient in rabbits and pigs’ diets. Farmers growing mulberry fodder offer higher protein content to livestock than those relying on different varieties of Napier grass, which have failed to boost milk production despite the amounts fed. In non-ruminant production, fishmeal and soybean meals are the main source of protein. In ruminant production, cottonseed meal and canola meal are the main source of protein. These meals are expensive, inadequate in supply and of variable quality. This often leads to low egg production and poor-quality eggs, hence low income and poverty among farmers. Therefore, efforts have been made to identify locally available protein feed resources that can be used as a protein supplement for livestock. Mulberry leaf meal (MLM) has been identified as a locally available alternative protein and mineral source that are beneficial to livestock and have been proven to improve production. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 11(2): 1-9, Dec 2021

Low phytic acid Crops: Observations Based On Four Decades of Research.

The low phytic acid (lpa), or “low-phytate” seed trait can provide numerous potential benefits to the nutritional quality of foods and feeds and to the sustainability of agricultural production. Major benefits include enhanced phosphorus (P) management contributing to enhanced sustainability in non-ruminant (poultry, swine, and fish) production; reduced environmental impact due to reduced waste P in non-ruminant production; enhanced “global” bioavailability of minerals (iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium) for both humans and non-ruminant animals; enhancement of animal health, productivity and the quality of animal products; development of “low seed total P” crops which also can enhance management of P in agricultural production and contribute to its sustainability. Evaluations of this trait by industry and by advocates of biofortification via breeding for enhanced mineral density have been too short term and too narrowly focused. Arguments against breeding for the low-phytate trait overstate the negatives such as potentially reduced yields and field performance or possible reductions in phytic acid’s health benefits. Progress in breeding or genetically-engineering high-yielding stress-tolerant low-phytate crops continues. Perhaps due to the potential benefits of the low-phytate trait, the challenge of developing high-yielding, stress-tolerant low-phytate crops has become something of a holy grail for crop genetic engineering. While there are widely available and efficacious alternative approaches to deal with the problems posed by seed-derived dietary phytic acid, such as use of the enzyme phytase as a feed additive, or biofortification breeding, if there were an interest in developing low-phytate crops with good field performance and good seed quality, it could be accomplished given adequate time and support. Even with a moderate reduction in yield, in light of the numerous benefits of low-phytate types as human foods or animal feeds, should one not grow a nutritionally-enhanced crop variant that perhaps has 5% to 10% less yield than a standard variant but one that is substantially more nutritious? Such crops would be a benefit to human nutrition especially in populations at risk for iron and zinc deficiency, and a benefit to the sustainability of agricultural production.

Determinants of Keeping Small Ruminants and Non-ruminant Livestock in Malawi: A Simulated Maximum Likelihood Multivariate Probit

ABSTRACTAn initial understanding of socio-economic factors that determine households’ decision to keep small ruminants and non-ruminant livestock is imperative when formulating technologies and policies that augment livestock production. Therefore, this article was started with the objective of bringing to light the socio-economic factors affecting the decision of smallholder farmers’ households to keep small ruminants and non-ruminant livestock. We used the Malawi Third Integrated Household Survey data, commissioned by National Statistical Office, in which 5 711 households were randomly sampled and interviewed from March 2010 to March 2011. The article fits a simulated maximum likelihood multivariate probit to the data. With respect to the policy variables considered in the analysis, unlike higher education levels and older household heads, younger household heads are more likely to keep small ruminants and non-ruminant livestock. Extension contact and credit access did not promote the keeping of small ruminants and non-ruminant livestock. There is a strong location bias towards keeping small ruminants in the central region of Malawi while there is also a bias against keeping pigs in southern Malawi. Reshaping extension packages toward well rounded crop-livestock messages is an important factor to consider in promoting small ruminant and non-ruminant production in Malawi.

The Use of Cassava, Sweet Potato and Cocoyam, and Their By-Products by Non – Ruminants

As the search for alternative sources of energy for non ruminants continues, this review was undertaken to examine the potential value of cassava (<i>Manihot utilissima </i>Pohl.), sweet potato (<i>Ipomea batatas </i>Poir.), cocoyam (<i>Xanthosoma sagittifolium </i>Schott.) and their by-products as dietary supplements for non ruminants. Studies on these roots and tubers showed that, on a dry-weight basis, contained 2.0 – 7.9% crude protein, 0.3 – 3.1% crude fibre and 72.4 – 77.9% starch. The practical use of these roots and tubers in non ruminant feeds is generally low. This level of utilization is attributed to the low protein and dry matter and the potentially toxic cyanogenic glycosides in fresh cassava and irritating substance in cocoyam. Processing techniques such as fermentation, soaking, boiling, ensiling and sun-drying are adopted to remove the deleterious substances, and effects on animals. The comparable performance of pigs and poultry fed varying levels of roots and tubers and their by-products with those maintained on maize showed that they can be used as substitutes in non-ruminants diets at certain levels without detrimental effects. To achieve increase in the use of these root crops and their by-products for maize replacement in intensive non-ruminant production systems, adequate protein supplementation and proper processing are essential.

Implications of biofuels mandates for the global livestock industry: a computable general equilibrium analysis

The rapid growth of biofuels production, particularly in the United States, the EU, and Brazil, has had important implications for the global livestock industry—both by raising the cost of feed grains and oilseeds and by forcing onto the market a large supply of biofuel by-products, most of which end up in livestock feed rations. This article investigates the impact of an expanding biofuels industry on the mix and location of global livestock production. Surprisingly, we find that growth in the U.S. and EU biofuels industries results in larger absolute reductions in livestock production overseas than in those regions, due to the international transmission of grains prices which is offset locally by the lower cost of by-products. We also find that nonruminant production is cut more than ruminant livestock, because it is less able to use biofuel by-products in its feed rations. Implementing biofuel mandates increases cropland area, a large portion of which is estimated to come from reduced grazing lands. The biofuel producing regions are expected to reduce their coarse grains exports and increase imports of oilseeds and vegetable oils, while they increase their exports of processed feed materials. In sum, biofuel mandates have important consequences for livestock as well as crops, with net effects influenced by the important role of by-products in substituting for feedstuffs.

Productivity growth and convergence in crop, ruminant, and nonruminant production: measurement and forecasts

AbstractProjections of future productivity growth rates in agriculture are an essential input for a great variety of tasks, ranging from development of an outlook for global commodity markets to the analysis of interactions between land use, deforestation, and ecological diversity. Yet solid projections for these variables have proven elusive—particularly on a global basis. This is due, in no small part, to the difficulty of measuring historical total factor productivity growth. Consequently, most productivity projections are based on partial factor productivity measures that can be quite misleading. The purpose of this work is to provide worldwide forecasts of agricultural productivity growth till the year 2040 based on the latest time series evidence on total factor productivity growth for crops, ruminants, and nonruminant livestock. The results suggest that most regions in the sample are likely to experience larger productivity gains in livestock than in crops. Within livestock, the nonruminant sector is expected to continue to be more dynamic than the ruminant sector. Given the rapid rates of productivity growth observed recently, nonruminant and crop productivity in developing countries may be converging to the productivity levels of developed countries. For ruminants, the results show that productivity levels in developing countries are likely to be diverging from those in developed countries.

Non-Ruminant Production and its Effects on the Environment

Pollution problems caused by monogastrics occur primarily because of the high numbers of pigs and poultry either in a given area or on individual intensive units. There is a total of approximately 7.6M pigs and 162M poultry which have a total excreta output of about 9.4M tonnes from pigs and 4.6M tonnes from poultry. This is equivalent to a total nitrogen content of approximately 76 and 112 thousand tonnes and a total phosphate content of 47 and 96 thousand tonnes for pigs and poultry respectively. These levels of nitrogen and phosphate are based on chemical analyses of large numbers of slurry and manure samples as spread.

Propionic Acid Is An Alternative To Antibiotics In Poultry Diet

Propionic acid (PA) is a fungicide and bactericide, registered to control fungi and bacteria in stored grains, hay, grain storage areas, poultry litter, and drinking water for livestock and poultry. European Union (EU) certifies PA as the great of grain preserver and most efficient in controlling Salmonella and other pathogens. Recently it is used as feed additive in poultry and non-ruminant production. Suitable inclusion level of PA is 0.2 to 0.4% which can improve the overall performances of poultry. The preservative effect of PA is due to its antibacterial and mould inhibitory effect. High bacteriostatic property of PA is due to its pH reduction activity both in feed and gastrointestinal tract through pharmacogenic action on microflora. Propionic acidA with its growth promoting, health enhancing and antimicrobial effect has proven to be an effective alternative to antibiotic growth promoters in food animal production. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjas.v38i1-2.9920 BJAS 2009; 38(1-2): 115-122