Feedstuff Production Research Articles

Analysis of Energy Intensity in Selected Austrian Dairy Farms with Focus on Concentrate Level in Feeding

Dairy farming uses energy in direct form (electricity and fuel) and indirect form (energy for the manufacture of farm machinery, technical equipment and feed concentrate) with the result of greenhouse gas emission. In an analysis conducted, the energy requirement for the production of feed stuff (forage and concentrate) as well as that of the direct energy demands (fuel and electricity) could be determined for two Austrian dairy farms. 
 The results show, that concentrates are more energy-intensive in their production than roughage. Energy-efficient milk production is conducted on low-input dairy farms with high roughage portion and low concentrate portion in the feeding ration.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of Alaska pollack (Theragra chalcogramma) skin and antioxidant activity of the resulting hydrolysate

Fish skin, a by-product of the food industry, contains a large amount of collagen. However, only a small proportion of fish skin is used in the production of leather materials and animal feedstuffs, most of it being discarded. The aims of this study were to prepare peptides from Alaska pollack (Theragra chalcogramma) skin by enzymatic hydrolysis and to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the resulting hydrolysate. Protamex was the most efficient enzyme for preparing antioxidant peptides from Alaska pollack skin. The optimal hydrolysis conditions were as follows: hydrolysis time 8 h; enzyme/substrate ratio 2:1000; skin/water ratio 1:6; temperature 55 degrees C; pH 6.0. Under these conditions the highest yield of peptides was 83.44%, with 85.95% of the hydrolysate being mainly composed of oligopeptides with molecular weights ranging from 180 to 1000 Da. The hydrolysate showed 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging activity, with an IC(50) value of 2.5 mg mL(-1), and its reducing power was 0.14 at 1 mg mL(-1), 53.8% of that of reduced glutathione at the same concentration. This study demonstrated that the hydrolysate of Alaska pollack skin was mainly composed of oligopeptides with two to eight amino acid residues and possessed antioxidant activity.

EVALUATION OF NUTRITIVE VALUE AND IN VITRO METHANE PRODUCTION OF FEEDSTUFFS FROM AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD INDUSTRY BY-PRODUCTS

The aim of this research was to evaluate the nutrient degradability, in vitro methane (CH4) production ofseveral agricultural and food industry by-products in relation to their chemical composition. Twenty-onesamples of 7 feedstuffs from agricultural and food industry by-products consisted of corn straw, potatostraw, rice straw, cocoa pod, sago waste, rice bran, soybean curd residue were evaluated by an in vitro gasproduction and nutrient degradability. The feedstuffs varied greatly in their crude protein (CP), neutraldetergent fiber (NDF) and non-fiber carbohydrate (NFC) contents. Crude protein ranged from 1.5 to 21.8%,NDF from 31.6 to 71.1% and NFC from 1.5 to 50.8%. Among the seven feedstuffs, soybean curd residuehad the highest CP content, on the other hand it had the lowest NDF content. Dry matter (DM) and organicmatter (OM) degradability were highest (P<0.01) in soybean curd residue among the feedstuffs. The CH4production was significantly higher (P<0.01) in rice straw, cocoa pod and corn straw as compared to sagowaste. There was a strong positive correlation (r = 0.60; P<0.01) between NDF concentration and CH4production. However, the total gas productions was negatively correlated (r = -0.75; P<0.01) with NDFcontent. The CH4 production of feedstuff is influenced by NDF content.

Development of an Economic Refining Strategy of Sweet Sorghum in the Inner Mongolia Region of China

Two strategies for refining sweet sorghum to ethanol and feedstuff were investigated in the inner Mongolia region, a typical pastoral area in China. Strategy 1 is to conduct submerged ethanol fermentation from sweet sorghum juice followed by feedstuff production from bagasse by a mixed culture of Aspergillus niger and Geotrichum candidum. Strategy 2 is to conduct solid-state ethanol fermentation from dried sweet sorghum stalk followed by feedstuff production from residue after ethanol distillation by a mixed culture of A. niger and G. candidum. The economic analysis indicated that strategy 2 performed a higher net present value than strategy 1 and the ethanol price had the greatest impact on the net present value.

Diet and fertility in cattle

The diet of high-yield dairy cows process a very complex and acute problem. Much new knowledge in the area of production and preparation of feedstuffs, diet technology, and the interactions that occur between the components of the nutritive feed ration are required in order to resolve this problem. It is necessary constantly to coordinate feed norms with genetic potential which is ever changing and advanced. The observed problems must be resolved using multidisciplinary methods so that a diet can yield good health, and that health contribute to better reproduction and possibilities for more successful breeding and improved performance in cattle farming. In certain countries, thanks to their geographic position and climatic conditions which allow rainfall throughout the year, a natural green diet can be applied, which provides large numbers of green mass components, and with additives which can be supplemented relatively easily. This type of diet is not possible in our farms. It is very important to know which feedstuff components are laking for certain categories of cattle. The used ration must be constant and administered to animals of certain age or production characteristics in order to improve production results at cattle farms. A great problem occurs when diet is reduced due to dried grass and the resulting stress in animals. A 50% diet reduction in young cattle often results in the occurrence of respiratory diseases. Following 10-14 days of treatment, the disease disappears in young animals, but the energy deficit leads to the weakening (depression) of the immune system. Even a so-called high-energy diet often causes respiratory diseases. A diet deficient in proteins also affects cows after lactation, as opposed to a normative diet, and a reduced protein diet disturbs the microbial activity in the rumen and the synthesis of compounds which are important for both the cow and the calf, making room for the incidence of metabolic diseases, most often acidosis. This paper presents and integral description of cattle diet management according to phases, and a new approach to cattle diet with respect to fertility observed in reproduction over a longer time period at large diary cow farms.

Animal meal: production and determination in feedstuffs and the origin of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

This contribution examines what animal meal is, how it is produced in rendering plants, and means of investigating feedstuff constituents. In addition to animal meal, numerous other products of animal origin are also on the market (e.g., blood meal, bone meal, feather meal, gelatin). Constituents of animal origin can be detected in feedstuffs by microscopy, but determining the animal species from which the constituents are derived, as required by law in Germany, requires methods such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and polymerase chain reaction. We consider the problem of trace contamination being introduced accidentally during the production of ruminants feedstuffs containing constituents of animal origin. The future of animal meal is discussed together with alternatives for disposing of animal carcasses and slaughtery offal, i.e., composting and incineration.

Modeling gas production kinetics of grass silages incubated with buffered ruminal fluid.

Time course measurements of in vitro gas production of feedstuffs incubated with buffered ruminal fluid give information about the rate at which the feed is fermented. To compare gas production kinetics from different feeds, a mathematical model was needed to describe the data. We investigated several existing models (exponential, logistic, Gompertz, Richards, Schnute), fitting them to 50 gas production curves obtained with grass silages. None of them gave a satisfactory description of the data. A new model was developed (modified Gompertz model; mGom) that basically divided gas production into two fractions, one arising from rapidly fermentable feed components and the other from slowly fermentable feed components. Residual mean squares (RMS) for the mGom model were lower (P < .05; n = 50) than the RMS for the other models. A good statistical comparison of kinetic gas production data is made possible with the mGom model.

An automated method for measuring time-course of gas production of feedstuffs incubated with buffered rumen fluid

An automated method for measuring time-course of gas production of feedstuffs incubated with buffered rumen fluid

A Rapid Method for the Evaluation of the Glucosinolate Quality of Extracted Rapeseed Meal by Total Sulphur Determination Via X‐Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy

AbstractA new method for quality analysis of rapeseed meal is introduced which enables the reidentification of the glucosinolate content of seeds which have originally been used for the production of a certain rapeseed meal. This method opens also the discussion about a new and simple way for the definition of the quality of rapeseed meals based on the principle: a „double low meal”︁ is a meal that has been definitively processed by crushing double low rapeseed in the meaning of the legal definitions. The proposed method is based on the total sulphur determination in the rapeseed meal by X‐ray fluorescence analysis. The whole procedure consists only of four simple steps, heating of the meal in a microwave oven, grinding, compacting and measuring of the S‐Kα radiation in a X‐ray spectrometer taking not more than 3–5 minutes time for one sample. Therefore, the method is well suitable for the processing control in crushing plants and feedstuff production. Details of the sample preparation and the evaluation of algorithms for calculations are described and the results of model experiments are presented.

Process for the production of animal feed stuff from a liquid residue obtained by fermentation and distillation of grain raw material

Process for the production of animal feed stuff from a liquid residue obtained by fermentation and distillation of grain raw material

4552775 Process for the production of animal feed stuff from a liquid residue obtained by fermentation and distillation of grain raw material: Pete Baeling, Lar Ehnstrom, Ekero, Sweden assigned to Alfa-Laval AB: Svenska Lantmannens Riksforbund Forening u p

4552775 Process for the production of animal feed stuff from a liquid residue obtained by fermentation and distillation of grain raw material: Pete Baeling, Lar Ehnstrom, Ekero, Sweden assigned to Alfa-Laval AB: Svenska Lantmannens Riksforbund Forening u p

4.1 Soil Factors and Treatments affecting Trace Elements in Crops and Herbage

Despite the extensive knowledge of animals' dietary requirements for trace elements and detailed research into the uptake by plants of nutrients from the soil, it is surprising that the production of animal feedstuffs, having an appropriate trace-element content, still presents a considerable challenge to the agronomist. The present paper draws attention to some of the problems involved, using data from the many years of field-experiment research at the Macaulay Institute for Soil Research. These experiments have been largely restricted to the system of intensive agriculture prevailing in north-east Scotland, where heavily-grazed pasture and conserved herbage are the principal components of animal diets. The 6-7 year crop rotation most commonly practised includes a 3-4 year period of grass ley. The factors discussed have a wider relevance although their relative significance under conditions of low stocking rates, for instance on the rough or natural grazing on hill-land in the U.K. and other countries, will clearly be different.

Influence of Diseases on the Chemical Composition and Nutritive Value of Forage Crops

In November 1971, Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lamarck) was infected with crown rust (Puccinia coronata Corda) at field in National Institute of Animal Industry. It was considerable that there was a deterioration of its crop quality besides loss in yield. Therefore to determine the influence of disease on forage quality was indispensable for production of good feedstuff. This investigation was undertaken to evaluate the influence of crown rust infection on the chmical composition and nutritive value of Italian ryegrass.Dry matter percentage of 0-IV were about 18% and V 36%. Thus, fresh weight of Italian ryegrass did not much decrease up to IV severity of crown rust infection. In color of samples, 0 showed bright green, then with increasing disease severity the color faded away into yellowish brown, and showed brown. The optical density at 432nm and 664nm chromogen decreased in more than disease severity III. The percentage of cell content, water soluble carbohydrates, crude protein and true protein also gradually decreased, while crude fiber, lignin, crude ash and crude silica were almost proportional to the area covered by rust lesions. Especially non-digestible fiber fraction increased remarkably and crude silica content in V was four times as much as in the quantity in 0. These may explain a decrease in digestibility, resulting in lower forage quality. Of other minerals, Sodium was abundant in mild infected plant and little in severe infection, while Calcium was in reverse tendency. Contents of Phosphoric acid, Potassium and Magnesium were constant through all disease severity.