Rising to the challenge of sustainably feeding poultry

Sustainably feeding poultry may not be straightforward, but there are options available to poultry producers to facilitate decision making.

Analyzing feed with near-infrared equipment. | Courtesy Evonik
Analyzing feed with near-infrared equipment. | Courtesy Evonik

Sustainability, health and welfare have become important influences in the poultry value chain. They are now considerations in most aspects of livestock production, and the composition and nutritional characteristics of animal feed are no exception.

In addition to reducing the use of antibiotics and to feed animals closer to their nutrient requirements to reduce emissions, it is the use of alternative feed ingredients that are driving sustainable feeding of farm animals.

Partly or fully replacing established feed materials and additives has one common characteristic: there is typically no one-to-one exchange and a combination of several alternatives is required to prevent a loss of function or effect. While nutritionists can mostly choose from an extended list of alternatives, they need to know and understand the qualities, modes of action and potential synergies of these alternatives to use them correctly.

Alternative raw materials often pose a challenge in that they are both variable and limited in quality. However, near-infrared (NIR) technology can provide rapid ‘on-site’ analyses at a reasonable cost. It can help assess many alternative raw materials for their main nutrient contents and provides a basis for managing their variability. Evaluating those raw materials for compounds such as anti-nutritional factors or, for example, mycotoxins, is still, however, a higher hurdle in terms of technology and cost.

Overcoming challenges

On the additives side, those implementing sustainable feeding concepts face equal challenges.

One lies in the fact that replacement is predominantly sought for non-essential, non-nutritive additives that enhance digestive or metabolic processes. For those, there is typically no pre-disposed relation between ingested quantity and a bird’s well-being or growth performance. That assesses the effectiveness and potential interactions with other additives challenging, as effects may vary depending on the ambient conditions in which birds are reared.

For example, antibiotic growth promoters may be replaced by a combination of prebiotics, probiotics and organic acids. Finding those on the market is easy, however, choosing the right combination is not. Their effectiveness under specific conditions can be tedious to assess for many commercial livestock operations, while details of interactions or potential synergies are rarely published.

In this context, the digitalization of processes and the aggregation of large sets of data have great potential to help in the understanding of complex problems, as well as in finding solutions. To benefit from this, contributors from across the value chain will be required to share their data on secure and trustworthy platforms.

Regulations and changes in consumer demand have always influenced how meat is produced and this will continue. These changes offer opportunities for the animal protein industry to adopt new technologies, adjust its business models and take an active role in shaping the definition of what sustainably and ethically produced, healthy meat products are.

 

 

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