WG Leader: Wieslaw Oleszek, Dariouz Jedrejek (IUNG, Poland)

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Members: Mostafa Kamel (NRC, Egypt); Gerd Schatzmayr, Klaus Teichmann (BIOMIN, Austria); Jovanka Levic (FINS, Serbia); Ionelia Taranu (IBNA, Romania).

Research topic for the future:

Development of new tools for agro-industrial by-products processing (degrading/upgrading) toward better use in animal feeding

Agro-industrial by-products and crop residues represent a huge source of nutrients for animals, however its great potential is not largely, so far explored. A number of research has been conducted to date on many by-product feeds, but limited effects on practical usage has been achieved. Additionally the amounts of biodegradable wastes arising from food-related industries and households are consistently growing, simultaneously their environmental impact is becoming stronger and this is a problem that also urgently requires a solution. The primary reason livestock producers consider by-product feeds is to reduce the cost of production, thus increase their competitiveness. The use of agro-industrial by-products in animal husbandry also can improve the quality of feeds, and ensure regular feed supply even when forage supplies are limited during a drought or slump periods (December-January and May-June), thus ultimately increases the profit margin of livestock producers. Before implementation on the farm the type of feeding system including by-product feeds a number of factors should be taken into consideration, as well as: moisture, protein content and its biological value; quantitative and qualitative composition of amino acids; digestibility; the level of energy, fats and carbohydrates; vitamin and mineral content. However there are some disadvantages, that have to be taken into consideration when feeding these feeds to animals, with potential contamination hazards as the biggest problem, but also high water content, possible un-degradable forms of nutrients, high concentrations of phosphorus, etc. can be a significant barriers. Utilizing of by-product materials in animal feeding should be done carefully, due to many hazards (biological, chemical and other etiologic agents), that can potentially affect animal and human health. Due to these obstacles waste materials have to be subjected to processing operations, either degrading or upgrading, before they could be used in animal feeding. Additionally, because of differences in raw materials and processing methods, there is a great variation of nutrients among by-products, thus these feeds should be sampled and analyzed frequently for their nutrient content. There is a need to develop appropriate technologies and methods of by-product materials decontamination and processing, that will ensure a greater use of biodegradable waste material in livestock production. Expected impact: Better utilization of organic waste, thus reduction of its landfilling. Improvement the competitiveness of EU livestock producers, due to feed cost reduction. Positive effect of by-product feeds on animal growth rate and health, thus the quality of animal products.

The group plans to publish an article as follows in order to disseminate the groups results: Title: What do we feed to farm animals in EU? A review of by-product feeds and their potential impacts on human and animal health, and the environment. Authors: Dariusz Jędrejek, Jovanka Levic, Mostafa Kamel, Klaus Teichmann, Oliviera Djuragic, Wiesław Oleszek.