ALTERNATIVE FEED SUPPLEMENTS

What is alternative feed?

feeding livestock things other than pasture, useful for parts of the year when animal nutrient requirements exceed grass growth (winter) and use differs by region

What is palm kernel expeller (PKE)?

a byproduct of the palm oil industry imported and used for animal feed, has high protein which is good for microbes in rumen and good amount of metabolisable energy per kg/dry matter, but can change nutrients in milk and is an environmental and biosecurity concern

What is brassica?

plant grown which is resilient in cold conditions which can be used to supplement animal feed as has high energy and protein content

What are other feed alternatives used?

fodder beet: must be used properly to avoid losing livestock, maize: has high nutrient requirements for growth and previously was more a NI crop as needs a long hot summer to grow but now being grown in the SI too

When can maize be good to plant?

after dairy animals have been on the field as has deep rooted structure allowing it to draw nutrients from deep in the soil but planting in same soil for too long can use up a lot of the nutrients (N, P and K) and change the biocontent of the soil which can make it difficult to grow other plantss

What is triticale?

cross between rye and wheat which requires a lot of processing as produces an afertile seed but gets yield of wheat and rigour of rye and used for animal feed

Why must cows be transitioned to alternative feeds?

need to transition slowly so rumen microbes have time to adjust

Why would hemp cake be a good alternative feed and why can’t it be used in NZ?

hemp cake has comparable nutrient content to soymeal which is used as an animal feed but legalisation prevents it from being used for livestock

What is pomace?

byproduct of wine making industry what is left after juice is squeezed, would be a good alternative feed but wine making regions are far from livestock farming and transport costs make it to expensive

What other species of plant could be used as an alternative feed?

gorse and broom which grow well as they can fix and acquire N from the soil but require processing for animals to eat