The worldwide animal feed trade produced 1.245 billion tons of compound feed in 2022 according to an estimate by the International Feed Industry Federation,[1] with an annual growth rate of about 2%. The use of agricultural land to grow feed rather than human food can be controversial (see food vs. feed); some types of feed, such as corn (maize), can also serve as human food; those that cannot, such as grassland grass, may be grown on land that can be used for crops consumed by humans. In many cases the production of grass for cattle fodder is a valuable intercrop between crops for human consumption, because it builds the organic matter in the soil.[citation needed] When evaluating if this soil organic matter increase mitigates climate change, both permanency of the added organic matter as well as emissions produced during use of the fodder product have to be taken into account.[clarification needed] Some agricultural byproducts fed to animals may be considered unsavory by humans.[citation needed]
In the past, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow disease") spread through the inclusion of ruminant meat and bone mealincattle feed due to prion contamination. This practice is now banned in most countries where it has occurred.[citation needed] Some animals have a lower tolerance for spoiled or moldy fodder than others, and certain types of molds, toxins, or poisonous weeds inadvertently mixed into a feed source may cause economic losses due to sickness or death of the animals. The US Department of Health and Human Services regulates drugs of the Veterinary Feed Directive type that can be present within commercial livestock feed.[citation needed]
Farmer mills branches of shrubs for the production of low-cost animal fodder in NamibiaFeed crusher. 1976
Increasing intensities and frequencies of drought events put rangeland agriculture under pressure in semi-arid and arid geographic areas. Innovative emergency fodder production concepts have been reported, such as bush-based animal fodder production in Namibia. During extended dry periods, some farmers have used woody biomass fibre from encroacher bush as their primary source of cattle feed, adding locally-available supplements for nutrients as well as to improve palatability.[8][9][10][11][12]
Fodder in the form of sprouted cereal grains such as barley, and legumes can be grown in small and large quantities.
Systems have been developed recently[when?] that allow for many tons of sprouts to be produced each day, year round. Sprouted grains can significantly increase the nutritional value of the grain compared with feeding the ungerminated grain to stock.[13] In addition, they use less water than traditional forage, making them ideal for drought conditions. Sprouted barley and other cereal grains can be grown hydroponically in a carefully-controlled environment.[14] Hydroponically-grown sprouted fodder at 150 mm tall with a 50 mm root mat is at its peak for animal feed.
Although products such as barley are grain, when sprouted they are approved by the American Grassfed Association to be used as livestock feed.[citation needed]
^Mupangwa, Johnfisher; Lutaaya, Emmanuel; Shipandeni, Maria Ndakula Tautiko; Kahumba, Absalom; Charamba, Vonai; Shiningavamwe, Katrina Lugambo (2023), Fanadzo, Morris; Dunjana, Nothando; Mupambwa, Hupenyu Allan; Dube, Ernest (eds.), "Utilising Encroacher Bush in Animal Feeding", Towards Sustainable Food Production in Africa: Best Management Practices and Technologies, Sustainability Sciences in Asia and Africa, Singapore: Springer Nature, pp. 239–265, doi:10.1007/978-981-99-2427-1_14, ISBN978-981-99-2427-1, retrieved 2023-07-13
^Sneath, Roger; McIntosh, Felicity (October 2003). Review of Hydroponic Fodder Production for Beef Cattle. Meat & Livestock Australia Limited. ISBN1740365038. Retrieved 7 June 2018. Hydroponic sprouts may have profitable application in intensive, small-scale livestock situations with high value outputs, where land and alternative feed costs are high, and where the quality changes (eg less starch, more lysine, vitamins, etc) due to sprouting are advantageous to the particular livestock.
Zhou, Yiqin. Compar[ison of] Fresh or Ensiled Fodders (e.g., Grass, Legume, Corn) on the Production of Greenhouse Gases Following Enteric Fermentation in Beef Cattle. Rouyn-Noranda, Qué.: Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, 2011. N.B.: Research report.
