India In India, according to Dr Kumarasamy Murugesan of the De- partment of Environmental Science at Periyar University, most food waste generated in rural areas is already consumed by dairy cattle and other livestock. Dairy farming remains a very important economic activity all over the country. Use of food waste is organised in an informal and small-scale way. Cattle are also fed food processing waste such as rice bran, oil cake from nuts and sago starch, and some feed companies use these ingredients as well. Due to high prices and a limited supply of conventional raw feed materials in India, there is currently great interest among farmers in alternatives to these materials, including more use of food waste and by-products. Murugesan points to a start-up company in India that is ex- panding its sales of food waste-based cattle feed for dairy cat- tle. The company dehydrates food waste in a controlled envi- ronment. In addition, scientists at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University have also developed ways to recycle food waste into animal feed. As in other countries, food in India, says Murugesan is wasted at every level. To progress with the use of food waste as ani- mal feed, he says “detailed survey studies and analysis are necessary, on the availability, seasonal variation, nature, types, quantity and quality of food waste, as well as the cost of collection, segregation and transportation.”
Canada In Canada, a program called Loop that connects livestock farmers with grocery stores to use food waste as feed is get- ting larger every year. It now includes 207 stores and 1650 farms (it’s unknown how many are dairy farms) and Loop founder Jaime White says the programme may span all the way to the east coast by the end of this year. The pro- gramme has many parts, from educating farmers, following up on any issues and checking in with the Canadian Food In- spection Agency (CFIA) to make sure it is compliant with feed regulations. Education of grocery store workers is also impor- tant to ensure waste from various store departments is placed only in designated department bins to keep various types of waste separate. “We have very low instances of contamina- tion,” says White. “In some other places in the world that’s a problem, but we’ve been very successful with developing training and managing ongoing operations to mitigate that. The legalities have been the most important biggest chal- lenge and mitigating legal risks for both producer and provid- er of the goods have been the biggest challenges. Producers need to make sure they comply with CFIA guidelines. A well- run programme ensures that this is possible.” In addition, scientists from the University of Manitoba, Uni- versity of Lethbridge (in Alberta) and Agriculture & Agri-food Canada have been studying how livestock (particularly beef
▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 29, No. 7, 2021
High-moisture materials such as vegetable waste may seem like a bargain, but can be expensive on a dry matter basis, so farmers need to do their homework.
27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
