BY-PRODUCTS ▶▶▶
Nutritional value of various food waste ingredients
Nutritional value of various food waste ingredients for dairy cows, summarised from ‘By-Product Feedstuffs in Dairy Cattle Diets in the Upper Midwest’ (2015) by Dr Randy Shaver, professor and extension dairy nutritionist at the University of Wisconsin –Madison, US:
Beet Pulp • may be fed dry or wet • upper feeding limit: about half of the grain concentrate or 8-15lb of dry matter (DM) per cow per day
Brewers Dried Grains (BDG) • commonly used as a protein source • highly palatable • generally limited to less than half of protein supplements and 25% of complete feeds; 5-lb DM per cow per day.
Soybean mill feed • protein, fiber and fat content can vary • can contain a high percentage of weed seeds • restricted to 5-10 lb per cow per day because of high fat content
Bakery wastes • stale bread and other pastry products can be fed to dairy cattle, but only in limited amounts. • the high starch content will depress milk fat if fed beyond limits • limit for dried bread is 20% of concentrate DM and 10% of TMR DM, but higher levels may be fed to replacement heifers and dry cows.
Cull dried beans or peas • may comprise up to 15-20% of concentrate DM or 7-10% of TMR DM • limits are due to palatability and protein quality restrictions
Candy • may be high in sugar and/or fat content • feeding rate of high-sugar candies should be limited to 2-4lb per cow per day
Vegetable trimmings • usually fed fresh but sometimes are ensiled mixed with other forages • should be treated like wet (85-95% moisture) forages when formulating ra- tions because of their large particle size, high ash content and estimated energy content (0.62-0.68 Mcal NEl/lb of DM)
cattle) can use food waste. The federal government has also launched the ‘Food Waste Reduction Challenge’, which will award more than CAN$ 10 million in prizes for innovative solutions to reducing food waste, part of Canada’s commit- ment to the United Nations’ goal to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030.
28 ▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 29, No. 7, 2021
Europe In Europe right now, an update to regulations regarding using food waste as feed is urgently hoped for by the European Dairy Association (EDA). EDA Director of Food, Environment & Health Hélène Simonin-Rosenheimer notes that barriers to the use of food waste in dairy cattle feed are currently high due to serious food and feed safety concerns in the past with the use of food waste as feed. However, she says that nowa- days many food waste materials that can be used for dairy cow feed (as well as dairy processing by-products that could be used to feed other livestock) that have been discarded in the past can now be used again. “The current legislation often hinders a practical approach,” says Simonin-Rosenheimer. “We would suggest that all authorities involved work on a ‘total chain approach’, aiming to fulfill food and feed safety and tak- ing into account circular economy requirements.” She ob- serves that the existing legislative framework would need to be brought up to date to respond to the increased ambition of institutions, industry, citizens, and other stakeholders to ensure further food waste prevention and reduction. “In this context,” she explains, “if and when the legislators revise the current legislative framework (currently, only the feed addi- tives legislation is being reviewed), ensuring coherence with the Green Deal and the objectives of the Circular Economy Action Plan would be of the utmost importance.”
Moving forward While food waste and food processing by-products are used to feed dairy cattle in limited ways in probably all parts of the world, momentum is building for more widespread use. This circularity makes not just dairy farming, but our entire food system more sustainable. To use food waste effectively, dairy farmers and other livestock farmers require safe ingredients and a stable, steady supply. Experts recommend that food waste be mixed thoroughly with the rest of dairy cattle feed to ensure uniform intake. High-moisture materials such as vegetable waste may seem like a bargain, but can be expen- sive on a dry matter basis, so farmers need to do their home- work. Farmers also need to manage situations where their cows may get used to having sweet food waste in their feed and due to supply issues or other issues, they cannot have it anymore. Different levels of different food waste materials can be fed to different cow types in a herd, such as milking cows and heifers. Above all, farmers should seek the advice of their nutritionists to ensure balanced rations and to build good rela- tionships with the companies that can supply food waste feed ingredients. Phil Pittolo, a livestock nutritionist in Bego, New South Wales, Australia, says that in that country, direct relation- ships between farmers and food processors/grocery stores have developed over time. “These [food waste] feeds are opportunis- tic,” he says. “If farmers or their nutritionists understand the characteristics and value of a given feed, and it is delivered in a physical form and packaging that suits the farm, it will be used.”
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