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In the Beginning By Charles Williams, Managing Director, Promtek


A wise woman once said, ‘You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been’ (Attributed to the late Dr Maya Angelou). Philosophical quotes like this can locate us in any large historical moments of reckoning where pivotal change happens. War, revolution, pandemic, environmental disaster. It is also relevant to our entire food chain as we stand with both feet in the fourth industrial revolution and on the brink of the fifth. As we all feel the profound economic repercussions of both Covid and the ongoing war in Ukraine, it’s vital to scrutinise the global economy and consider how world events continue to impact our food supply through their influence on animal feed production. Generations ago, animal production was entirely dependent


on natural cycles and resources – leading to substantially lower production yields compared to the present day. This wasn’t an issue then, because domesticated animals served and nourished only their owners, and everything was consumed within a small community. In this historical context, human and animal food security was


affected by specific environmental issues: weather and scavengers; conflict between communities; lack of good storage. Noteworthy challenges, but also opportunities for development. Raw ingredients like grass, milk and grain were processed into hay, bread and cheese for future consumption. Animal feed was mixed in buckets and given directly to the animals. These factors were an improvement in food and animal production and signified forward thinking and planning.


The development of animal-powered machinery began on a larger


scale at this point. Cattle and horses routinely ploughed fields. Donkeys turned large pieces of grain equipment in flour mills. To sustain these working animals, they had to be fed and housed better. The ability to manipulate animal production cycles by increasing


More grain was produced than was needed to sustain


contemporary communities during the cold or dry months and farmers had to think about how to store the food to prevent it from going bad or being eaten by rats. Grain storage was consequently elevated from the ground and housed under a roof to protect it firstly from rodents, and then from the elements. Farmers developed a greater


PAGE 34 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 FEED COMPOUNDER


feed availability and animal health developed from a more scientific perspective, and because trade was more widespread, new ingredients could be sourced to feed animals. Farmers increased their grain production and became millers, and the by-products of milled grain were mixed with other by-products and fed to farm animals. The end of this era signalled the advent of steam power and


the mechanisation of factories: the beginning of the first industrial revolution. After the implementation of production lines and steam power being used to drive trains, technology moved quickly. New power sources like steam and water enabled the upscaling of mills and factories. Horse and donkey feeds, therefore, developed to improve


understanding – of animal needs, and also that when those needs are met, animal production and yields improve. Further enhancements led to the creation of animal products


becoming greater than a household’s needs and the surplus production was traded or sold within the community. This new community demand created farmers and millers to service it, and by this stage, food security had become more stable and predictable – you knew where your ingredients came from, within your community.


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