Improving wellness has recently been on everybody's agenda, leading to people going to the gym, finding time to meditate and develop a skincare routine, and, of course, improving their diets. What you eat is very important for your overall health, and you don't want to neglect the importance of good nutrition. However, human food is not the only one that's important anymore. As people became increasingly concerned about animal welfare, the foods animals receive became important too.
Whether they're poultry, ruminants or swine, food is directly correlated to their health, as well as the well-being of those consuming animal products. Here are the most critical aspects of ensuring healthful nutrition for animals, as well as the trends that are likely to arise in the industry in the future.
Minerals and vitamins
Food is defined as nutritious if its consumption provides beneficial benefits to the one who eats it. Nutritious meals contain amino acids, minerals, healthy fats, vitamins and dietary fiber. Hundreds of agricultural products have been approved by authorities to serve as food for animals. The ones most commonly used to sustain livestock are corn, wheat, soybean meal, barley and sorghum. Depending on their particular requirements, livestock requires different types of foods.
For instance, a baby chick or a calf will require more protein than an adult to promote growth. On the other hand, the adult animals that produce milk, including cows, sheep and goats, require higher levels of fiber. Different types of animals also have different nutritional needs. Chickens need carbohydrates and require scratch grains, cracked seeds used in addition to the regular feed. Horses, on the other hand, require hay and barley to stay healthy.
Processing
For animals to get healthy food, the production processes must be optimal. The sourcing, preparing and packaging must comply with health and safety criteria. Food processing equipment must deliver high-quality food and feature automated systems that can trace the products throughout the entire process to ensure the integrity of the feed and that each individual batch is within standards. In order for this industry sector to operate accordingly, all parts of it must be optimized so that manufacturers can guarantee an efficient process.
Alfraequipment has nearly a century of experience delivering reliable tools and machinery that can be easily integrated into production systems. The devices are solid and offer solutions for different capacities and requirements. Particularly helpful when it comes to weighing, dosing and measuring, the tools include slides and mixers, as well as stationary and movable weighers.
Supplementation
Using supplements in animal feed is very common, and many farms use them regularly. There are several types, including:
Toxin binders: These binders are derived from charcoal, yeast or silicates and are used to trap mycotoxins. Doing so prevents these pathogens from entering the animal's bloodstream, where they can cause serious illness.
Probiotics: Supplementing with probiotics positively impacts the gut flora of the animals, promoting optimal immune functions. Animals with strong immune barriers are better protected against harmful bacteria and diseases. In the animal feed industry, probiotics are also known as direct-fed microbials.
Anti-stress: Animals must be protected against environmental stressors, as their reactions to negative stimuli can be quite severe. Employing a management program is highly important, and one of its fundamental aspects is adding additives that can help improve the health of the affected animals. These agents work by restoring electrolyte imbalance, restoring depleted vitamins and guarding the natural physiological processes.
Mold inhibitors: Fungus is a problem that most commonly arises during feed storage. Using inhibitors enables farmers to ensure the safety and integrity of the animals' food. This supplement is efficient against various molds, meaning it can prolong shelf life over a long time. The nutritional value of the food is also not impacted in any negative way.
Complementary feeds: If there's any reason to consider that animals aren't getting all the required nutrients, their intake can be supplemented through complementary foodstuffs. These include enzymes and amino acids, polyphenolic and fatty acids, and oligo - and polysaccharides.
Reducing antibiotics
Antibiotic use in animal feed is a common thing, generally believed to prevent disease and pathogen shedding in animals. However, research has shown inconclusive results on how beneficial this practice is, and scientists believe it is more likely to cause antibiotic resistance, a serious public health concern.
Antibiotic resistance makes bacteria more resilient, and treatment is more complicated. Pathogens can sometimes become life-threatening, as they no longer respond to any conventional treatment scheme. The general rule is that animals should be given antibiotics only when sick. The medicine cannot be banned entirely from the industry, as it would be inhumane to allow sick animals to suffer. Ideally, however, tests would be conducted before administering any antibiotic. Determining the infection helps determine the most effective medicine, as it directly targets the disease.
Healthy animals should receive a reduced amount, particularly when there's no indication of disease. However, if other animals in the same herd or flock have been diagnosed, the other ones should receive preventative antibiotic treatment, even if they're not exhibiting any visible symptoms at the time.
Alternative protein
There's currently quite a lot of discussion surrounding the ethics of foodstuffs that could be used to feed the growing human population as animal feed instead. As a result, there has been increasing debate around alternative protein sources. The most obvious answer seems to come from the use of insects. There are many advantages, including the fact that they are sustainable. Insects require much less water and far less land to grow. Moreover, they are also a safe source of food for animals struggling with allergies.
Nonetheless, while feasibility is not a concern, further research is still needed before insects can become the primary food source for livestock. One of the main concerns relates to possible health concerns, particularly regarding ensuring optimal hygiene standards.
The animal feed industry has been around for a long time, yet changes and innovations continue to appear. As the market develops and concern for animals becomes more relevant, you can expect to see even more changes aimed at delivering the best possible food for animals.
