The use and abuse of cereals, legumes and crop residues in rations for dairy cattle

Publication date: 07/08/2017
Extent: 22 pages

Contributions by: Michael Blümmel, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Ethiopia; A. Muller, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), and ETH Zürich Switzerland; C. Schader, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland; M. Herrero, Commonwealth Scientifi c and Industrial Research Organization, Australia; and M. R. Garg, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), India

Chapter synopsis: The production of animal feed requires a significant amount of water, competes with food production through the allocation of arable land, and restricts organic matter availability for soil health. Once feed is consumed, inefficient conversion then contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution. When choosing feed sources and feeding methods, it is therefore essential to consider context-specific trade-off analyses and optimization strategies, and to take into account the relationships between use of natural resources, feed products and the livestock in question. This chapter will review key elements in trade-off analysis and explore opportunities for and limitations to making better use of existing feed resources and producing more feed biomass of higher fodder quality with reduced environmental foot print.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2016.0006.14