Novel feeds for organic dairy chains

Summary

The objective of the current work was to assess various novel and underutilized feeds and thus increase the awareness of various novel feeding solutions to support organic and low-input dairy production. A set of various feeds representing high protein feeds, by-products from distilling, wineries, fruit and vegetable production, whole crop cereals, agroforestry and wood derived materials were collected from Spain, Romania, UK and Finland and analysed for chemical composition and digestibility. The results can be used to aid in exploiting the potential of different feed resources and in ration formulation, and to demonstrate potential to widen the basis of feed supply on organic and low-input dairy farms. The use of various by-products as animal feeds allows in many cases to add the economic value of them, and may provide an environmentally sound method for disposal of the by-product materials. As organic food and beverage manufacturing increases in volumes, it creates opportunities for organically labelled by-products. This would result in higher value for the manufacturer and provide useful additional feedstuffs to be used in organic animal production.