Feeding monogastrics 100% organic and regionally produced feed

Summary

The transition to 100% organic feed ingredients for organic livestock is expected to take effect from January 1st 2020 in Europe. In order to contribute to the goal of 100% use of organic and regional feed for monogastrics, this knowledge synthesis “Feeding monogastrics 100% organic and regionally produced feed“ aims to describe:
• the protein need for organic monogastric animals (pigs, layers and broilers), including different breeds and rearing conditions
• different protein feed resources, mostly new or not commonly used protein sources, their nutrient content, production prerequisites, and their potential feeding value
• small-scale, on-farm equipment for feed processing
• different feeding strategies.
The knowledge synthesis should enable participants in Innovation groups (IG) and Thematic groups (TG) to choose feed materials, feeding strategies, breeds and perhaps even small-scale on-farm equipment for testing when aiming at 100% organic and regionally produced feed for monogastrics.
In the knowledge synthesis it is concluded: When feeding pigs and poultry 100% organic and regionally produced feed, getting enough protein and specific amino acids is a challenge. There are two ways to go and they can be combined. One is to utilize by-products, for example waste from various productions, and explore new protein sources e.g. marine products or to refine already known products such as grass. The other way is to feed the animals less intensively and for this feeding strategy slow-growing breeds fit better. Some slow-growing breeds are already known, some are rediscovered old breeds. The challenge with the slow-growing and less-yielding breeds is that the production is getting smaller and either the farmer will earn less or the prices of eggs and meat will increase.
However, the possibilities for combinations of regionally grown feed, low-yielding breeds with different feeding strategies are many and they need to be explored.
Finally, the knowledge synthesis identify needs for new knowledge on:
• nutritional requirements of alternative breeds. Precise nutrient recommendations for organically produced pigs and poultry do not exist.
• nutritional value of new protein sources for monogastric animals
• various combinations of breeds, grazing and supplemental feed.
Small-scale on-farm equipment to refine locally produced raw materials needs to be developed.