High raw material costs burden the feed production chain from field to finished feed. Weather conditions in the growing season, as well as geopolitical issues and the cost of inputs such as fertilizer, fuel and transportation, all significantly impact the availability and cost of animal feed raw materials. Increased raw material costs impact feed and animal producers in a way that’s all too familiar to families facing rising grocery costs. As a result, producers feel pressure to make purchasing or operational changes to reduce spending.
Mitigating the cost of raw materials in animal production can be safely achieved providing there is no loss of feed performance. However, one significant question needs to be considered; how do you best achieve savings within a formulation? Do you eliminate feed additives, or accept that those additives are ever more important as you look to make more substantial savings through switching to alternative ingredients?
In the face of rising raw material costs, many turn to alternative ingredients and new, potentially local, sources to help meet least-cost formulation objectives, and with the help of selected feed additives maintain high feed quality. Ensuring optimum feed quality by managing feed form and controlling microbial loads is key to maintaining nutrient intake and feed conversion.
Feed additives that support the producer’s ability to make ingredient or formulation changes best mitigate high raw materials costs in animal feed production. Animal feed additives allow producers to protect feed quality, support animal performance and optimize the feed production process by:
Identify what nutrients are essential to the diet and how much is minimally required. All production animals have specific caloric, and nutrient needs to grow efficiently. Nutritionists create diets and set nutrient specifications to optimize animal growth. When costs are high, it is critical to minimize any nutrient excess. If the animal does not use a nutrient, its excreted as waste. The last thing producers want to do while experiencing animal feed raw material costs are high, is to let valuable nutrients go unused.
Geopolitical events can lead to logistical nightmares. Not only does it become more expensive to transport animal feed raw materials, but it can also take considerably longer. Feed ingredients each possess microbial quality risks. Longer transport and storage times before feed production can amplify pathogenic microbial loads or lead to spoilage issues.
When it comes to animal production, feed quality is two-fold. Feed form and microbial loads both impact feed quality. Feed form challenges can lead to feed production issues such as throughput challenges, mill blockages, fines production and nutrient segregation. A commercial mill producing 125,000 metric tons per year, facing an average process loss of 0.8%, can lose over $285,000 in annual revenue. Poor microbial quality can introduce pathogens such as Clostridia and Salmonella into live production. Feed pathogens can lead to a host of animal performance and welfare challenges resulting in additional producers' costs. For example, Clostridia can lead to necrotic enteritis, and a single enteritis event in a 2 million layer flock can cost egg producers over $1 million in lost eggs alone.
Feed additives add cost to animal feed formulations, so it is critical that producers use feed additives that deliver the highest value and work. When feed prices are high, evaluate what feed quality considerations are required to support gut and total animal health and growth. Effective feed additives pay producers back through reduced process loss and/or improved animal performance.
Feed additives support animal performance by establishing and supporting a beneficial microflora and by creating and maintaining an intestinal environment that supports digestion and nutrient uptake.
Feed pathogen control solutions mitigate pathogen entry into live production via feed. Pathogen prevention in feed protects feed microbial quality and supports animal performance in addition to health and welfare.
Animal feed additives optimizing moisture levels within feed production result in improved feed form and yield. Often feed milling efficiency solutions give commercial mills the ability to reduce process loss, optimize throughput and prevent feed spoilage.
Feed is central to animal production profitability, and high raw material costs make it more critical than
Producer's ready to mitigate costs of animal feed raw materials via effective feed pathogen control and feed milling efficiency strategies, contact us.