September issue of AllAboutFeed magazine now online

The ability of a cow to digest plant based material depends on rumen bacteria. The rumen of a dairy cow should not be too acidic because this can have an effect on feed efficiently, as trials from Cargill showed. In this article we explain how a rumen buffer can step up milk production. This can be profitable as milk quotas are to be released in 2015 and many farms do not have the ability to increase the number of cows.

There are also many challenges for the aquaculture and aquafeed industries, as told by Knut Nesse, CEO of Nutreco at the Aquavision conference in Norway. “This year will be a milestone year where the per capita consumption of farmed fish will be greater than wild fish consumption. But growth also comes with many challenges,” Nesse told. In this article we explain what these entails.

In the petfood sector, the use of hydrolysed feather meal is discussed by AllAboutFeed’s petfood columnist Anton Beynen. “Moderate inclusion levels of hydrolysed feather meal, possibly up to 5%, may be safe, feasible and economically attractive,” according to Beynen. In his column he explains why some pet owners are still critical against the use of this ingredient.

We also take a look at the use of polyphenols in animal diets. More than 4,000 natural polyphenols such as oligomeric proanthocyanidines and flavonoids were described and there is growing awareness of their vast antioxidant potential in animal nutrition. Polyphenols are common components of fruit, legume seeds, chocolate, fruit juices and wine. A large number of studies have been performed regarding different effects of polyphenols. In this article we explain some of the outcomes from the pig and poultry studies.

To see what other interesting articles are featured in this edition, click here to register for free to be able to read the full magazine online.