Criteria for Choosing Alternative Feed Ingredients

Currently, animal feed expenses account for about 70% of production costs in livestock operations.

The costs of animal nutrition are primarily driven by the prices of corn and soybean meal, which are the main sources of energy and protein for animal diets, respectively.

Corn, the primary energy ingredient in animal feed, is notable for its resilience, short growing cycle, and traditional global cultivation.

Due to its accessibility and high nutritional value, corn is widely used in animal nutrition, with increasing use in human diets and biofuel production.

Soybean production also plays a critical role in animal nutrition. Through the process of extracting oil from soybeans, two important by-products are generated: soybean hulls and soybean meal.

While soybean hulls are widely used in ruminant feed as a substitute for corn, soybean meal is considered the most traditional and complete protein ingredient for animal nutrition, suitable for both ruminants and non-ruminants.

However, when the prices of these base products are high, production costs become more burdensome, especially for poultry and swine diets.

Among the most significant causes of price increases for corn and soybean meal are off-season periods, climatic issues, pest and disease outbreaks, growth in imports and internal demand, and concurrent increases in the prices of inputs and fuels.

The search for non-traditional feed ingredients is an alternative to reduce nutrition costs. However, it is essential to consider the variability in the nutritional composition of each feed to provide a cheaper diet that is correctly balanced and meets the nutritional requirements of animals without causing nutritional disturbances.