Feed efficiency in animal nutrition: How to do more with less?

Defined as the amount of feed required to produce milk or meat, feed efficiency, also known as the feed conversion ratio (FCR), can be a measure of both economic and environmental value. Reducing the FCR, so that less inputs are required for greater productivity, is not only economically favourable for the producer, especially where the price of animal feed can constitute 70% of total costs¹, but it can also reduce the environmental impact of feed production…

By 2050, the planet will need to produce enough food to support a world population of nearly 10 billion people. Climate change, finite resources and economic inflation are just some of the challenges to attaining this goal, and the animal nutrition industry is now in a position where it must achieve more, with less. ADM has made global food security central to its core objectives, to provide nutritious foods produced in a sustainable manner. In the world of animal agriculture, this translates into optimizing feed efficiency. Defined as the amount of feed required to produce milk or meat, feed efficiency, also known as the feed conversion ratio (FCR), can be a measure of both economic and environmental value. Reducing the FCR, so that less inputs are required for greater productivity, is not only economically favourable for the producer, especially where the price of animal feed can constitute 70% of total costs¹, but it can also reduce the environmental impact of feed production, including the carbon footprint from crop cultivation, transport and processing, as well as mitigating animal emissions and excretions into the air, soil and water.

To optimize feed efficiency, ADM offers complete feed solutions, sourcing the most sustainable and nutritious products designed to support the growth and production of all major livestock species, including aquaculture, across all life stages. ADM recognizes that there is no one size fits all feed formulation that can satisfy the distinct nutritional and environmental challenges that producers face across the globe. To customize nutritional solutions to specific needs, ADM has a portfolio of feed additives that can promote feed efficiency in livestock, either by enhancing the digestibility of nutrients in feed, or by boosting the uptake of nutrition by supporting gut function. ADM’s feed additives have been designed to unlock the power of nature, incorporating a range of natural ingredients, such as bioactives, biotics, organic acids, enzymes, and minerals.

Several ADM products have consistently demonstrated significant improvements to FCR across livestock species. For example, XTRACT 6930, which leverages a combination of microencapsulated active substances found in aromatic plants and spices, optimizes the FCR in broilers² (Figure 1). In swine, supplementation with the yeast-based product, CitriStim, improves the FCR³ (Figure 2). B-TRAXIM products, organic forms of essential trace elements, have been shown to be a more efficient way to fulfil nutritional requirements in most species. For example, to ensure vitamin B12 synthesis from cobalt in ruminants with B-TRAXIM PRO4⁴ (Figure 3).

ADM continues to unlock the potential of its current portfolio while delivering innovative solutions to meet customer needs of today and tomorrow. With its current and future products, ADM will continue to lead the way towards meeting the challenges of global food security.

¹Alqaisi et al. (2017) Time series livestock diet optimization: cost-effective broiler feed substitution using the commodity price spread approach. Agricultural and Food Economics, 5:25.
²Bravo et al., (2008) Meta-analysis of the effect of a mixture of carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde and capsicum oleoresin in broilers. Poultry Science Association 97th Annual Meeting.
³ADM internal study: Technical Bulletin CS-Pig01
⁴Ramos-Morales et al. In vitro comparison of two dietary cobalt supplementations on cobalt metabolism and rumen fermentation parameters. In preparation for submission to: Animal Feed Science and Technologies.