Emergency feed and Crisis food and red algae among the interesting subjects
Many new research findings were presented at the eleventh feed conference, the Nordic Feed Science Conference in Uppsala. A focus area was emergency fodder such as reeds and wood-based roughage, which may be relevant in the event of fodder shortages following droughts or floods. Preliminary results from several studies on feeding red algae or fat with the aim of reducing methane emissions from dairy cows were also presented. Silage research is moving towards collaboration between different disciplines to improve silage production using new technologies such as machine learning, satellites, drones and sensors. Silage is predicted to gain increased importance in low- and middle-income countries in the future. Finally, there was an overview of how the last year's turbulence with pandemic and war affects feed costs and the economy for milk producers in Sweden, the Nordic countries and Europe. The conference brought together roughly 60 participants from eight different countries. It was mainly Nordic researchers, but also advisers and others with an interest in new knowledge and networking in feed science for above all ruminants. Both young and experienced researchers presented results regarding feed conservation, ruminant nutrition, prediction models, analysis methods and sustainability. The conference was organized by the department for pet feeding and care at SLU on August 22 - 23 at Campus Ultuna in Uppsala.
Two of the conference's main speakers on the theme "Future silage", professors Adegbola Adesogan from the University of Florida and Giorgio Borreani from the University of Turin, arrived just in time for the third harvest at SLU Lövsta.
Torsten Eriksson, Senior Lecturer
Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, SLU
torsten.eriksson@slu.se, +46 18 671643