The nutritive value of feed is one of several important factors to consider when looking at feed quality. In addition, feed safety and palatability are equally crucial and should not be neglected in the formulation of complete and balanced high quality diets. There are several compounds which, when added to animal feed, do not contribute directly to the nutritional value of the feed but can increase its safety and palatability and/or improve the biological availability and utilization of dietary nutrients.

BIOMIN’s nutritional expertise and life sciences approach allows us to develop and produce highly advanced and effective products under the following categories:

• Nutritional products
• Mycotoxin Risk Management
• Acidifiers and chemical preservation
• Phytogenics
• Microbials
• Yeast products
• Enzymes

Feed cost constitutes the main expense in animal production. In broiler production, feed costs make up two-thirds of total expenses. From a micro-economic point of view, it is obvious that cost saving measures are paramount. This can be done by changing the restrictions placed on raw materials and nutrients when developing feed formula. Any measure taken, in particular the use of feed supplements will lead to an altered response, that is, performance in the livestock.

Attaining better feed efficiency helps producers realise their returns on investment, which is the additional financial gain accrued from the investment made in feed formulation.

Animal production resources have become increasingly limited in the current natural and business environment. In addition to growing demand for agricultural commodities as a source of food for humans and livestock, the need to tap on technologies for renewable energy is adding further pressure on livestock producers. Businesses can also expect an increasing number of limitations concerning CO2 and other pollutants (CH4, PO4, N2O, NO3) in the future.

From a macro-ecological standpoint, the role of animal nutrition in affecting sustainable yet profitable farming will become more important than ever. By improving feed efficiency through the use of advanced feed additive solutions, levels of methane and other greenhouse gases emitted by livestock can be reduced. Not only does this reduce the amount of anti-pollution taxes that producers have to pay under environmental legislatives, it also promotes a more sustainable and ecologically sound system of animal production.