Introduction
The world demand for sea food is increasing dramatically year by year, although an annual upper limit of 100 million tons is set so as not to exhaust reserves. It is for this reason that there is a considerable move towards modernizing and intensifying fish farming.
Across the Midwest, ethanol plants (primarily dry mill vs. wet mill process) are being planned and built and existing plants expanded. Today over 98 percent of commercially produced ethanol is used to extend gasoline. The attributes of ethanol allow it to be utilized as an octane booster, replacing gasoline additives such as lead and benzene, and as the preferred oxygenate for gasoline replacing MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether). Ethanol maintains widespread support for its ability to improve the environment and public health by reducing harmful vehicle emissions. Ethanol contains 35% oxygen and adding ethanol to fossil fuels (gasoline and diesel) results in more complete fuel combustion, reducing tailpipe emissions. Ethanol is non-toxic and is rapidly biodegraded in surface water, ground water and soil. Current energy legislation before congress contains a Renewable Fuels Standard which, if approved, will further accelerate the growth of ethanol and biodiesel production.
Does Grain Need to be Processed? Although it is possible to feed whole grain to cattle, it is normally processed for a variety of reasons.
Reduced separation and sorting of feed - It is impossible to mix protein, mineral, or vitamin supplements and feed additives with whole grain and have the material stay well mixed from the mixer to the animals mouth. If whole grain is fed, mix the grain and supplement together with silage to help keep it together or use a pelleted supplement to prevent separation.
Feeding of livestock is a scientific task to make all the nutrients available for maintenance, production, growth and reproduction. The right selection of ingredients for the optimum level of animal response is the least cost ration. The feeding of imbalanced ration would not only enhance the cost of production but also affect the health of the animal. It is a non contested fact that animal response is more crucial than ration computing. Therefore, the digestibility of nutrients in the animal system with a compounded ration considering the interactions of different nutrients and anti nutritional factors shall be considered vital.
The "meat equation" is delicately balanced. It is projected that in the next twenty years mankind will consume three times the meat that we currently produce. Without production tools such as antibiotics that have been the mainstay of growth promotion in livestock production, supply is unlikely to meet demand driving up prices. If nutraceuticals have similar production gains as antibiotics, are derived from natural sources and are therefore more acceptable, can they play a major role in future animal production?
