M. Wadhwa, M.P.S. Bakshi and Harinder P.S. Makkar

Empty pea pods is an important byproduct of pea production. It is a valuable feed for livestock. Empty pea pods can be offered fresh alone or with waste-resources such as cull carrots. In the dried form they can be included in rations with forage legume hay like berseem. They can be ensiled with other byproducts such as wheat straw and then fed. This article provides information on the composition and nutritive value of empty pea pods and the ways they can be used to feed livestock.

Harinder Makkar

Ergot is a disease of cereal crops and grasses that is caused by fungi of the Claviceps genus. Claviceps includes about 50 known species, mostly in tropical regions. The sclerotia of Claviceps species are known as ergot. The fungi produce ergot alkaloids, also denoted ergolines, which are responsible for a disease called ergotism in livestock and humans. The article presents the symptoms of ergotism in animals, and the treatments and feed regulations associated with ergot.

By John Moran (Profitable Dairy Systems, Kyabram, Victoria, Australia) and Geoff Walker (Land O’ Lakes, Dhaka, Bangladesh)

With increasing per capita consumption of milk and other dairy products throughout developing countries, virtually every country in southern Asia is seeking to increase its domestic production of raw milk. However, the continuous use of certain traditional practices (feeding, watering, stock management, housing and comfort) in smallholder dairy farms has adversely impacted on the rate of development of such dairy industries. We have a challenge to ensure that better models, such as those used in Vietnam and Thailand, are spread much more widely than is the case at present in traditional dairying sectors such as in Bangladesh and other countries in the Indian subcontinent.

By V. Baeten and P. Dardenne

The use of near-infrared (NIR) technologies for the detection of contaminants and undesirable substances in food and feed products is not widely practised. There have been many papers, however, on extensive studies on this topic (see Baeten et al., 2015). They have demonstrated some unique advantages of using this fingerprinting technique in the continuing effort to give the stakeholders the means to detect contaminants at all stages of the food and feed chains.

By Harinder P. S. Makkar

Animal nutrition is the foundation of livestock production systems and a multifaceted theme. It is not only the science of feed preparation and feeding – it influences almost every sector of the livestock production – from animal reproduction, health and welfare – to farm economic viability, environment, animal product safety and quality. This paper intends to weave strands from these domains with animal nutrition and overall sustainability of the livestock operation.

By Alan Bell and Paul Greenwood

It has been long known that severe undernutrition of pregnant cows and sheep, especially during late gestation, can permanently retard body and wool growth of their offspring. However, the idea that maternal nutrition at various stages of pregnancy can indelibly influence lifetime productivity and health of progeny has gained additional currency from more recent epidemiological studies of human populations and detailed experimental studies of rodents as well as livestock species.

By N.K.S. Gowda, National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bengaluru 560 030, India

In many tropical areas, areca nut (Areca catechu) production has been steadily increasing at the expense of paddy rice. It results in less straw available to cattle and a new crop residue: areca sheath. Areca sheath, when properly processed, can be fed to ruminants: it provides valuable fodder and could reduce feed cost in India.

By Harinder P. S. Makkar, FAO, Rome, Italy

Livestock account for approximately 14.5% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Demand for animal products is expected to increase by 60-70% in the coming approximately three decades, which could put further pressure on already depleting natural resources. The production, processing and transport of feed accounts for about 45% of the GHG emission from the livestock sector. There is thus a clear need to use smart feeding strategies, which could enhance resource use efficiency, increase animal productivity and reduce environmental "hoofprint". Some of such strategies are described in this paper. Many other examples are illustrated in Feedipedia datasheets.

By Sejian, V., Gaughan, J. B., Raghavendra Bhatta and Naqvi, S. M. K.

Climate change will have an impact on livestock performance in many regions and as per most predictive models the impact will be detrimental. Animals will have to face weathers extremes, e.g. intense heat waves, floods and droughts and will also be offered less feeds or poorer quality feeds. This paper makes an attempt to project the adverse impact of climate change on livestock production and the potential way of alleviating it.

By Christian Schader, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland

A global model system was designed in order to calculate various scenarios of food availability and impacts of food production on the environment. This model can be used in the future to answer various questions on the sustainability of agricultural and food systems.