This episode’s guests were speakers on the Ruminant Nutrition Platform Session: discussing several alternative ingredients for dairy rations at the ADSA 2025 Annual Meeting.
Alternative Feed Ingredients for Dairy Rations
Timestamps:
Dr. Rico’s presentation was titled “Of cows and bugs: Using insects as alternative feeds in dairy cattle nutrition.” He gives an overview of his presentation, noting that while insects are not a major focus of US dairy nutrition, they are of interest in other parts of the world as a protein source to substitute for soybean or fish meal. In addition, his research highlights the potential for alternative feed ingredients, specifically for improving dairy rations. (2:12)
Dr. Dou’s talk was “Alternative feed for livestock: Opportunities and challenges to support a circular food system.” She explains that a typical agriculture/food system is linear: take, make, and waste, which generates a lot of food residues. Her research aims to recover and recycle some of the food residues from other industries and evaluate their suitability for livestock feeding. This research underscores the value of considering alternative ingredients when assessing dairy rations. (3:51)
Dr. Pinotti’s presentation was titled “Alternative foodstuffs in dairy ruminant nutrition: Basic concepts, recent issues, and future challenges.” His research focuses on using “former food” for livestock feeding and feeding insects not only as a protein source but also as a potential mineral source. Exploring alternative feed options is vital in formulating effective and sustainable dairy rations. (5:38)
Dr. Pinotti talks about the challenges around variability in alternative feedstuffs. He goes on to describe some of the bakery byproducts he has used in research rations. He calls them fortified versions of cereal. They contain quite a lot of starch and also contain a lot of fat. These ingredients are ideal for young monogastric animals and also have utility in lactating dairy cow diets. The panel discusses the EU animal protein ban and whether similar restrictions exist for animal fats. When evaluating alternative feed ingredients for dairy rations, nutritional variability and regulatory challenges must be considered. (10:16)
Dr. Rico notes that insects contain between 40 and 70% protein, depending on the type of insect. Crickets, mealworms, and black soldier fly larvae are the most popular. The fly larvae have a higher fat content compared to crickets and are a good energy source for monogastrics like pigs, chickens, or fish. Less is understood about the feeding value of insects in ruminant diets, and Dr. Rico’s lab has been conducting experiments to help define this in dairy cattle. He notes the chitin content of insects is a unique challenge due to its indigestibility. It comes out in the NDF fraction in a nutrient analysis, but it is animal fiber, not plant fiber. Thinking critically about alternative feed ingredients for dairy rations involves assessing digestibility and nutrient profiles. (21:27)
The panel talks about the scalability of insects as a protein source and confirms that the theory that insects are a cheap protein source is different from reality at this time. The group talks about small-scale insect projects at universities and in Africa. Innovative alternative feed ingredients can potentially reshape dairy rations, but scalability issues remain a challenge. (27:17)
Dr. Pinotti explains that insects are quite good at accumulating minerals, bad and good. His group conducted an experiment using sodium selenite as the substrate and the insects made selenocysteine and selenomethionine. Future research will include zinc as well as selenium in the substrate, and insects will be fed in an in vivo trial to verify bioavailability. He does not envision issues with chitin interfering with bioavailability since the insects incorporate the minerals into amino acids. As scientists test alternative feed ingredients for dairy rations, they focus on mineral bioavailability and nutritional effectiveness. (34:27)
Dr. Rico talks about the amino acid and fatty acid profiles in insects. Essential amino acid content is relatively similar to other common protein sources. Insects contain higher levels of lauric and myristic acids than other common sources which could pose a challenge for lactation diets. He explains that there is a low-fat source of black soldier fly larvae with around 12% fat, compared to 30% in the full-fat version. The panel talks about variability in protein and fat content by insect type and the substrate the insects were grown on. When assessing dairy rations, it’s crucial to consider how alternative feed ingredients like insect larvae affect both protein and fat levels for cows. (37:35)
Dr. Dou describes some of her circular feed research using fresh cull fruit (kiwi, citrus, apples; delivered daily) blended into the TMR. Later, she also ensiled the fruit with dry hay in an effort to preserve the fruit before spoilage. Dr. Pinotti notes that he has used cull material from a salad plant as feed as well. Thus, incorporating various alternative ingredients can benefit and optimize dairy rations. (44:31)
Dr. Dou reports that one-third of food produced for human consumption never makes it to the human stomach. Globally, it’s estimated that 1.6-1.9 billion tons of food are lost and wasted each year. The panel talks about the biggest challenges keeping us from using more former food products in livestock feeding. Finding ways to utilize alternative feed ingredients for dairy rations could help reduce food waste and support sustainability in the industry. (50:54)
Panelists share their take-home thoughts. In summary, evaluating a range of alternative feed ingredients and their effect on dairy rations is key to sustainable nutrition practices. (59:51)
Conclusion
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