European-grown soybeans have been processed by novel technologies and their use in pigs and poultry showed similar results as using commercial soybean meal. Fractionation of rapeseed meal (RSM) into a fine and coarse fraction demonstrated superior pig performance and digestibility of the fine fraction compared with commercial RSM. Proteins extracted from green biomass were inferior to conventional protein sources and the remaining pulp after extraction of the protein is not well suited as rabbit feed. However, improvements in the harvest and precipitation procedures have improved the protein content of the concentrate. The digestibility and metabolizable energy content of individual feed ingredients and mixed diets can be predicted by NIRS with a relatively high precision.
Prototypes of equipment to measure individual feed intake in group-housed broilers and rabbits were developed and used to study variation in feed intake among animals. The variation in composition of the intestinal and faecal microbiota in pigs, rabbits, and poultry as affected by diet composition and genotype, and their relationships with nutrient digestion and feed efficiency have been established.
Promising breeding traits (e.g. based on digestive efficiency, gut microbiota composition, robustness and social interactions) have been evaluated in relation to feed efficiency. The advantage of using these traits for selection, in combination with genomic and crossbred information, was evaluated. Demonstration of the potential of some of the indicators was conducted in pigs and rabbits.
New systems for precision feeding system for growing pigs, sows, and poultry have been developed using a modular design. The components of the system (i.e. a decision support system, precision feeding devices, and an electronic controller) have been fully integrated to compose a complete precision feeding system to work on-farm. For growing pigs, sets of pre-industrial precision feeding systems have been manufactured and installed for validation and demonstration activities.
Different conceptual models for pigs and poultry were developed to simulate feed use mechanisms, such as digestion and metabolic utilization. A perturbation model was developed to quantify robustness traits of an animal, while a stochastic module was developed to quantify variation in traits among individual animals within a herd. These models have been integrated in the FeedUtiliGene software that facilitates the understanding of the different models and allows their direct use. The tool can help in making decisions on genetic selection, feeding strategies, and management of the herd.
Life Cycle Assessment and Cost Benefit Analysis were used to assess the environmental and economic impacts of the different solutions proposed by the project. Surveys investigated consumer and farmer attitudes to measures that can improve the sustainability of livestock production. Data from these exercises were used to construct a composite index to explore the relative sustainability of feeding solutions for pigs and poultry.
Project communication and dissemination was carried out through the project website, brochures, 5 newsletters, videos (53), social media posts, and scientific publications (39 peer-reviewed papers and 212 communications). Seven demonstration events, 7 stakeholder workshops, and a final stakeholder meeting were organized.
