From "eating whatever we have" to "having whatever we eat", my country has become the world's largest feed producer

The picture shows feed raw material specimens exhibited at the China Feed Museum.

Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ren Chao

The meat we choose in our daily food includes not only chickens, ducks, and geese, but also pigs, cattle, and sheep. Have you ever wondered what kind of feed these animals eat to grow up? In fact, the feed industry also has a long history and brilliant achievements.

Now, my country has become the world's largest feed producer.

More than 1,600 kinds of feed ingredients

In the feed raw material exhibition hall of China Feed Museum, more than 1,600 kinds of feed raw materials are displayed. The reason why there are so many kinds of raw materials is that my country is a country with relatively scarce feed resources, so the working people will develop all kinds of raw materials that may be used. The academic community divides my country's feed raw materials into 17 categories.

Among them, the most important raw materials are energy feeds such as corn, wheat, sorghum, oats, and barley; the second category is protein feeds such as soybean meal, fish meal, cottonseed meal, and rapeseed meal; the third category is various mineral element feeds, including stone powder, calcium hydrogen phosphate, sodium and chloride supplement salt, baking soda, etc.; the fourth category is various vitamins. In this way, we have a variety of choices when formulating feeds, and the raw materials or daily diets eaten by animals are nutritionally comprehensive, and all indicators can meet the needs.

Feed raw materials have evolved from single to diverse, from simple to complex, and this is also a process of gradual development and exploration. From the initial "what is available is available" - we feed animals whatever raw materials are available, regardless of whether the nutrition is sufficient, to the current "what is available is available" - we will analyze what the animals lack, and supplement what they lack, such as energy, protein, and vitamins, so that the animals will have what they eat in their bodies. In order to improve the overall reproductive performance of animals, we will also supplement them with folic acid; in order to make the feed taste more delicious, we add natural seasonings such as cloves to increase the animals' feed intake.

Multiple processes to produce feed

Of course, the work of producing feed can be done by machines, which is divided into several processes. The first is the receipt and cleaning of raw materials. The second is crushing. For example, corn kernels must be crushed so that nutrients can be easily digested and absorbed. The third is the batching and mixing process, which requires accurate batching and even mixing. Accurate batching means that the prepared materials must strictly follow the formula requirements; even mixing means that even the smallest sample of feed must contain all the nutrients - to ensure that the animal eats a mouthful of feed, and all the nutrients it needs are included.

Finally, the molding equipment will shape the powder. For example, you can make a dog into a bone shape, or a cat into a fish shape. After molding, it also needs to be cooled, dried, and packaged.

Adjusting feed can change the nutrition of livestock products

With the development of my country's economy and society, people eat livestock products not only to fill their stomachs, but also to pursue delicious and healthy eating. For example, many people eat deep-sea fish to supplement Omega-3 fatty acids. Now, through the method of matching feed, eggs with high Omega-3 content can be produced, and the Omega-3 content in ordinary pork can be close to the level of ordinary fish.

The quality of three meals a day is directly related to the health and happiness of the people. A strong agricultural country not only means self-sufficiency in food, but also high-quality animal husbandry is equally important. If we want to eat nutritiously and healthily, we have to start from the source. Only when animals eat well can they provide us with a high-quality source of protein.

Feed is an important part of large-scale agriculture. How to make good use of limited resources to solve the problem of food security for Chinese people is the goal that this industry has been pursuing.

The author is Ma Yongxi, executive director of the China Feed Museum