Animal feed
Animal feed consists of edible materials, including forage and formulated products, given to domesticated animals to meet their nutritional needs.
Animal nutrition: The study and practice of supplying animals with nutrients for maintenance, growth, reproduction, and health. It explains the nutritional goals that feed is designed to meet.
Forage: Plant material eaten by grazing animals or harvested for feeding, including grasses and legumes. Forage supplies much of the diet of grazing livestock and ruminants.
Animal feed processing: Physical, chemical, or biological operations that prepare feed ingredients for storage, handling, or consumption. Processing changes feed texture, stability, and sometimes nutrient availability.
Livestock production: The raising of domesticated animals for food, fiber, labor, or other products. Feed supply and cost strongly influence the scale and productivity of livestock systems.
Nutrient: A substance an organism needs for energy, growth, maintenance, or regulation of biological processes. Feed supplies nutrients in forms animals can use.
Compound feed: A prepared mixture of feed materials formulated to provide a specified nutrient profile. It combines ingredients to meet production animals’ dietary requirements.
Pelletizing: A process that compresses ground feed into dense, uniform pellets using heat, moisture, and pressure. Pelleting makes formulated feed easier to handle and can reduce ingredient separation.
Feed efficiency: The amount of animal product or growth obtained from a given quantity of feed. Improving feed efficiency can reduce resource use per unit of production.
Digestibility: The proportion of ingested food that an animal can digest and absorb. Nutrient content alone does not show how much feed an animal can use.
Concentrate feed: Feed rich in energy or protein and relatively low in fiber compared with roughage. Concentrates complement forage when animals need more energy or protein.