Home grown proteins – Testing the options Sprouting seeds and pulses for livestock feed Liz Bowles Head of Farming Soil Association wwww.innovativefarmers.org

Sprouting seeds and pulses for livestock feed  The field lab approach  Origin of the sprouted seeds and pulses field lab  Experimental question  Progress to date

F IELD L AB A PPROACH SPONSORS  Farmers join a group  Each group has a coordinator  Groups are matched to a researcher  Research finding can be provided  Groups share findings via the web portal  We spread the word “From advice takers to advice makers”

Feeding sprouted cereals and pulses to livestock  This field lab seeks to investigate if there are any benefits from feeding sprouted cereal and pulse seeds to livestock  No rigorous performance trials have been conducted to date

What do we know about feeding sprouted seeds and pulses to livestock?  Research conducted in Australia, Iran and the USA  Research / anecdotal evidence suggests that substituting concentrates with sprouts allows reductions in total concentrates fed at a given level of animal performance

Nutritional changes on sprouting

Experimental questions ?  Quantifying the benefit in use: Is there a benefit of feeding sprouted seeds compared to un-sprouted seeds (animal health and nutrition)?  Cost/benefit: If there is a benefit, is it large enough to overcome the growing costs?  Scalability: If there could be a cost benefit how can on farm production of sprouts be made practicable?

What have we learnt so far?  1 kg seeds produces 6.25 kg after 6 days sprouting  Dry matter 8-18%  Analysis of sprouts complicated  Some evidence of improvements in nutritional profile improving digestibility and animal performance  Some evidence of heightened levels of protein and energy; lysine and some vitamins and reduced starch in DM  Some evidence of animal health benefits

What have we learnt so far ?  Germination is improved by pre treatment of the seeds  It is possible to grow sprouts on a continuous belt system  Key issue is the cost of growing and feeding sprouts

Next steps  Trials are to start with laying hens in January 2016  Ongoing monitoring with sprouts and beef cattle  On conclusion of the hen trial a meeting will be called to review findings

Thank you