Compound Feed Production for Livestock

Dairying is an important source of subsidiary income to small/marginal farmers and agricultural labourers. Cattle feeding practices are generally traditional and most of the feed comes from grazing. However, due to shortage of feed, there has been a gradual shift from traditional feed pattern to compound feed (CF). For livestock it is either in the form of mash, feed block or feed pellets. With added advantages, the feed block and feed pellets are more popular than the mash. In India, CF is produced at the industrial level. The CFmaking machines are classified as feed block-making machines and feed pellet-making machines; these are further classified as manually operated, electrical and IC engine-powered machines. The feed pelleting machines available in the market are expensive and thus unaffordable by livestock farmers. If small-scale animal producers have access to a domestically developed pellet mill technology that is low cost yet dependable, then it reduces the dependency on the high cost of commercial feeds available in the market and makes dairy farming more profitable by taking advantages of different feedstuff available at cheap prices, especially during harvest when high-quality ingredients available at low prices.