July 30, 2013
Philippinesstudiesuse of sorghum as feed material to lower feed costs
In order to lower the cost of chicken feed, the Philippine''s Pampanga Agricultural College (PAC) is studying the possibility of using sweet sorghum grains as a complementary raw feed material to corn grains.
This is according to the country''s Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR).
It was discovered that the use of sweet sorghum grains can potentially lower feed cost to PHP20.49 (US$0.47) per kilogramme (kg) compared to PHP21.86/kg (US$0.50) using corn.
The difference in cost is significant given that feeds account for 50% of the cost of raising
poultry and
livestock. Also, the Philippines imports corn
feed ingredients particularly feed wheat.
"Any competitiveness in cost will have an important impact in raising the standard of living especially of our small farmers," said BAR director Nicomedes Eleazar.
The university''s study showed that acceptability to animals of sweet sorghum feed was similar, to corn-based feeds.
"The result would imply that sweet sorghum can replace corn without causing adverse effects on performance," PAC''s report said.
However, even if the PAC study proves sweet sorghum to be an adequate feed supplement, it will not automatically mean that it will be immediately used as such. Grain production is still limited because farmers still do not have an assured market.
Conversely, companies would not commit to purchase of sweet sorghum because there is no steady supply.
On the research side, continuous studies have to be conducted for the production of commercial grade feed grains.