Bio feed has become increasingly popular in the last decade, with experts favoring its sustainability and many benefits over traditional feeds like corn and soybeans. Its popularity has made it easier to get at local feed stores and online, making it an option that more farmers are able to try out with their livestock.
Farmers with experience using bio feed rave about its effects on the health of their livestock, so if you’re not sure what bio feed is or why you should use it, here are the top five benefits of using bio feed for poultry and pigs.
1) Better Animal Health
There’s a reason why farmers feed livestock specifically designed food. Livestock that is raised on special bio feed has better health overall, which translates to higher quality meat when you buy it at your local grocery store. Of course, animal health is more important than ever before.
Just think about what happened in 2011 when a massive egg recall took place due to an outbreak of salmonella… It’s not only expensive to feed livestock that leads to salmonella outbreaks, but it also puts lives at risk! And perhaps most importantly: if your animals aren’t healthy, neither are you!
Trust us—if a farmer isn’t providing their livestock with high-quality bio feed, they probably aren’t paying attention during other parts of animal care either.
2) Faster Growth Rate
With more than enough nutrients available, animals will grow faster, which makes it easier to keep track of their growth. And with less time spent feeding them and cleaning up after them, your farm’s bottom line will increase significantly.
Faster growth rates are one of the top benefits bio feed has to offer. Goat and cattle farmers in particular can expect to see big jumps in income as they start using it.
3) Lower Water Usage
Waste is a major concern when it comes to animal agriculture, but it’s especially true when it comes to livestock. Goats and cattle are particularly wasteful creatures—they pollute water sources with their waste, leading to severe contamination issues.
A single cow can produce 130 pounds of manure per day—that’s at least one hundred times more than an average person produces daily. Even chickens are notorious for producing huge amounts of feces; as many as ten tons each year, in fact.
If you want to reduce your impact on natural resources, starting using bio feed instead of conventional feedstock may be a great way to go about it.
4) Reduction in the Number of Antibiotics Used
Animal health is a top priority for livestock farmers. While antibiotics are a vital tool in animal care, overuse can lead to drug resistance and other health issues. Over-the-counter antibiotics should be used as little as possible—preferably only after consultation with a veterinarian.
In order to make sure your cattle or poultry have access to proper medicine, you might consider using bio feed. Organic compounds called herbs provide many of these same benefits as medications, but without some of their negative side effects. Not only that, but they’re often less expensive than antibiotics!
5) Fewer Pesticides
Farms that rely on synthetic fertilizers, which are often imported from far away, to grow their crops can’t grow without pesticides. Farmers who use bio-feed with their livestock don’t need to rely on pesticides at all. The plants used in bio feed have been grown using natural methods, so pests aren’t a problem; plus they have built-in mechanisms that ward off diseases.
When animals eat these plants, there are no chemicals ingested along with them—only healthy nutrients like protein, fiber, and minerals. This results in more flavor-packed meat products, and farmers who use bio feed often enjoy a higher profit margin than those who only use synthetic fertilizers and pest control solutions.
Summary
Whether you’re raising chickens, goats, pigs, or something else entirely, using bio feed can be a key to making your livestock happier, healthier, and more productive. Animals love rooting around in hay or grazing in pasture fields—it’s what they’re programmed to do.
But if you’re not careful about your feed options, you could be missing out on some valuable opportunities. Introducing bio feed into your livestock program could help resolve any issues.
