Enhancing the sustainability of dairy farm rations through the use of byproduct feeds

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Animal products have been consumed by humans for millennia to meet protein and energy requirements for maintenance, growth, and activity, but this source of nutrients comes with a carbon footprint cost. Much of the effort made by ruminant nutritionists to reduce the environmental footprint of animal production has been focused on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit of protein or energy output, with great success. Nevertheless, the environmental effects of food production as a system are far more complex than emissions alone; for example, ruminants such as dairy cattle are able to utilize materials that are unavailable for human digestion, effectively converting undigestible biomass into high-quality nutrients for human consumption while decreasing competition between humans and animals for resources. Byproduct feeds are a way to incorporate biomass like this into cattle rations, and while dairy nutritionists have studied these feeds as ways to reduce feed costs, relatively few have considered them to improve sustainability and decrease the footprint of animal protein production. This is the focus of my proposed research program.Specifically, this research will quantify the effect of byproduct feeds in reducing waste in food and fuel production processes, reduce the environmental impact of milk production by using byproduct feeds to reduce emissions from dairy cattle, and utilize byproduct feeds to improve animal health and productivity.