Processing and use of crop residues including alfalfa press cake.

Better utilization of roughage can improve the production of red meat and dairy products. Feed value of low grade roughages can be greatly increased by chemical and/or physical treatments. Both alkali and ammonia treatments are already being used commercially in Europe, although there is still opportunity for process improvement. In the United States, the low cost of grain and oilseeds makes the economics of processing cellulosic byproducts less desirable, but their eventual use seems inevitable. New processes for forage fractionation are yielding surprising increases in the fiber digestibility of high grade roughages, resulting in substantial increases in the overall feed value obtainable per ton of raw material. The improved economic returns achieved by the new processes will speed adoption of the new technology.

Availability of oxidized sulfur amino acids for the growing chick.

In four trials, experimental diets were fed to one week old broiler cockerels for a period of 14 days to compare the availability of oxidized sulfur amino acids to DL-methionine on an equimolar basis. The data were analyzed by the slope-ratio technique. Chick weight gain per unit feed consumed was the dependent variable and dietary level of supplemental amino acid was the independent variable. There was no significant (P=.05) differences in availability of DL-, L-, and D-methionine. D-, DL-, and L-methionine sulfoxide were 52, 59 and 77%, respectively, as available as DL-methionine. The differences in availability between the three sulfoxides and DL-methionine were significant. Both DL- and D-methionine sulfoxide were significantly less available than L-methionine sulfoxide. No response was obtained from L-cysteic acid or DL-methionine sulfone.