Quantification and segment flows of raw material used in animal feed in France

Abstract

Societal expectations linked to the feeding of farm animals (without GMO, without imported deforestation, less competition with food crops…) are intensifying. In order to construct a methodology to detail the segmentation of feed consumption by animal sector, the “Groupement d’Intérêt Scientifique Avenir Élevages” mobilized a network of experts. A method of data reconciliation based on constraint optimization was used to make the different available data sources consistent and build a complete overview of the flows of feed materials (grains, by-products and forages) through the French feed supply chain. For the year 2015, the total grains and by-products used to feed farm animals was evaluated around 34 Mt standardized to 85 % dry matter for concentrates and between 70 and 72.5 Mt of 100 % dry matter for forages. Cattle were the first consumers of feed grains and by-products (37 % in total with 25 % for dairy and mixed systems and 12 % for beef cattle), before poultry (34 %) and pigs (23 %). Cattle (dairy, mixed and beef) consumed 43 % of the volume of soybean meal available in France, equalizing that used for poultry (43 %) and much higher than that used for pigs (6 %). The constructed methodology gives precise indicators on feed use, its sustainability, the importance of livestock in the consumption of by-products from the food industry, and self-sufficiency in protein of the French livestock sector. Its transformation into a perennial observatory of raw materials fluxes used in animal feed is under study in order to have a multiannual follow-up of the evolution of consumption.