Norwegian Research Explores Biorefining Grass to Create Feed for Non-Ruminants

Researchers with the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research are exploring green biorefining of grass and seaweed to provide a protein feed for non-ruminant livestock including pigs, chickens, and fish. In the biorefining process, the plant material is run through a screw press, releasing nutrients from the plant cells together with the liquid fraction. The product is then concentrated as a protein feed that single-stomach animals can digest. The work in Norway is based on experiments in Denmark that replaced 15% of a pig ration with a grass-based concentrate of 47% protein and tested the grass-based concentrate as a replacement for soy. In Norway, researchers are also testing the remaining pulp from the biorefining as a feed for dairy cattle, which they believe could result in the cattle producing less methane because the rumination process goes more quickly.