Project Objectives:

To develop improved procedures to protect Indian and Australian by-product nutrients.
To identify and evaluate 2-3 most appropriate Indian by-products and the development of a protected protein pilot plant.
To design for India a pilot plant to produce optimally protected lipid supplements and to evaluate Indian protected protein and Australian protected lipid nutrients.
Evaluation of Indian protected by- products - protein and lipid nutrient supplements
The application in Australia of improved methods to protect nutrients and the identification of new Australian non-conventional by-products as ruminant feeds

Research:

Even with the late start, the project is on track and meeting milestones and decision points in the Gantt charts.

Methods: Methodology to assess the protection and nutritional evaluation of feeds and quality and production responses in milk at the 2 laboratories (NDDB India) and (CSIRO Australia) have been standardised with the training of staff in India and Australia.

In vitro rumen incubations of by-product protein and lipid feeds tested by use of rumen fluid from cows, buffaloes in India and cows, sheep in Australia
Proximate analysis - dry matter, protein, fat, fibre components ADF, NDF, Lignin, ADIN, NDIN, fatty acid composition, amino acid composition, available lysine
5 Treatment procedures and analysis of treated feeds to evaluate levels of protection
Optimisation of treatments in laboratory micro chambers, testing of treated materials and evaluation using procedures of protection, available lysine, amino acid profiles
Feeding trials with cows in Australia, buffaloes and cows in India on small and large farms to measure the responses in quality and production of milk by measuring milk volume, fat, protein and fatty acid composition on different feeding regimes.

Progress of Research

Project Objectives:

To develop improved procedures to protect Indian and Australian by-product nutrients.
To identify and evaluate 2-3 most appropriate Indian by-products and the development of a protected protein pilot plant.
To design for India a pilot plant to produce optimally protected lipid supplements and to evaluate Indian protected protein and Australian protected lipid nutrients.
To evaluate Indian protected by-products, protein and lipid nutrient supplements
The application in Australia of improved methods to protect nutrients and identification of new Australian non-conventional by-products as ruminant feeds

Research:

The project is on track and meeting milestones and decision points in the Gant charts (Objective 3 and 4).
Additional work has been incorporated into the project schedule - the design and construction of a semi-commercial plant, its commissioning, training of feed plant staff and setting up of quality control procedures to produce protected protein feed (collaboratively by NDDB and CSIRO)
Methods/Trials:

On going quality control (QC) between laboratories at NDDB and CSIRO to test Indian produced feed supplements.
Feeding trials with cows in Australia, buffaloes and cows in India on small and large farms to measure the responses in quality and production of milk.
Small-scale trials (lipid by-product) to evaluate the preparation of protected lipid supplements and testing of these supplements in vitro and in vivo

A semi-commercial by-pass protein plant for producing up to 45-50 ton per day of optimally treated protein meal was designed in collaboration with CSIRO/NDDB and constructed in India. The plant was built and incorporated as a unit at the cattle feed plant Itola, Gujarat and was commissioned on 18th September 2002 by HE Penny Wensley, the Australian High Commissioner to India and Dr Amrita Patel the Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board, India.
This semi-commercial plant is producing optimally rumen-protected proteins from Indian indigenous by-products i.e. sunflower, rapeseed and guar bhardo meal. The quality control of the manufactured supplement is being undertaken by staff at the feed mill and at NDDB. To date all manufactured supplements are meeting specifications with a 70-75% rumen undegradable protein content.
The by-pass protein supplement is incorporated into a feed pellet at a concentration of 25%; the protein source eg, sunflower or rapeseed meal that is incorporated will be dependent on availability and cost.
Feeding trials using these commercial sources of by-pass protein have demonstrated economic benefits in cows and buffaloes on a predominantly straw-based diet. Feeding 1Kg of optimally protected protein meal resulted in a 0.8-1 litre increase in milk yield together with an improvement in the fat and protein yield. Preliminary cost benefit analysis suggest that this resulted in an additional income of Rs 8-10 per animal per day. Further trials are in progress and will continue for a period of 12 months in small and large farms at the village level to evaluate the impact and economic returns.
A pilot plant for producing up to 4Kg per batch of by-pass fat supplements was designed and constructed in Australia in consultation with the NDDB staff. This unit was commissioned at NDDB, Anand in May 2002. Small-scale batches of by-pass lipid supplements have been made using the standard oilseed material ie, canola and soybean. These "model" supplements are being tested by NDDB staff, that have been trained to measure the degree of fat protection using rumen incubation procedures and gas chromatography analysis.
The project was reviewed in September 2002 by ACIAR and an external review committee comprising Professor David Beever (University of Reading, UK); Professor Jim Gooden, (Ex Director of the Dairy Research Foundation University of Sydney) and Professor K Pradhan (Academy of Agricultural Science, New Delhi India).
A workshop on protected (by-pass) proteins was conducted at the National Dairy Development Board Anand in September 2002 for researchers, government and industry representatives, small and large farmers to identify the significance of by-pass nutrients and its use in improving milk yield and composition.
Symposia on rumen protected nutrients, sponsored by ACIAR, were held in conjunction with the AAAP conference in New Delhi in September 2002.
The semi-commercial plant at Itola India was inspected in Dec 2002 by representatives of NDDB and CSIRO and found to be operating to full capacity. Demand for by-pass protein was increasing and discussions occurred on how to increase plant capacity without sacrificing quality and safety aspects.

(01/01/2003-31/12/2003): Maximise production, monitor maintenance and safety aspects of the by-pass protein unit at the cattle feed plant at Itola, Gujarat, India
Production of by-pass protein at the Itola plant in India was maximised, by installing a rapid device to bag feed after a few hours of production. Dust bags and safety windows were installed to ensure occupational health and safety procedures are followed. Production per month in February 2004 approached 300 MT of pellets containing the by-pass protein. Quality control of feed supplements was monitored to ensure that by-pass protection specifications are met. All supplements manufactured were within specification with protein by-pass content of 70-75 per cent.
Transfer the by-pass protein technology to village farmers in Gujarat State
A workshop on feeding strategies for the efficient utilisation of existing feed resources to reduce the cost of milk production, which included protected by-pass proteins, was conducted at the National Dairy Development Board in November 2003 for researchers, government and industry representatives, small and large farmers to identify the best combination of resources to boost milk production in India. The workshop published guidelines to achieve this, which is in the process of being implemented in conjunction with NDDB/researchers/industry and village farmers.
Economic evaluation of the feeding trials in the Baroda district
Socio-economic analysis on the use of by-pass protein at the village level was undertaken, with a preliminary analysis indicating the benefits and economic impacts at the village level were greatest for farmers milking buffaloes followed by local cows and crossbred cows, with a net additional income of Rs 12.41, Rs 9.26 and Rs 7.28 respectively per animal per day.
Undertake regional feeding trials with by-pass protein supplements
Regional trials were conducted using by-pass protein supplements produced at the Itola plant in the East, North and Southern regions of India. Increases in milk production (1-2 L per animal per day) were observed in the North (Karnal) and East (Orissa), but a smaller response was obtained in the South (Kerala) where feed quality and quantity was not limited during the trial.

The project was due for completion in June 2004. An extension request for the project was made in July/August 2004 to monitor progress at the Itola plant and for the construction of an additional plant, together with further R&D.

A project extension document was developed in conjunction with the NDDB, there were delays in progressing this proposal in India and Australia. The sign off on the project document in India and Australia was completed in April/May 2005 with funds transferred to the University of Sydney in June 2005. An extension in time for the project was sought by NDDB and the University of Sydney. ACIAR has granted the extension in time and the project activity has been extended to June 2006.

Objective 1. Maximize production, monitor maintenance and safety aspects of the by-pass protein unit at the cattle feed plant at Itola, Gujarat, India.
Production per month in May/June 2004 approached 400 MT per month of pellets containing the by-pass protein. Quality control of feed supplements was monitored. All supplements manufactured were within specification with a protein by-pass content of 70-75%

Objective 2. Transfer the by-pass protein technology to village farmers in Gujarat State
Education and extension activities at the village level are on-going and this has resulted in an increase in use of these supplements by farmers at the village level

Objective 3. Economic evaluation of the feeding trials in the Baroda district
A report was completed and provided to ACIAR on the socio-economic analysis on the use of by-pass protein at the village level was undertaken by Professor George from the Centre for Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala, India. The economic impacts at the village level were greatest for farmers milking buffaloes followed by local cows and crossbred cows, with a net additional income of Rs 7.28 to 12.41 per animal per day.

Objective 4. Prepare reports, publications and other publicity material.

A list of publications and publicity is detailed under 4.4