Our podcast on harvesting challenges

Grain producers face a lot of challenges during and after harvesting, for example, delayed to prolonged hot and dry weather conditions. Alexandra, what are the most common things they struggle with?

Alexandra Desbruslais: Indeed, there are numerous challenges facing producers, both during and after harvest. This year particularly, we expect some of these challenges to be exacerbated by the current geopolitical situation. And we're already seeing shortages of raw materials that have driven up the price and availability of grains.

So, the key challenges that we expect to see in grains for livestock food production around harvest include concerns such as high intrinsic content of non-starch polysaccharides or NSPs, as we tend to call them. Likewise, we know that the apparent metabolizable energy of grains can be really variable, and this makes understanding the true nutritional value of the grain difficult.

Additionally, we know that fresh grains contain oxidative reactions that can have subsequent impacts on the animal performance and health. High microbial activity can also be problematic. The processes of harvesting, trigger bacterial and fungal activities, as well as subsequent mycotoxin activities. It's also not uncommon for damage to occur to grains both before and during harvest, and this can be caused by things such as waiting slightly too long to harvest, poor weather conditions, or bad equipment during the harvesting process.

Delays in harvesting often occur due to wet weather conditions. And when there's a need to let the grains dry first and/or for farmers or producers that don't have sufficient capacity in their grain dryers to meet the grain that needs to be harvested and dried. We also know that when grains contain either too much or too little moisture, it can be problematic. Likewise, when we dry the grain, challenges such as harvesting losses and shatter losses and increased dustiness can occur. And of course, when the grain is too wet, we have a very high risk of spoilage.

That sounds like a lot of challenges and this year it won't get any easier, I'm afraid. Maja, maybe you can tell us a bit about the food safety challenges that are on your radar when we consider feeding newly harvested grain?

Maja Sakkers: Yes. I think the primary concern this year is just going to be a matter of supply versus demand. A few countries that are key suppliers of grains in particular have already put restrictions on exports so that their own countries have sufficient supplies. So, India, for example, is a country that has already put this in place and they are the second biggest supplier or producer of wheat. So, that's likely to cause some impacts and naturally, push up the prices again.

I think there's a lot of people that will have to make a bit of an unwanted compromise that they will have to pick availability potentially, over quality in some cases. And I think they will maybe need to look at some additional feed safety measures just to accommodate that they may not get the best quality grain that they are looking for. There's not a lot of slack in the system at the moment. People will really have to take what they can get, I think, and there's not a lot of time to allow for drying of grains or settling of the grains before utilization. So, I think a lot of it will end up straight in production facilities and in feed, which can cause some issues.

How do you think this will impact the animal production industry?

Alexandra: Traditionally, when grain is taken off the field, producers would typically either store the grain for a period of anything from a few weeks to several months, or they would dry or aerate the grain mechanically. The current situation means that we are likely to see some producers having to use the grain straight off the field or with reduced storage times. And this has several consequences.

Research has shown that the apparent metabolizable energy of freshly harvested grain is very variable, as we've said, and that this would normally improve with storage. This is likely to be linked to a high intrinsic non-starch polysaccharide content in those grains. And this would naturally reduce over time due to endogenous glycanase activity in the grains, but this would typically take several months for this to occur. If there's not sufficient time for this to occur, we would typically need to look at ways of mitigating this NSP content, to avoid downstream performance and health effects in our livestock.

The other danger comes from again, endogenous enzyme activity in the grain. Here at Kemin, we recently studied the occurrence of oxidative reactions in grains, and we found that both wheat and barley, when they're ground, it seems that it triggers an oxidative chain reaction and we see that the peroxide value of the grain starts to rise. We know that when animals consume oxidized feed, it negatively impacts the oxidative status of the animal, which can have both health and performance impacts. Likewise, we know that oxidation in the feed reduces the palatability of the feed, which typically significantly reduces feed intake and of course, therefore, performance.

Maja: Yeah, and if I can also add in, the process of oxidation, one of the byproducts that's produced as part of oxidation reactions is water. So, you're also ending up with an increase in moisture, potentially, in those grains, which are already sensitive to moisture, and that can often be a trigger for additional feed safety concerns, such as microbial growth, molds, all of those are very sensitive to temperature and moisture.

We all know that the growing human population is driving global demand for food, which of course impacts grain production. A substantial increase in grain production, even as much as 70% is needed globally to meet the needs of this growth. Maja, do you have any thoughts on how we can meet these global demands?

Maja: I think it's a tricky question because there's always a bit of a competition in terms of farming land availability versus land for population growth, for housing. We are seeing a lot of cultivated land being converted into housing. So, we have fairly limited resources. And the current projections are that grain production needs to come from the land that is currently already existing farmland and that has to be done with as small as possible an environmental impact.

Certainly, agriculture is quite a hot topic in terms of its environmental impact. So, we need to look at optimizing high yield technologies, really making sure that we make the most of what is available in order to adapt our practices and really reduce that environmental impact, whilst ensuring that we can get the optimum efficiency. So, it's really about reducing the waste. There is a fair bit of waste in terms of at harvesting time, there's a portion that is always lost in storage, there is a portion that is lost. So, we really need to also look at just minimizing those losses in order to help make up the deficit.

Continuing on that environmental impact, Kemin wants to contribute to our customers' sustainability, impact, and journey. That's why we've recently done a study to investigate the greenhouse gas emissions in CO2 equivalents between three different methods of green storage. Maja, you know all about this project.

Maja: Kemin has performed a life cycle impact assessment and this was done in collaboration with our partners, Dow, and Adesco. It was also validated by an external consultancy firm, Blonk. What we were looking at was the environmental impact in the carbon footprint of stored grains and these that are traditionally dried or aerated versus looking at an alternative option, which is treating the grain just after harvest.

Instead of going through the whole drying process, to treat as those grains are coming in off the fields and just put those straight into storage. So, you are cutting out that whole drying step, the time that is lost waiting for dryers to be finished. And what we looked at here was specifically the CO2 emissions. We looked at for barley and wheat aeration, drying, and then the Kemin treatments. We saw that there's about a 77% reduction or a three times reduction in carbon footprint or CO2 equivalents, by treating this grain. You also have a lot better nutrient preservation and nutrient digestibility, which is as critical for animal performance later on. And what we found in the end result was that about one kilogram of Myco CURB^® ES liquid is equivalent to about 2.3 kilograms of CO2 equivalents. This has also been certified as an ISO 14040, and 14044.

So, you're talking about a life cycle assessment here. Alexandra, maybe for those that are less familiar with that term, do you have a short explanation?

Alexandra: A life cycle assessment is a holistic approach in which we examine how our solutions contribute to sustainability, to impact on the environment. We do this through looking at the CO2 equivalency per kilogram of raw materials to compound feeds, and finally to our foods, through the complete value chain to improve feed storage, feed processing, animal productivity, and welfare. And this in turn, contributes to the overall efficiency and profitability of production.

At Kemin, we believe that life cycle impact assessments in which we carefully study the complete value chain using the data-driven approach, allows us to accurately evaluate the environmental impact and remain agile in continuously improving our solutions and practices. And this in turn enables us to contribute to our customer sustainability impact and journey, as well as our own organization's impact on the environment.

That's all very interesting. Maja, to get a better understanding of how Kemin contributes to sustainability, could you give us some more details on the outcome of that study?

Maja: Sure. The net outcome of that study was that liquid treatment of grains, instead of doing the drying or aeration, reduced the CO2 emissions of stored grain by three times, so a 77% reduction, and that was using Myco CURB ES liquid. So, it's a great alternative. We are reducing the fossil fuel usage in the dryers, and it's also allowing farmers to get their products stored more quickly, with less waste.

We also had a look how this can really be used to reduce on-farm emissions. Currently, feed contributes around 50% of the total carbon emissions of animal products. So, it was really important that we create a tangible, measurable impact that we can have on the final animal production, that we can significantly reduce those CO2 emissions by doing these treatments. And allow our customers to gain these new insights, get the new knowledge, look at alternatives that are currently being investigated, that can really help to start bringing these CO2 numbers down and adopt these practices.

Grain treatment is definitely the way forward here. And I think this will also allow the immediate use of freshly harvested grains. Alexandra, if producers don't treat their grains, what would be the biggest challenge they could be facing?

Alexandra: At Kemin, we've recently conducted quite a lot of research on new grain syndrome, to support the industry with guidance and efficient solutions that allow the immediate use of freshly harvested grains, to allow them to feed their animals without the negative impacts we would normally associate with new grain syndrome.

So, using fresh grains for the preparation of livestock feeds immediately after harvest, can result in substantial health and performance problems. Significantly reduced feed intake, as often reported, gastroenteritis, fever, diarrhea, hives, vitamin deficiencies, and lower gains are widely reported. And this phenomenon has often been termed new grain syndrome. Well, it can be easiest prevented by storing the grains for the first few weeks to a few months following harvest, before using them in feed.

Interestingly, the associated negative effects observed seem to be gradually decreased over that storage time. And if we feed the grains at the end of that storage period, we don't tend to see the same severity of symptoms that we find if we feed it immediately. However, for many producers, this is not a viable option in the current geopolitical situation and with the raw material shortages and high feed costs, which will necessitate quick implementation of the cereals that are available, just to safeguard the supply and feed for their animals.

This phenomenon called new grain syndrome, it seems to be a big threat for the animal production industry. Maja, could you maybe elaborate a bit more on that?

Maja: Actually, very little is known about new grain syndrome. It's something that hasn't been studied probably enough, and there's quite a lot of different opinions in terms of what exactly is causing new grain syndrome. When is it actually being seen on farm? So, there's still a little bit of a hot debate in terms of exactly what is causing these new grain syndrome type of symptoms. There's a lot of discussion that it is related to enzymes and also potentially mycotoxins.

What the research is currently showing, is that there is possibly a connection between the NSPs, which are creating an increase in viscosity inside of the diet and the gut of the animal. This is relating to things like diarrhea. It is decreasing production. That there are some reactions that are occurring inside of the animals that is basically affecting the overall performance. We see this across species and basically, that whole gut throughput is impacted. We see a decrease in feed intake. Some of the things that we also see is poor absorption of nutrients.

So, these are all things that we see quite often, and especially in younger animals, which are possibly a little bit more sensitive, we really see an enhanced negative effect. It's really important when we are looking at newly harvested grains, to be aware that there are these potential side effects that can take place in animals, that production can be affected, animal health can be affected. And that's really important and something we want to highlight, that people become aware that there is this potential risk in feeding newly harvested grains that have not been stored, that there are additional concerns or risks within these types of ingredients.

Alexandra: Indeed, that high NSP content of the grain can be substantially higher in those freshly harvested grains. A lot of the problem this causes is thanks to their gel forming properties. So, once the feed material meets the aqueous environment of the gut, gels are formed, and this essentially really thickens up that digester and prevents that throughput. We see very low gut throughput, which reduces feed intake and performance, and also has an encapsulating effect on the nutrients in the feed.

So, the endogenous and any exogenous enzymes that have been applied, can't effectively access those nutrients in the feed and the animal, therefore, can't break them down and subsequently utilize them. This can be a quite substantial issue. Previous research has shown that the AME, so the apparent metabolizable energy of the grain, can be as much as 29% lower at harvest than it is after a few months of storage. We believe that, that is due to this NSP content of the grain. So yeah, really quite substantial issues that this can cause.

A common myth that pops up regarding the new grain syndrome is that it only impacts pigs, but what about other monogastrics, Alexandra?

Alexandra: Indeed, in the general monogastric sector, so both pigs and poultry, we know that feeding newly harvested grain has been widely shown to be problematic. So, in poultry, we often see poor feed intake, reduced feed efficiency, and then in pigs, we tend to see the more generalized poor health. The fever, the hives, the diarrhea symptoms are more often reported. Whether this is due to the life cycle of those animals, that the pigs are kept for far longer, and therefore seem to have far more acute symptoms, we're not really sure, but certainly problematic to more than just pigs.

Maja: And I think also important, while the research has mainly been focused on pigs and poultry, the potential exists that this is also occurring in some other animal species that would be sensitive, especially your young animals, and that we simply do not have the research yet, that is verifying that these issues are taking place.

But at Kemin, we have already conducted some research on new grain syndrome to support the industry with guidance and efficient solutions. Alexandra, from a nutrition perspective, what is the best approach to tackle this phenomenon?

Alexandra: At Kemin, we propose two solutions that can be either used alone or in combination to tackle this challenge. The first is the use of an effective antioxidant blend in the feed, that's highly effective at controlling that peroxide value in the grain. So, antioxidants are key to addressing oxidation challenges. Our research into new grain syndrome found that treating grains with Paradigmox^®, a unique antioxidant blend, can preserve their nutritional value. So, Paradigmox can significantly reduce the peroxide values to the acceptable levels that we would see in those of stored grains. So, this convenient and direct approach offers a cost effective strategy to allow immediate use of freshly harvested grains into monogastric diets.

To mitigate the oxidative reactions in newly harvested grain, we need to apply an effective antioxidant at grinding. What about the high NSP levels you mentioned earlier?

Alexandra: Indeed. So, to mitigate the effects of a high intrinsic NSP content, we found that using a multi-enzyme solution can be a really effective solution. So, KEMZYME® Plus is a unique multi-enzyme solution for complex substrates. So, it contains three different NSP degrading enzymes, so a xylanase, a beta-glucanase, and a cellulase, and this helps to degrade the structural non-starch polysaccharides, and it's been designed to have maximum functionality. So, we're not only attacking those NSPs from one point, but from three different points to ensure that we get maximum degradation of all those NSPs within the diet.

So, an internal study that we've conducted here at Kemin has confirmed that KEMZYME Plus is highly effective at mitigating the viscosity effect of the NSPs, so we can prevent that thickening in the gut and reduce throughput in newly harvested grains, such as wheat and barley. And by reducing this viscosity, KEMZYME Plus promotes reduced bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine and subsequent deconjugation of bile salts, which then avoids the reduced efficacy of lipid emulsification.

Secondly, the use of a multi-enzyme solution increases contact between feed and digestive enzymes, therefore improving the nutrient digestibility. And this of course then, has the knock on effect of improving litter quality and therefore consequently, the foot pad health and things like breast burn as well. And of course, this helps prevent the carcass downgrades at slaughter. And ultimately, we see better performance parameters such as feed efficiency and growth rates.

Maja: And then also just important to be aware of the dosage rate that would be required, because of that viscosity increase. Very often, we see with the enzymes that you may need a higher dosage rate than you would normally use, just to counteract those negative effects in terms of getting to the actual substrates.

Alexandra: Yeah, indeed. In some production systems, we regularly hear reported that they will use as much as double the normal dose of an NSP degrading enzyme during the use of a newly harvested grain. So yeah, definitely something to bear in mind.

From a nutrition perspective, it's clear that we advise to have a combination of enzymes and antioxidants. Maja, about the feed safety aspect, what you think there? Because most people in the industry immediately think of mycotoxins when they talk about new grain syndrome. Do we have any recommendation on that side of the story?

Maja: There has been some research that links aflatoxins in newly harvested grains. What the research is showing is that in particular, Aspergillus molds are slightly more active just after harvesting, and these are the molds that are responsible for the production of aflatoxins. So, it is possible that there is a link with aflatoxins, certainly some of the symptoms we see in new grain syndrome could also match with mycotoxicosis or some of the subclinical effects that we see from mycotoxins.

So, there are options to look at that. One is taking a proactive approach and that is doing the grain treatment in order to inhibit those molds from growing in the first place, that they can produce those aflatoxins. And the other would be, being aware that there's a higher risk of mycotoxins in that feed and treating the feed with an effective mycotoxin binder.

Feed additives are actually just one piece of the puzzle here. If we zoom out now and we look at the whole picture, is there any other advice that we can share with our listeners, Alexandra?

Alexandra: Antioxidants and enzymes are only part of the puzzle. Here at Kemin, we try to take a really holistic approach to pretty much everything we do here. Our customer laboratory services team have developed several analytical services to support the challenges of harvest. Based on an in-depth analysis of both various oxidative parameters, our lab can look at both primary and secondary oxidation as well as nutritional parameters.

We can obtain insights into both the oxidative quality of freshly harvested grains, including their sensitivity to future oxidation, but we can also look at the nutritional value of some of these ingredients and what this actually means for what's going into your diet. So, allowing producers to select the best sources and suppliers for individual raw materials that go into their feed manufacturing practice.

Maja: Yeah, and just to add to that, of course you can also look at things like the mycotoxin levels in the feed, and you can also look at things like mold counts to help give you an indication of the risk level within those grains and cereals. That's certainly something that I think a lot of our customers have made use of, in order to really get a holistic idea of what is taking place in those ingredients.

Kemin has a couple of solutions available to producers, particularly this year when we are experiencing such challenging market conditions and raw material availability, but there are probably a lot of other things to investigate as well. Maja, what do you think that the future holds?

Maja: There's certainly a huge amount of work that still needs to be done. It is something that we are actively looking into, something that we are very interested in investigating further. So yes, we will be looking at the risk levels in grains. We will be expanding our regions as well, looking at some of the other grains as well, things like at more corn.

And yeah, I think that's something we will try and determine as well is, if we can really get a better understanding of what are all the factors involved in new grain syndrome. Because as we said, there's a lot of debates, a lot of unsurety of exactly what is taking place. We know about the oxidation, that has been clearly described, but I think there could be a lot more taking place that we are not yet aware of. So, we need to get a better idea of the whole picture.