Denis Drechsler and Nancy Morgan
15 April 2014

Feed use accounts for about a third of world consumption of cereals. Despite its significance, feed utilization is a largely unknown component in supply and demand balances. AMIS Research Paper No. 3 summarizes current knowledge on feed utilization by reviewing feed consumption patterns in several countries and methods for estimating feed use.

In the developed countries, feed use data is typically calculated using the “supply” (or balance sheet) approach. Documenting all the key elements within a balance sheet allows the calculation of feed use as a residual. This method of calculation has many advantages, but assumes that appropriate surveys can be undertaken in order to accurately estimate production, other uses and, most difficult of all, the level of carryover stocks. When the implementation of such surveys is not possible for national authorities, due to logistical or other constraints, then the “demand” approach provides an alternative solution: calculating how much feed animals actually require. As illustrated in this report, the success of this approach is largely conditioned on the availability of reliable information about the livestock sector, including the type of animal and animal numbers. Furthermore, it would be necessary to prepare customised surveys to collect some of the more problematic variables, such as the extent of on-farm feeding and feed conversion ratios.

Drawing on a number of case studies, the report identifies the “pros and cons” of the various methodologies, discusses the data requirements for estimating feed use in the context of cereal balance sheets and reviews some of the options for a better estimation of cereal feed use.