Leaf Pellets from Energy Plantations

Calliandra leaf pellets
With an estimated leaf volume of 1/4 of the wood but the price of leaf pellets is around 3 times the price of wood pellets. So the profit from utilizing leaves into pellets (leaf pellets) is very big, estimated at 1/2 to 3/4 of the turnover of wood pellets. Whereas calliandra leaves are usually only considered by-products or waste in energy plantations.

And almost the same as gliricidia leaf pellets, if these plants are planted in the energy plantation.

As a reference for indigofera zollingeriana leaf pellets:

Both calliandra, gliricidia and indigofera are groups of legume plants whose leaves are suitable for animal feed rich in protein. Protein is the most expensive nutrient element in animal feed.

Pioneering the Export of Hay from Energy Plantation Leaf Waste

The high demand for feed, especially protein elements in Europe, on the other hand, is an opportunity in itself. Leaf waste from energy plantations in abundant quantities can be used as an export commodity to fill this opportunity. These leaves can be processed into hay and then compacted (biomass densification) into large boxes (cubes) and ready for export. Under tropical climate conditions, biomass production, especially for renewable energy, feed and food through energy plantations, is an ideal solution. Wood product will be used as bioenergy, especially into wood pellet product, leaf as an export commodity for animal feed, and honey as a highly nutritious multi-functional food. Millions of hectares of potential land for the creation of energy plantations so as to maximize the benefits of land use, especially with the tropical climate conditions that support.

Learn from the state of Oregon in the United States which is successful as an exporter of hay grass as a source of fiber in animal feed. It is recorded that more than 900,000 tons per year export hay grass from Oregon to the destination countries, namely Japan, Taiwan and Korea. The business has been around for more than 30 years. The mechanization of agriculture and the use of modern agricultural techniques have helped the business grow. A number of grass species that they cultivate include annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), perennial ryegrass (L.perenne), bent grass (Agrostis spp.), fine fescue (Festuca spp), Kentucky blue grass (Poa pratensis), Orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata) and tall fescue (F.arundinacea). 

The difference between hay and dry straw (straw) is sometimes still confusing. Hay is made from fresh stalks, leaves and shoots of plants. Many plants can be used as hay, for example in Iowa, USA alfalfa and clover are most commonly used. If it is cut and packaged (compacted) almost all of the nutritional content is not lost and is used as animal feed. Meanwhile, straw is also made from the stalks and leaves of plants, but is cut after the plants are mature with their shoots or the fruit has been harvested for something else. This straw has very little nutritional value and is used primarily as animal bedding. The conditions for plants to make hay are fine textured, harvested at the start of the flowering season and harvested from fertile areas.

Hay production is carried out by cutting the forage (grass or leaves) then withering and drying the forage, then to facilitate storage, transportation and use, the hay needs to be compacted. Animal feed in dry form such as hay will make it able to hold out until the nutrients are maintained. The history of hay production is thought to date back to the late 19th century, when alfalfa was introduced to Iowa and became the most popular crop for hay production. Alfalfa itself comes from Central Asia which was first used for animal feed and then this alfalfa spread to various parts of the world. Legume leaves from energy plantations are also very potential as animal feed and processing them into hay will increase their utilization including their economic value. In the commercial hay industry modern mechanical devices are used primarily for compaction by making blocks or boxes with a high production target, as shown in the video in the following link here.

Dichotomy of Energy Plantation and Legumes Plantation

There is a dichotomy between friends in livestock and forestry today about these legumes. From animal husbandry, they see leaves as a source of feed protein from plants and from forestry, they see wood as a source of wood that is easy to cultivate with high productivity. In the forestry sector, the wood is usually used as a renewable energy source such as wood chips, wood pellets, wood briquettes or charcoal briquettes. Forestry grows thousands of hectares of these legumes such as gliricidia with a wood orientation while the leaves are considered a by-product or waste from their plantation side. By utilizing the wood and leaves, it means getting out of this dichotomy, creating a new paradigm and being able to overcome food and energy problems or optimize the legume plantation or energy plantation (whole tree utilization) of thousands of hectares.

In addition to functioning as a legume plantation for animal feed, especially ruminants (sheep, goats, cattle, buffalo), as well as biomass fuel as above, the same plantation can also be used as a raw material for synthetic fiber board, for more details, please read here . Meanwhile, as the bioeconomic era is getting closer, the need for bioenergy, especially wood pellets, is increasing, the need for animal feed, especially ruminants which is part of the chain of human food needs is also increasing and indeed the growth of the earth's population is also increasing, and the need for biomaterials such as synthetic boards is also increasing. Therefore, the establishment of energy plantations or legume plantations or biomass plantations is very important, strategic and multi-beneficial. Based on these conditions, it is not impossible that in the near future the plantation will become a national and even global trend.

Production of Synthetic Boards*, Ruminant Livestock and Animal Feed Industry from Biomass Plantation

Synthetic boards such as laminate, particleboard, fiberboard and cement board can be made from wood produced by biomass plantation. In addition to the small size of the wood, it is also of low quality which currently does not have an adequate utilization value. Forests or biomass plantations can be used as the raw material for the synthetic board. With fast rotation crops with short rotation coppice and fast growing species, such as calliandra and gliricidia, it is very potential as raw material for the synthetic boards. The production of this synthetic boards also uses the same type of raw material as wood pellets, namely wood waste or wood worth as wood waste. Wood produced from this biomass plantation is included in the second group, namely wood worth as wood waste. Even on the other hand, the large wood processing industry that produces a lot of wood waste, not a few who process the waste for the production for wood pellets and synthetic boards.

However, it would be better if the source of raw material for the synthetic boards production comes from forests or biomass plantations so that not only wood is the raw material for the artificial boards but also leaves and flowers. The leaves can then be used as ruminant animal feed and even the production of animal feed as a separate industry. While the flowers from the plantation can be used for honey bee farming. In livestock business, especially ruminants, feed is the highest cost component which is estimated to reach more than 80%. The forest or biomass plantations cover an area of thousands of hectares and are capable of being the main feed source for large ruminant livestock. Even if there is a large surplus, the animal feed industry also needs to be made independent.

Animal feed in the form of hay and pellets is suitable for long distance use because transportation costs will be cheap. Basically all parts of the tree can be utilized so as to provide optimal benefits. To maintain the sustainability of the forest or biomass plantation, good management is also needed so that the productivity performance of the forest or biomass plantation can be maintained. Along with the increasing population, the need for housing and other means of living also increases as well as food. Forests or biomass plantations can help overcome both problems.

*Synthetic boards are laminated board, particle board, fiberboard and cement board. While plywood is not included in it, although plywood is also a type of synthetic board. Plywood production from veneer sheets derived from large diameter wood, is not like this biomass plantation.   

Opportunity to Export Animal Feed Protein Sources to Europe

Meat and milk are sources of protein for human obtained from animals, especially ruminants, then meat and eggs from poultry and meat from fish. Availability of sufficient animal protein is needed. Protein deficiency will be bad for health. The livestock industry plays an important role for the adequacy of animal protein today. To produce animal protein in the form of meat and milk, a protein source, namely vegetable protein, is needed in the feed source for the ruminant livestock. Gliricidia and calliandra leaves from energy plantations are a source of protein for the ruminants (sheep, goats and cows). The development of energy plantations should also encourage the livestock industry. This is important for the makers or entrepreneurs of the energy plantation to understand.

Learning from European conditions, according to a study conducted by FEFAC (European Feed Manufacturers' Federation), there is a protein deficit condition in the feed industry sector in Europe and for that they have made a number of efforts to obtain environmentally friendly feed protein sources and sustainable. Deficit is a condition where the consumption or use of protein for the feed has exceeded its production. This means that European production in the form of protein sources for animal feed is still far from its needs so that imports cannot be avoided as a result. Although it is estimated that they will not be able to replace 100% of feed protein sources by one mean alone, which as long as most are imported but reducing this dependence with local production of feed protein would be very helpful. Another motivation is to reduce dependence on protein sources from transgenic materials (GMOs), namely soybean.

Their first effort was the use of PAP (processed animal protein). The use of PAP is indeed high in nutrition, and the source of PAP for the feed is chicken and pork. Although a rule has been made that chicken PAP is not allowed to feed chickens and pork PAP is not allowed to feed pigs plus a tool to detect it, in practice this is difficult to be implemented. This is because feed mills that operate are generally multi-purpose feed so that it can be used for various types of livestock. Very few feed mills make specialty feeds. In fact, if it occurs, for example, PAP chickens for chicken feed and PAP pigs for pig feed, then a disease may occur in the livestock. An example is in the case of mammalian meat and bone meal (MBM). In 1996 with the crisis of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) because it was related to feeding from MBM for ruminant feed. The BSE-infected meat causes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, which poses a high risk to the human food chain. After the epidemic spread, the use of MBM in animal feed was banned. This regulation causes a high dependence on imported raw materials such as soybean meal for the continuity of the supply of meat, milk and eggs.

The second effort is protein production from insect farming. Although it can be done and a number of insect species have also been approved, the fact is that currently there are very few insect farms there, so it will still take a long time to produce sufficient volumes as a source of protein in animal feed. The source of protein from these insects is mainly for fish feed. The third effort from energy plantations is from rapeseed trees. Rapeseed meal is another source of vegetable protein. But the availability of rapeseed meal depends on European biofuel policy. Canola oil is the raw material for biodiesel in Europe. The European biofuel policy is contained in the Renewable Energy Directive 2020-2030 where the contribution of biofuels from plants for the target use in the transportation sector is up to a maximum of 7%.

The fourth effort from the rejected and expired products of the food industry. The rejected and expired products of the food industry it’s mean from the food and food ingredients industries, such as the biscuit industry, instant noodles, chocolate bars, pasta and so on. But what is meant is not food waste from restaurants, or catering. EFFPA, the European Former Foodstuff Processing Association estimates that in the European Union around 3.5 million tons of food waste is processed into animal feed every year. The European Union encourages the use of rejected and expired food, including issuing guidelines to reduce food waste to become feed, because it is not fit for human consumption. They have also discussed protein sources from micro algae or single-celled plants, but they are not a priority at this time due to quality and some limitations. 

The importance of realizing the potential as well as improving the vision for optimizing the energy plantation. GMO problems, for example, the use of gliricidia leaves can be the solution, for more details read here. “Quality protein” is important because not all proteins are equal. Several parameters for protein quality are the amino acid profile and the absence of anti-nutritional substances. For example, soybean meal has high scores for all protein quality parameters including palatability, digestibility and safety. A case that can also be used as a reference, in 2007 there was a withdrawal of pet food because it was contaminated with melamine and cyanuric acid (which is high in nitrogen content and identified as crude protein) in protein elements that cause kidney failure. 

The use of nitrogen from the above chemical is also carried out in agricultural products and has also led to the withdrawal of agricultural products from China in South Africa, the European Union and the United States. Even America ordered the USDA to inspect all agricultural products from China. In 2008 and 2009 China focused on eliminating the problem of counterfeiting or mixing and the effects of the crisis. In 2010 a revised version of the feed and feed additive regulations was published to further ensure quality and safety. Even though China is the largest feed producer in the world, the need for feed raw materials still relies on imports, especially flour/soybean meal to support food needs in the form of meat, milk and eggs for around 1.3 billion people.

From a number of efforts by the European Union to plan for self-sufficiency in feed protein sources, it turns out that the source of protein from rapeseed energy plantataions has become a European priority at this time. Meanwhile, with Indonesia's condition which has a large area of land, there are many energy plantations that can be created, even the Ministry of Environment and Forestry has planned 12.7 million hectares for energy plantations as an effort to support the cofiring program at coal power plants in Indonesia more detail read here. Energy plantation by-products will also be abundant. The production of this leaf can be used as an export commodity to Europe, because the need is large. Animal feed production in Europe is estimated at 160 million tons per year or 16% of the world with 5000 units of feed factories. With the consumption of protein in the feed in the range of 30%, the need will reach 48 million tons. When the domestic feed industry has not been able to absorb it, export is the best choice.

Ruminant is herbivore so that their diet comes from plants, the case of MBM in Europe can be a valuable lesson that feeding from mammals actually creates new problems. Moreover, if the food category is najis, then the livestock will become jalalah which are prohibited (haram) to be consumed. Meanwhile, the case of mixing with hazardous chemicals that occurred in China with melamine and cyanuric acid is only to trick the protein content so that it looks high and is also harmful to the health of the human body. Islam is very concerned about food or food issues, even in the Qur'an Letter of 'Abasa: 24, Allah commands humans to pay attention to their food. The food that enters our stomach must be halal and thoyyib (good). Foods that contain harmful substances that can poison the body are not thoyyib foods. And one of the consequences of haram (prohibited) food is a barrier to prayer being answered.

Planning Long-Term Feed Supply

Feed is the highest cost component in animal husbandry with a share of about 70%. Thus, feed has an important role for the sustainability of the business. Planning in the provision of good feed will reduce the risk of failure, including a decrease in the production of these farms. Maintaining the high performance of the livestock industry is not an easy thing, of course, including maintaining the quality and quantity of the feed. Feed planning for long-term supply needs to be done carefully and comprehensively so that livestock business can be optimal. Seasonal factor is an important factor in the availability of the feed. The success rate and the amount of profit earned can also be predicted better.

In commercial business, ruminant feed, especially sheep, goats and cattle, is generally easier to obtain than poultry or chicken feed. Imports of soybean meal have been carried out for the poultry or chicken feed. Chicken meat is still ranked 1st as a source of animal protein in Indonesia with a portion of around 70%. Whereas for the ruminants above, generally the feed can be provided by local food sources such as grasses and legume plants. But along with the narrowing of the land that can be used for forage crops, the more limited the availability of feed for livestock, especially for pasture. This condition makes it difficult for ruminant farms to be developed in large capacities or industry-oriented. Energy plantations with an area of up to thousands of hectares are expected to be a solution for this.

The development of energy plantations itself is closely related to the use of renewable energy, especially biomass, both locally / domestically and globally. In line with the bioeconomy era, the use of fossil fuels as well as for the manufacture of various other products is reduced, so biomass will receive more attention and will be increasingly used. This should be in line with the growth of the ruminant livestock sector and the halal industry in general. Related to animal feed, there are 3 important things that need to be considered, namely nutrition, safety and sustainability. Apart from these factors, technological, logistics and good management factors also play an important role in the long-term sustainability of the feed supply. If all the elements of feed (fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, etc.) can be fulfilled from local / domestic sources so that the price is cheaper, the livestock business will be more competitive. Meanwhile, if it depends on imports, the cost of feed will be expensive and the livestock business will be less competitive so that the output of meat and milk products as a source of protein will also be expensive. And don't let the domestic animal feed production grow, say 5 times but imports of raw materials 15 times. 

7 Largest Animal Feed Factories in the World

Since animal feed became a trade commodity or commercial product starting in the early 1800s when the means of transportation and propulsion of agricultural equipment mainly used horses and donkeys, a number of animal feed providers began to emerge such as Cargill, ADM, Purina and Ridley. In that era, the science of animal feed nutrition became a scientific discipline, starting in 1810 a German scientist named Albrecht Daniel Thaer developed the first animal feed standard by comparing the nutrients of various types of hay. Around 1900 the hammer mill was first used followed by the horizontal batch mixer in 1909. The early 20th century saw many advances in the use of technology for animal feed but the most noticeable and dramatic progress was when Purina introduced feed pellets in the 1920s. With this pelletization, the powder is less favorable to livestock (unpalatable), the different densities become easier to use and increases uniformity. This pelletization technique was quickly in demand by many feed producers so that in 1930 there were a number of feed factories that specialized in the production of these feed pellets. In 1944 L.A. Maynard published a table of nutritional requirements for livestock and laboratory animal husbandry. The table of nutritional requirements then becomes the world standard for feed formulation to date including ruminants such as sheep, goats and cows. In the late 1950s progress and specialization continued in the feed industry. In addition, the production capacity is also getting bigger, even in the 1970s the range of animal feed factory capacity was between 200 - 500 thousand tons per year. Currently there are about 30 thousand feed factories around the world with a production of more than 1 billion tons every year, and the 7 giant animal feed factories are as follows: 

1.Charoen Pokphand (27 million tons / year)   

Charoen Pokphand's business started in 1921 when two Chinese brothers Chia Ek Chor and Chia Siew Whooy set up a Chia Tai Chueng shop and did business in plant seeds and vegetables from China and exported pork and eggs to Hong Kong. Currently, Charoen Pokphand, based in Bangkok, is the largest Thai conglomerate and also one of the largest conglomerates in the world. The company has 8 business lines covering 13 business groups including the largest retail business in Southeast Asia (Seven Eleven), telecommunications (True), hypermarkets (Siam Makro) and automotive (Dayang Motor). By 2020 this business group has invested in 21 countries. Charoen Pokphand's animal feed production began in 1978 and is currently the world's largest producer of animal feed and shrimp products, as well as the world's top three for poultry, pork and a number of agricultural products. 

2. New Hope (20 million tons / year)

New Hope was founded by Liu Yonghao in 1982 and is also the current managing director. Before founding New Hope Liu Yonghao was a teacher at a technical school and with his three siblings started farming quails and chickens. Today New Hope is China's largest animal feed producer. Apart from New Hope, Liu Yonghao also does business in banking and is the founder of a shareholder in China Minsheng Bank. Currently, New Hope is mainly engaged in the agricultural, livestock and food processing sectors, with a production of 20 million tons of animal feed, processing 1.3 billion chickens and 8 million pigs annually. The company operates in 30 countries including Vietnam, Philippines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Egypt. 

3.Cargill (19.2 million tonnes / year)

Cargill was founded in 1865 or about 156 years ago in the United States by William W. Cargill with headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota. A year after his birth, his brother Sam joined to form W.W. Cargill and Brother. In 1875 another of James's brothers joined the company. In 1898, John H. MacMillan, Sr., and his brother, Daniel, began working at W. W. Cargill. MacMillan later married William Cargill's eldest daughter, Edna. Today Cargill is still a family company, with the descendants of the founders (from the Cargill and MacMillan Families) owning 90% of the company and is Cargill's largest private company by revenue in the United States.

Some of Cargill's main businesses are trading, purchasing and distributing grains such as wheat and other agricultural commodities, such as coconut oil; trade in energy, steel and transportation; livestock breeding and feed production; as well as producing food ingredients such as starch and glucose syrup, vegetable oils and fats for use in instant food and industry. Cargill also has a financial services business, which manages Cargill's financial risk in commodity markets. Cargill operates in 66 countries and is the largest poultry producer in Thailand. 

4.Purina Animal Nutrition (12 million tonnes / year)

Purina Animal Nutrition was founded in the United States by William H. Danforth in 1894 with the production of a variety of animal feeds under the name Purina Mills. The animal feed produced at that time included horses, dogs, cats, rabbits, pigs and monkeys. In 1902, William H. Danforth with Webster Edgerly, a university professor who founded Ralstonism, who at that time produced breakfast cereal, founded the Ralston Purina company. In 1986 Ralston Purina sold the Purina Mill, the animal feed business for the American market, to British Petroleum and retained its international pet feed and animal feed businesses. In 1993 Sterling Group purchased Purina Mill and in 1998 it was purchased by Koch Industries, but the U.S. the bankruptcy court canceled all of Koch's rights to manage the survival of the company. Lastly Purina Mills was purchased by Land O'Lakes in 2001. 

5.BRF (11 million tons / year) 

BRF S.A. is a Brazilian company which is a merger between Sadia and Perdigao, the two main feed companies in Brazil. Currently BRF is one of the largest feed companies in the world with more than 30 brands in its portfolio, including Sadia, Perdigao, Qualy, Paty, Danica and Bocatti. BRF products are marketed in more than 150 countries in the world. BRF has more than 50 factories in 8 countries namely Argentina, Brazil, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Netherlands, Malaysia, UK, Thailand and Turkey. In Brazil, BRF has more than 30 factories and 20 distribution centers, while overseas operates 9 factories in Argentina, one unit in the UK, one unit in the Netherlands, five in Thailand, one in Malaysia, one in the UAE, and five in Turkey. with the support of 27 distribution centers. The animal feed products produced by BRF are for chickens and pigs. 

6.Tyson Foods (10.3 million tonnes / year)

Tyson Foods is a public trade company from the United States whose main business is in the animal feed industry with headquarters at 2200 Don Tyson Pkwy., Springdale, Arkansas. Tyson Foods is also the world's largest company and marketer after JBS S.A based on chicken, beef and pork. The company was founded by John W. Tyson in 1935 and from its founding until his death in 1967 he served as its managing director. Tyson started out in the chicken market when he heard that chicken in northern America was more expensive than where he lived in Arkansas. In 1936 Tyson brought 500 chickens from his home to Chichago, Illinois and made quite a fortune. Since that success he started raising chickens and making feed for them. Currently Tyson Foods operates in 10 countries with products spread across five continents in the world. 

7.COFCO (8.3 million tons / year)

COFCO (China Oil and Foodstuffs Corporation) is a Chinese state-owned company which was founded in 1949 and is the largest food processor and marketer in China today. COFCO is also one of the leaders of the Asian agribusiness group alongside Wilmar International. Between 1952 and 1987 (35 years), COFCO was the sole importer and exporter of agricultural products under the direct control of the central government. COFCO has a number of production sites in China, as well as in countries such as Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.

Soon it is estimated that the era of bioeconomy will become a trend and lifestyle in the world so that the issue of sustainability becomes very important. Bioeconomy itself can be defined as knowledge-based production and using biological resources or living things to produce products, processes and services in the economic sector within the framework of a sustainable economic system. With a Muslim majority population, Indonesia should have developed many bioeconomic models that are in line with Islamic values. This is because bioeconomy will also be related to food and clothing issues which in Islam are very clearly related to the issue of halal and haram. Not only that, of course, the model is also optimized so that it can bring prosperity to the people as much as possible and provide solutions to a number of major problems faced. Islamic economics that have not become mainstream in Muslim-majority countries is one of these big problems. Practically feed and animal husbandry products must be in line with the halal industry so as to provide blessings in the life of the world and the hereafter, not only seeking profit but justifying any means. 

Learning the History of the World Animal Feed Industry

The ability to create a stable supply of food from livestock led to the world's population developing, community centers developing and cities emerging. The domestication of wild plants and livestock, as well as the use of irrigation and tillage tools, has resulted in a growing population. When the human population is increasing and many people live in urban areas, livestock and agriculture are increasingly organized, efficient and productive with the use of technology and various innovations. The science of animal feed nutrition became a scientific discipline starting about 200 years ago. In 1810 the German scientist Albrecht Daniel Thaer developed the first animal feed standard by comparing the nutrients of different types of hay. This was followed by a number of discoveries related to animal feed nutrition such as proximate analysis systems, feed standards based on digestible nutrients, vitamins and minerals needed by livestock, until 1944 L.A. Maynard published a table of nutritional needs for livestock and laboratory animal husbandry. The table of nutritional requirements then becomes the world standard for feed formulation to date including ruminants such as sheep, goats and cows.

Animal feed into a trade commodity or commercial product began in the early 1800s when the means of transportation and moving agricultural products mainly used horses and donkeys. Horse farm and breeding is an important thing. Horse stops as resting places are made along the route between cities as public facilities or similar to gas stations at this time. One of the important things in this resting place is the provision of quality feed for the horses, such as hay, seeds and so on. This has sprung up a number of businesses providing horse and donkey feed, and a number of feed companies that exist today such as Cargill, ADM, Purina, and Ridley started here, even though at that time the use of scientific feed formulations was very minimal.

Horse stopping and feeding station in the 1800s

 

Feed mills in America are built adjacent to grain mills, even many industries have been engaged in grinding the grain is also involved in the feed industry. The animal feed industry uses by-products or waste from grinding these grains. The first animal feed mills were made by adding a number of nutrients to the byproducts of wheat flour. The use of technology and mechanization is also increasing in number to achieve feed products with uniform quality and efficient production processes. Around 1900 the hammer mill was first used followed by the horizontal batch mixer in 1909. The early 20th century saw many advances in the use of technology for animal feed but the most noticeable and dramatic progress was when Purina introduced feed pellets in the 1920s. With this pelletization, the powder is less favorable to livestock (unpalatable), the different densities become easier to use and increases uniformity. This pelletization technique was quickly in demand by many feed producers so that in 1930 there were a number of feed factories that specialized in the production of these feed pellets.

Around 1940 and 1950 the formulation of feed was more complex with the addition of vitamins and minerals. In the late 1950s progress and specialization continued in the feed industry. In addition, the production capacity is also getting bigger, even in the 1970s the range of animal feed factory capacity was between 200 - 500 thousand tons per year. Meanwhile, large farms choose to make their own feed to make it more competitive. The use of automation in feed mills began in 1975 and continues to evolve to minimize feed costs and maximize efficiency in the production process. The technology and software for the production process continue to develop, including the logistics of various feed ingredients, size characteristics, the pelletization process, the extrusion process, and many other things in production.

Meanwhile, the development of the animal feed industry in Europe is more or less imitating the existing development pattern in America. Grain processing and milling technology advanced rapidly in the 19th century. In an effort to accelerate the development of the animal feed industry in Europe, in 1959 Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands formed the European Feed Manufacturers' Federation (FEFAC) as an organization for the feed industry in Europe. FEFAC has a mission to unite the feed industry and establish communication and cooperation in the European region. Even though it was quite successful in this effort, FEFAC experienced quite horrendous problems, namely in 1996 with the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) crisis because it was related to feeding derived from mammalian meat and bone meal (MBM) or bone meal and mammalian meat for ruminant feed. Meat infected with BSE causes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, which creates a high risk to the human food chain. After the outbreak spread, the use of MBM in animal feed was prohibited. This regulation causes a high dependence on imported raw materials such as soybean meal for a sustainable supply of meat, milk and eggs. Learning from this, FEFAC in the 21st century has a focus on feed and food safety initiatives. The organization took initiatives to be globally enforceable, such as in 2001 banning the use of MBM, in 2006 banning antibiotics in feed, legislation related to nitrates in livestock manure, and the use of GMO raw materials (GMOs).

Brazil is a country in South America that is quite developed in the animal feed industry and is currently the third largest supplier of animal feed in the world. Interestingly, commercial feed production in Brazil was only practiced in the 1960s. The development pattern of the animal feed industry in Brazil uses the same model as in America and Europe, namely the companies involved in milling and processing grains such as wheat and maize were also the first to be involved in the animal feed industry. The first wheat bran was built in the 1940s. Currently in Brazil, part of the feed industry is integrated with its livestock, or about 80%, which means that the feed manufacturing industry is also the same industry as the livestock. Another interesting thing is that Brazil also ranks second in the world for the pet feed industry, even though this industry was almost non-existent before the 1990s. Brazil has abundant production of maize, soybeans and other commodities which greatly support the animal feed industry.

China is the largest animal feed producer in the world, accounting for nearly 20% of the world, followed by the United States (17.4%) and Brazil (6.8%). The history of the animal feed industry in China began in 1930 with the first modern flour mills established and was followed by the use of the mill's by-products for animal feed. Meanwhile, the first modern feed factory was only established in 1949. Furthermore, due to the political uncertainty and slow economic growth and the centralized government, grain production decreased so that most of it was for human consumption. The growth of the feed industry and livestock is also very limited. Changes in political conditions in 1976 made the animal feed industry begin to grow again. In 1977 a comparative study was conducted on the feed industry in France, Japan and America. And in 1984 a draft plan for the development of the feed industry was published with outlines of objectives and strategies for the years 1984-2000.

In the same year (1984) a number of policies were also issued to support the development of the domestic feed industry, such as high export taxes for feed ingredients and milling equipment, tax free for up to 3 years for new feed factories and even tax free if the factory was not yet producing with sufficient profit. The first feed standard was issued in 1996, but due to inconsistent interpretation of the standard, nearly 10% of animal feed tests were substandard in 1998. Even in 2007 there was a withdrawal of pet feed due to contamination with melamine and cyanuric acid (which is high in nitrogen and identified as a crude protein content) in protein elements that cause kidney failure. The use of nitrogen from the above chemical is also carried out on agricultural products as well as the withdrawal of agricultural products from China in South Africa, the European Union and the United States. Even America ordered the USDA to inspect all agricultural products from China. In 2008 and 2009 China focused on eliminating the problem of counterfeiting or mixing and the effects of the resulting crisis. In 2010 a revised version of the feed and feed additive regulations was published to further ensure quality and safety. Although China is the largest feed producer in the world, the need for feed raw materials still relies on imports, especially soybean flour / meal to support food needs in the form of meat, milk and eggs for around its 1.3 billion people.

The source and availability of feed has always been the main orientation for livestock business. From the above history it is clear that large farms were always built close to a source of feed such as mills. The role of the government is also very important to encourage this effort. The high price of factory-produced concentrate can also be a driving force for the growth of large farms adjacent to energy plantations. The protein element in feed, apart from being essential, is also the highest cost element, while feed itself holds the highest cost component in animal husbandry or around 70%. Ruminants are herbivores so their food comes from plants, the case of MBM in Europe can be an expensive lesson that feeding from mammals actually creates new problems. Moreover, if the food category is najis/unclean, then the livestock become jalalah animals which are prohibited from being consumed (haram). Meanwhile, the case of mixing with dangerous chemicals that occurred in China with melamine and cyanuric acid was only to deceive the protein content so that it looks high is also dangerous for the health of the human body.

The momentum of the energy plantation or biomass plantation can be a great momentum for the growth of the ruminant livestock industry as long as it is well prepared. Other feed sources can be obtained from the surrounding environment so that the complete feed composition can be fulfilled. Bran from rice mills are also not difficult to find in Indonesia because the staple food of the majority of Indonesia's population is rice. Rice fields for rice farming are almost everywhere, so are the rice mills. Other sources of grasses such as elephant grass, benggala grass and so on as a source of fiber or agricultural wastes such as straw, peanut leaves, corn leaves and stalks and so on can be done by empowering the surrounding community. And when the feed production is sufficient for their own needs, the excess feed production can be sold elsewhere.  

Biomass Cofiring, Energy Plantation and Ruminant Animal Husbandry

Biomass cofiring with coal in coal power plants in Indonesia as a PLN (Indonesia electricity state owned company) program to support the use of renewable energy, especially biomass, could be the closest momentum for energy plantations. The program is also an effort to achieve the target of using renewable energy of 23% by 2025, while until now it is still less than 5%. In 2020 the cofiring program has been initiated with a target of 37 coal power plants but in practice 20 coal power plants have been implemented. While in total there are 114 coal power plant units owned by PLN that have the potential for cofiring, spread across 52 locations with a total capacity of 18,154 megawatts (MW) as a target of completion in 2024. The details consist of 13 coal power plant locations in Sumatra, 16 coal poer plant locations in Java, 10 locations in Kalimantan, 4 locations in Bali, NTB and NTT, 6 locations in Sulawesi, and 3 locations in Maluku and Papua. Meanwhile, the cofiring ratio ranges from 1-5% biomass with an estimated biomass requirement of 9-12 million tons per year.

 And recently there has also been an agreement between PLN and Perhutani (Indonesia forestry state owned company) and PTPN III (Indonesia agriculture state owned company) to supply biomass for the cofiring program, for further information, please read here. In this case, PLN is the owner of the coal power plants, while Perhutani owns the resources of industrial plantation forest areas both in Java (Perhutani) and outside Java (Inhutani) which can be developed as energy plantations or energy forests. Likewise with PTPN III with its land which can also be used for this energy plantation. Gliricidia sepium and red calliandra (calliandra calotyrsus) are two species of fast-rotating crops that are most likely to be used for these energy plantations. If every 4,000 hectares produces a production of 10,000 tons / month of wood pellets or 120,000 tons / year, at least 400,000 hectares are needed to meet the 1-5% cofiring target which is equivalent to 9-12 million tons per year. The potential of gliricidia leaves or calliandra will also be very abundant. And it should also encourage the growth and development of the ruminant industrial sector. Moreover, if in the future PLN increases its cofiring portion, for example 6-10% or even 20%, of course the energy plantation needed will be very large, as well as the abundant potential of gliricidia leaves or calliandra.

The Covid-19 pandemic is still ongoing with the increase in cases getting bigger in Indonesia and there is no sloping curve yet, even positive cases have penetrated more than 1 million people. It is predicted that this pandemic will become a long-term problem with indications, among others, that new variants are found so that the vaccine that has been prepared is not or less effective and the emergence of a second wave of covid outbreaks even after vaccination has forced cities and even the state to lock down. . How almighty is Allah SWT with all His will, which should further strengthen our iman and taqwa. The prolonged condition of the Covid-19 pandemic makes people afraid and avoids crowds or gatherings including professional activities such as offices and industry. This condition will also encourage the growth of efficient business activities by using various existing technologies.

Technology-based and efficient industrial developments should be the focus of the government to survive and even maintain sustainability in order to maintain the supply of goods needed by the community. Population concentrations in an area must also be reduced and properly distributed. Big cities are becoming less and less attractive. Efficient production units must be increased in number as well as their distribution should be more even. Outskirts, villages and even mountains are increasingly being enjoyed. The closer to nature or natural resource-based businesses, the more they enjoy it along with the distribution of business locations that is more evenly distributed or not accumulated in big cities. More and more world citizens also want a fairer system in regulating their lives.

Ruminants (sheep, goats and cows) farms are a potential business especially supported by the utilization of leaves waste from these energy plantations. The locations for these energy plantations are generally in forest areas which are quite far from urban areas. The leaves of gliricidia or calliandra can be processed into various forms (concentrate, hay, pellets, briquette, etc.) according to request or use. With the use of good technology, the leaves waste can be used optimally so as to support the progress of ruminant farming. The farm will also be very good if it is made near energy plantations as a source of food. To get a complete feed composition, community empowerment can be done.    

Production of Box Shaped Hay From Gliricidia Leaves

Apart from market, feed is another important factor in livestock business. Striving for and ensuring the availability of feed throughout the year both in quality and quantity is a challenge in itself, especially industrial-oriented ruminant farms. The productivity of livestock products is largely determined by these feed factors. The important role for livestock is for the growth of young livestock and for maintaining life and producing products (milk, calves/lamb, meat) and power for adult livestock. Another function of feed is to maintain endurance and health. In order for livestock to grow as expected, the type of feed given to livestock must be of good quality and in sufficient quantities.

In addition, livestock productivity itself is influenced a lot by environmental factors, namely up to 70%, while about 30% is genetic factors. And among these environmental factors, the aspect of feed has the greatest influence, which is around 60%, for example superior sheep farming such as the dorper type but if the quality and quantity of feed is not met then the results are also not optimal. Meanwhile, in terms of livestock business, the cost of feed is also the largest production cost, namely 60-80% of the total production cost. So it is very natural that attention or focus on feed issues is very important.

Seeing the above conditions, processing technology for animal feed is important. The purposes of animal feed processing include preserving nutrition and extending shelf life. Drying the leaves of gliricidia or calliandra to a moisture content of about 15% is one such effort or commonly called hay. By making hay the two objectives of processing animal feed above, namely maintaining nutrition and extending the shelf life can be achieved, but with a large volume of dry feed or hay (bulky) it will be inefficient in using space for storage or if it is to be used in other places where need quite far transportation. This is why it is necessary to apply biomass densification technology to solve this problem. Hay compaction into blocks or box shaped is a practical and easy undertaking. The equipment and compaction process into box shaped is also easy and cheap, compared to other biomass compaction technologies such as pellets or briquettes.

A sheep or cow farm should be built near the energy plantation so that they can easily get a source of feed for the gliricidia leaves. The leaves are then made hay and compacted into the blocks / box shaped. And because gliricidia leaves are a source of protein, so to be a complete feed, another source of feed is needed. This can be fulfilled by the surrounding community with community empowerment patterns or for more details, please read here. Sources of feed from the community, for example a source of fiber from grasses or agricultural waste, can also be made hay, so that the farm is available as a complete feed (complete feed) which is safe for the operation of the farm business. And because the estimated leaf production from energy plantations is very abundant, some of the hay that is produced can also be sold elsewhere. 

Technology is basically a tool to achieve a goal. From a technological point of view, namely biomass densification, besides the raw material for glicidia leaves can be made hay, the leaves can also be made into pellets or briquettes. The main difference between pellets and briquettes is only a matter of size, briquettes are bigger than pellets. The form of puck briquettes like the photo above is the best form for animal feed applications. From a technical perspective, pellets and briquettes are also denser or have a higher density than hay. The dust problem in hay can also be reduced by making these pellets or briquettes. But it is true that making pellets or briquettes requires higher investment costs and the production process is more complex.

Complete Feed Production With Integration of Energy Plantations and Community Empowerment

Feed and markets are the two most important things in the world of livestock. Farmers who are able to get safe, nutritious, affordable, adequate and sustainable feed will produce the best quality and quantity. One of the safe categories is not GMO. For more details, you can read it here. It is possible to make these feeds yourself by utilizing the local potential. The expertise to provide feed is of course very important for professional farms. Likewise, broad market access allows the livestock business to be increasingly profitable. The current era of the internet is also very supportive of gaining such broad market access. Social media such as whatsapp groups, telegram, twitter, youtube and so on can be used for this.

To get complete nutrition so that it becomes a complete feed, of course, cannot be obtained from just one source. Malnutrition which results in decreased quality and livestock production will inevitably occur, if the feed nutrition is inadequate. It is possible that the development of an energy plantation or a biomass plantation with leguminoceae plants such as gliricidia and red calliandra is very likely to be integrated with the livestock business. Sheep, goat and cow farms are the best choices for this farming business. It is also hoped that later progress in the renewable energy sector from energy or biomaterial plantations will be in line with the livestock business. While glicidia leaves or calliandra have the main content in the form of protein which can reach 25%, other sources of nutrients such as sources of fiber, vitamins and minerals can be obtained from the environment around the plantation. Communities around the plantation area can be empowered to plant these nutritional complementary crops or take advantage of their various agricultural wastes such as straw, grass and so on. 

The leaves of gliricidia or calliandra as a source of feed are estimated to be a maximum of 30% of the complete feed. With leaf productivity per hectare of around 30 tonnes / wet year or 18 tonnes / dry year. This means that for every 1000 hectares of gliricidia plantation will produce 18,000 tons / year of dry leaves. If a goat / sheep eats 3 kg / day (30% of the total consumption of complete feed), it means that for 1 year 1 sheep / goat consumes about 1 ton of dry leaves or with a volume of 18,000 tons / year means that it can be sufficient for 18,000 sheep / goats for 1 year.

The animal feed innovation must also be carried out so that the conversion of feed to meat product, milk or breed is high, even the feed formulation should be adjusted to the age level of the livestock. Researches to obtain varied feed formulations or recipes, especially those that are adaptive to local potential, are very important. This includes identifying and developing as many feed sources as possible. The more identified feed sources and feed formulations, it is hoped that the livestock business will grow rapidly. Case studies on gliricidia and calliandra leaves have several anti-nutritional substances, so these substances must also be reduced or even completely eliminated so that the feed nutrients are absorbed effectively. Anti-nutritional substances in gliricidia are dicoumerol, HCN (cyanide acid) and nitrates, while red calliandra is an anti-nutritional substance of tannins.