Article
Effect of storage problems on commercial equine feed: Austria
Published: 04/11/2024
In a recent study, researchers at
the Austrian University of Veterinary Medicine evaluated the effects of storage
on maize, oats, and barley, which are some of the main cereal grains in equine
feeds. The researchers examined commercial cereals manufactured by different
local companies and bagged for sale including native oat, barley, and maize as
well as flaked oats, flaked barley, and flaked maize.
Some interesting results from the
36 samples include:
- Impurities were found in 28 samples, including rye, wheat, wild oats, chaff, husk, sand, earth, and manure.
- Oats had higher impurities than barley or maize.
- Unopened samples had higher impurities than the opened samples stored for 42 days.
- All barley samples had pest components, such as moth larvae, meal mites, and booklice. Control samples contained flawed grains and pests, with maize having the fewest impurities. All samples had concentrates of secondary metabolites of fungi.
- Fumonisin was only found in maize.
- Barley had the most concentrations of pesticides, including piperonylbutoxide, but at low levels.
- All samples retained dry matter content above 88%, with levels below 85% considered unacceptable. – Equine Management