The Irish Cream Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) calls on the country's Department of Agriculture, Food, and Navy to update the labeling method for animal feed proteins to provide a more accurate reading of protein content.
ICMSA argues that feed should include an indication of “digestible protein in the gut” (PDI), which the association believes is “considered a much more accurate and useful indicator” for assessing protein content.
Lorkan McCabe, deputy president of the association, said that combining this guideline with a measure of raw protein will benefit farmers who are better informed about nutritional value and environmental impact.“The grass-based diet provides the cow with as much protein as she needs for most of the year. Based on this, we, as an industry, should focus on reducing the amount of raw protein fed to the cows in the concentrate of raw protein, since excess protein is excreted in the urine of the cows, ”said McCabe and added that“ the current crude protein indicator is outdated, PDI should be included. because it measures the amount of protein in the feed that cows can easily digest. ”
ICMSA wants the country's Department of Agriculture, Food and Navy to introduce a legal requirement to feed both raw protein and PDI “so that farmers can make better decisions.”