Feeding unsalable carrots in total-mixed rations for lambs.
Daniel Forwood (UQ), Louwrens Hoffman (UQ), Alex Chaves (USYD) and Sarah Meale (UQ)
A research project was conducted to determine the influence of a total-mixed ration (TMR) including unsalable carrots on lamb performance. This was measured through live weight gain, carcass characteristics including hot carcass weight, subcutaneous fat depth, and meat quality attributes including meat and fat colour. It was hypothesised that feeding carrots in a TMR would have no effect on these traits.
Food waste is estimated to cost Australians $20 billion per year. Vegetables comprise approximately 29% of total food wastage, with one-third of carrots produced in Australia being discarded due to aesthetic standards set by industry.
Fresh carrots are an energy-dense feedstuff comprising approximately 13.76 MJ metabolisable energy/kg dry matter and 10% crude protein. Therefore, an opportunity exists to use carrots that do not meet industry aesthetic standards in livestock rations.
However, fresh carrots have not previously been fed to ruminants as a total-mixed ration (TMR). Therefore, the impact of including carrots in a lamb TMR on lamb performance, carcass and meat quality is not known - until now.