On June 17th, the Greek Demonstration Workshop of the NewFeed project took place, organized by our partners from ELGO-DIMITRA, UOWM, and NTUA. The workshop was held at ELGO-DIMITRA’s facilities on the Campus of the Research Institute of Animal Science in Paralimni, Giannitsa, Greece. The event attracted significant attention and participation from a diverse array of local stakeholders.
The attendees included representatives from research organizations and universities, quality control laboratories for milk and dairy products, livestock feed industry stakeholders, and sheep & dairy cattle farmers. Participants were primarily from the Central Greece region, where a large portion of national animal production is concentrated, and from Southern Greece, known for its orange production and juice industries.
Discussions during the workshop focused on several key issues:
- The year-round availability of raw materials, specifically orange peels.
- The cost of transferring the final processed product to farms.
- The current practice among local farmers near juice industries of collecting raw orange peels and feeding them to their livestock without any processing or quality control.
One of the main points highlighted was the potential to apply the methodology developed within the NewFeed project to other types of by-products. This approach could target various animal species and create tailor-made nutritional solutions, particularly for organic farms. The workshop underscored the feasibility and benefits of integrating these practices into the existing agricultural framework, thus promoting sustainable livestock farming.
The event successfully facilitated knowledge exchange and fostered discussions on innovative solutions for valorizing food industry by-products as sustainable feed ingredients. The workshop was a crucial step forward in achieving the NewFeed project’s objectives, furthering collaboration among stakeholders committed to enhancing sustainability in the livestock sector.
