Biodiverse Forages in Animal Nutrition

Farming systems based on high dietary forage proportions have been shown to increase n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in ruminant fat compared to conventional farming systems that rely more on concentrate feeding. Further, alpine/mountain systems, with high forage proportions and botanical diversity, have also been described to increase the n-3 PUFA content in ruminant fat. In the first part of this book, proper handling procedures are reported to minimize the fatty acid losses from forage harvest until analysis. Comparison between different extraction solvents is also presented concerning fatty acid analysis in plant tissues. In the second part of this book, the fatty acid composition of several biodiverse forages, both fresh and ensiled and produced under Dutch and Flemish conditions, are reported. The effect of feeding these forages on the fatty acid composition of dairy milk and lamb fat, and the potential 'origin' of the oberserved differences, based on the precursor supply and changes in the endogenous ruminant fatty acid metabolism are also described.