As the UK livestock industry looks for more sustainable, cost-effective home-grown protein alternatives, beans are emerging as an excellent option for dairy, beef and sheep.

With increasing concerns of exposure to fluctuating global protein markets, the environmental impact of relying on imported protein like soya and the declining supply of UK distillery co-products, British grown beans can offer a practical and sustainable solution.

Integrating beans into crop rations also utilises their ability to naturally fix nitrogen, improve soil health and reduce fertiliser use, improving not only farm resilience but also helping to address growing retailer and consumer demand for low carbon, sustainably grown and produced meat and dairy products.

With the introduction of new low-tannin varieties, the modern bean is highly digestible, feed containing 30% starch and 24% protein, of which 30% is bypass protein, comparable to the bypass protein content of distillers and soya, which is essential for youngstock growth and milk production.

However, one of the practical limitations of growing beans has always been how to best store and feed them. Drying has traditionally been the most effective way to store beans long term, but due to the size of the bean, this is often very expensive. Added to which, when dried, beans are often difficult to roll and produce a very dusty, finely ground feed.

In contrast, ALpHA (Alkaline pH Additive) from Norvite Animal Nuritionallows you to treat beans at harvest, up to 25% moisture, and store them for up to 12 months. All that is required is to mix whole beans in a TMR wagon, along with ALpHA and urea, for 2-4 minutes before discharging into a pile and lightly cover with plastic. Over the next 7-10 days the urea is converted to ammonia gas, which sterilises and softens the bean hull before reacting with water and carbon dioxide in the air to produce ammonium carbonate salt that incorporates settles back on the bean.

The result is a home-grown protein containing highly digestible fibre, the same level and quality of protein as wheat distillers (28%) but also with a pH of 9, which helps maintain a stable and optimal rumen pH.

The additional advantage of using ALpHA Beans as a direct weight for weight alternative to distillers is that ALpHA beans also contain 5 times as much starch. In contrast to processing dried beans, rolling whole ALpHA treated beans also produces a very clean material , resembling a pound coin size squashed bean that is not only more appealing to livestock but also provides even higher levels of bypass protein and starch.

ALpHA treated beans are suitable for inclusion in any TMR or home mixed blend for any class and age of ruminant livestock, from lambs, calves and youngstock, all the way to milking cows, suckler cows and finishers.

So, if you are looking for a palatable, quality alternative to distillers or soya then beans could be the answer. Whether you can grow your own beans, would consider buying them in to treat at home, or simply buy in fully treated and rolled ALpHA beans to feed straight away, then we can help provide a flexible solution.

For more information on ALpHA treating beans or cereals or to discuss how they might fit into your system, please get in touch.

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