4.2.2 Feed (original) (raw)

The herd number by animal type and production system which is computed during the previous computing step is the starting point for the calculation of feed demand (cf. Herd; Figure 8). We use the feed requirements per TLU computed by Herrero et al. (2013) for corn, wheat, sorghum, rice, barley, other cereals, and soybean, for each animal type and production system. The current assumption is that these feed requirements are proportionally adjusted with changes in animal productivity (cf. Productivity). In reality, several factors could explain a lower increase in animal feed compared to animal productivity so this assumption might lead to overestimation of the increase in animal feed demand over time when productivity gains are high.