Despite high feed value, vegetable rest raw materials have low economical value. Today this resource is often given away as feed for cattle. The objective of this project is to find out if discarded potatoes and carrots ensiled with probiotic bacteria may have a potential as feed products. We will investigate ensiling of potatoes/carrots, suitability as feed for different animal productions and possible positive health effects of inoculation with prebiotic organisms by studying available literature.

Preliminary ensiling experiments with vacuum bags are expected to explain how raw material composition, thermic and mechanic pre-treatments, and dry matter content affect the ensiling process. An inoculation experiment will be accomplished to test if the raw material can be a good growth medium for cultures of probiotic bacteria. Literature and new knowledge from the experiments will be used to describe possible value chains for potato and vegetable packing facilities in a case study in mid-Norway. Furthermore, we will calculate logistic and business solutions for the value chain in the case study and estimate the potential on regional scale for mid-Norway. In this pilot project we will collect available knowledge about ensiling of potatoes and carrots and we expect to produce new knowledge about ensiling these raw materials with probiotic bacteria.

The project is owned by NORSØK and coordinated by Steffen Adler (NIBIO). Other partners are Møreforskning Molde AS (Oddmund Oterhals), SINTEF fisheries and aquaculture AS (Rasa Slizyte), VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd (Riikka Juvonen), Produsentpakkeriet Trøndelag AS (Thor-Eirik Albrektsen) and county governor in Møre and Romsdal, department of agriculture (Synnøve Valle). A reference group includes representants of the county governor department of agriculture in Møre and Romsdal, Felleskjøpet Fôrutvikling, Department of animal and aquacultural science at the Norwegian University of life sciences and Norsk landbruksrådgivning.