Work

Bridging farmers’ perceptions and laboratory science: wheat bran quality assessment in smallholder dairy systems: technical note

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study was conducted to evaluate wheat bran (WB) quality characteristics based on particle size distribution and to assess how farmers' rankings align with laboratory results. Thirty smallholder dairy farmers qualitatively scored five WB types from five major wheat flour processing factories in Tigray, Ethiopia, on a scale of 1 to 4 for water holding capacity (WHC) and nutritive value (1 = poor to 4 = excellent), as well as the risk of digestive disorders (1 = high to 4 = very low). Laboratory analyses included physical parameters, chemical analysis, and in vitro digestibility. The geometric mean particle size of WB ranged between 908 to 1,103 μm, and the WHC between 2.15 to 2.90 mL/g. Farmers' scores for nutritive value correlated positively with crude protein (rspearman's = 0.347; p<0.05) and effective rumen degradability of crude protein (rspearman's = 0.291; p<0.05), and negatively with particle size (rspearman's = -0.553; p<0.05). Scores for WHC positively correlated with particle size (rspearman's = 0.526; p<0.05). The present findings revealed that particle size distribution is the predominant qualitative selection criteria for farmers (e.g., on the market) to assess WB quality, and this qualitative appreciation is to some extent related to chemical characteristics and rumen degradability.

Source: Animal Bioscience

DOI: 10.5713/ab.24.0810

Authors: Alemayehu Tadesse, Yayneshet Tesfay, Veerle Fievez

Institutions: Ghent University, Mekelle University

Language: English

Topic: Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology

Subfield: Agronomy and Crop Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Zero hunger

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $700