Economic Issues in Assessing Research Priorities in Feed Grains Nutrition

Researchers have abundant technical opportunities to select various options for improvement of nutritional characteristics of feed grains. Choosing between those opportunities is a difficult issue for research funding organisations. In this paper, an attempt to address those research resource allocation issues is reported. The approach to use in analysing improvements in the feed quality of grains is discussed. By defining the problem as a cost reduction for the livestock industries, the impact of improvements in grain nutrition can be defined by their impact on the least-cost feed rations for different livestock categories. Using that approach, the benefits of improved feeds can be evaluated, and research priorities can be determined on the basis of which have the greatest overall benefits across the livestock sector. On the basis of this preliminary analysis, conclusions are drawn as to the likely direction for future research in these areas.