Background to the Invention New born calves in particular need supplementing during the raising period to assist in growth and the transition from being a milk reliant animal to a ruminating animal. The supplement used for this purpose needs to be very easily digested and extremely palatable.

Before the present invention, grains and forage type feeds in general had to be dried at considerable expense to minimise deterioration in storage. In some cases the need for drying has been avoided by sealing the feed from air in places like silage pits, silos or large stretch wrapped bales.

Unfortunately such a method of storage usually means it is not practical to market these feeds in a retail environment because of the size or weight of the product. In addition the feed must be handled by mechanical equipment and because of the volume involved, once the air has been allowed to enter, wastage can be a problem in certain conditions.

Supplementary and additional feeds can also comprise lucerne, whole oat crop which is the plant material and grain, whole maze crop and the like or combinations of these foods which have been harvested and stored for later use. Dry feeds are generally stored in bulk by storage specialists and are often packaged by resellers for later sale and distribution to the end users site. Because of the complex nature of livestock feed, it is necessary not only to store the feed but also to prepare it in a manner that the feed will be able to maintain a satisfactory condition during the storage period. It is also desirable that the feed has other ingredients such as processed or semi processed grains and similar products added to it or is otherwise modified so it will have the necessary nutritional qualities for the intended purpose.

It is known to store whole cereal and other crops in large stretch wrap round bales but because the bales are large and often moist, it is difficult to handle and to market such bales in a retail store environment.

Before the present invention, livestock feed has been stored in bulk or in bales and similar large containers which require the use of mechanised equipment to move the containers either about the storage premises or to load the containers onto transport vehicles. The size and bulk of the containers of livestock feed means that the farmer must also utilise mechanised equipment to move the feed and to distribute the feed. This has the further effect of wastage when the container or bale holds more feed than that required for the particular operation.

Prior art United States patent specification 3640725 discloses that a fibrous solid portion which is useful as a livestock feed can be obtained from a soybean fractionation process.

United States patent specification 4202887 discloses a livestock feed supplement which is formed by dissolving magnesium salts in a liquid energy source to provide readily available magnesium ions which is stated will act to prevent grass tetany in livestock.

United States patent specification 5260089 discloses both a composition suitable for a feed supplement and a method of making the composition. The supplement is formulated by using byproducts of grain fermentation to which nutritional supplements are added. The supplement is compressed and cured or packaged in a granular form.

It is apparent that although various livestock feeds have been proposed in the past, none have fulfilled the combined requirement of a feed which can be prepared from grain and which can be stored in a manner that a controlled amount of fermentation will take place to improve the palatability of the feed and which can be packaged in a manner that the package can be simply manually handled.

Object of the invention.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved method of storage of feed for livestock that will minimise the above disadvantages.

It is also an object of this invention to provide an improved method of packaging feed for livestock that will minimise the above disadvantages.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an improved livestock feed.

Statement of the invention.

Accordingly one form of the invention may be said to comprise an improved livestock feed including a mixture of : grain having a predetermined amount of moisture and a binder, wherein the mixture is packaged in a substantially water and air impermeable envelope to allow a controlled amount of fermentation to take place within the envelope.

In another form the invention may be said to comprise an improved livestock feed including a mixture of grain and a binding agent, wherein the grain has a predetermined amount of moisture, said grain and the binding agent being packaged in a substantially water and air impermeable bag to enable a controlled amount of fermentation to occur within the bag and wherein the bag is of a size that when loaded it can be lifted by a person without mechanical assistance.

The invention also comprises a method of manufacturing a livestock feed wherein the improvement consists in mixing moist grain with a binder, loading the

mixture into a substantially moisture and air impermeable bag, sealing the bag to thereby allow a controlled amount of fermentation of the mixture to take place within the bag, and wherein the bag is of a size that when loaded it can be lifted by a person without mechanical assistance.

Preferably the binder is lucerne.

Preferably moisture is added to the mixture in the form of moist lucerne or moist fruit pulp or other moisture containing supplements to adjust the moisture content to a predetermined amount.

Preferably the grain comprises a mixture of maize grain and barley.

Detailed Description of the Invention In a highly preferred form of the invention, a feed supplement can be manufactured by combining grain with for instance lucerne to provide a meal type product. The purpose of the lucerne is to bind the product to assist in the retention of the shape of the product when it is packaged. Such a product because it has a high grain content will have a higher energy content than the traditional feeds. The grain can be oats, maize and other forms of grain suitable for the purpose as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. With this particular form of feed supplement it is possible to utilise grain directly from the field in a moist state. The grains so selected when packaged, will partly ferment in the bag but provided the bags are both liquid and air impermeable, the fermentation process will terminate shortly after the product

is loaded into the bag. The partial fermentation of the product will result in a feed which is more easily digested and have better nutritional value than a hard dry grain.

Grains such as oats, barley, maze and the like can be utilised directly from the field and the natural moisture in the grains will provided the necessary conditions for the fermentation to commence. It is not always possible to obtain the grains directly from the field because for instance of the distance of the crops from the factory or because of the comparatively short time of the harvest opportunity. In such an instance it will not be possible to obtain the grain in a moist state and the grain will be delivered to the factory in a dry or semi dry state. In such an eventuality, moisture can be added to the feed such as by adding moist lucerne or moist fruit pulp which can be superfluous from the fruit juice industry or by adding other known moist supplements. The introduction of sufficient moisture to the grain will enable fermentation to begin to thereby preserve the grain. However once the product is bagged, this will prevent further oxygenation of the grain and consequently the fermentation process will terminate. The fermentation will provide the product with a unique flavour and tasty appeal which will be superior to the flavour of mixed dry grains.

Because of the composition of the feed it is possible to provide the feed with a high grain content product which can contain a proportion of grain harvested directly from the field. In addition to the higher nutritional qualities of the product and to the palatability, it is possible to package the product into bags which are considerably smaller than previously used. This provides a significant advantage in that the bags are of a size and weight that each bag can be simply lifted by a person without the

need of mechanical assistance. The additional advantage is that the bags of feed can be conveniently located and displayed in a retail environment and can be simply transported from the retail outlet by the customer. A yet further advantage is that because the bags of feed are comparatively small, this can result in less wastage when the feed is used for particular purposes such as calf rearing.

A typical example of a product that can be packaged according to this invention comprises the following approximations by weight : 30% moist maize grain harvested directly from the field. This grain can be harvested during the off season, such as from March to June in the southern hemisphere.

20% dried barley. Barley generally has a short harvesting opportunity and can be harvested for instance during February and March in the southern hemisphere.

20% apple pulp. The pulp can be a by-product of the fruit juice industry and is generally available March through July in the southern hemisphere.

30% of a mixture of lucerne and whole oat grain.

It is to be understood that the above ingredients and proportions are given by way of example only and it is not intended that the composition of the feed be in any way restricted or limited to the above proportions or ingredients.

The preferred form of packing the feed comprises loading it into bags which are preferably moisture and air impermeable. These bags are of a size that they can be satisfactorily lifted and moved by a person without the need for any mechanical assistance. The advantages of such packaging are for instance, that the bags of meal can be easily transported by a motor vehicle by being placed in the trunk or other suitable space in a passenger type of motor vehicle. A further advantage is that because the bags are water impermeable, even though the contents will contain a degree of moisture, the outside of the bags can remain dry which considerably facilitates storage and handling. A yet further advantage is that because of the size of the bags, the volume of the feed is reduced from the prior known bale sizes and the wastage that would otherwise occur when feeding (for instance calves) can be minimised. A still further advantage is that because the feed is packaged in comparatively small bags, the amount of fermentation that occurs through the use of moist material can be more accurately controlled to provide a feed of the desired texture, colour and palatability.

Having been apprised of the concept of the invention and of particular aspects of the improved feed, it will be apparent to those skilled in this particular trade that modifications and amendments can be made to the constitution of the feed and the method of storing the feed. All such modifications and amendments which come within the general concept of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of this specification.