Description:
Researchers at UT Dallas have developed a preservative solution that can be used in place of current preservatives, such as those that contain propionic acid. Unlike propionic acid, this new preservative solution is much safer and provides additional value to treated feed. Whereas many commercial hay preservatives evaporate over time, this formulation remains as a salt and provides indefinite protection during storage. Additionally, this preservative will add nutritional value to the hay, while other preservatives only aim to retain its initial value. The nutritional enhancement and increased storage time allow for farmers to get higher value out of the same hay than any other feed preservation solutions currently available. This technology is in the early stage of development yet has already demonstrated superior preservation of alfalfa and wheat grass with less loss in color and reduced mold content when compared with leading commercial hay preservatives.
Figure 1: Preservation of alfalfa with propionic based solution (left), no preservative (center) and UTD solution (right) at 70-80% humidity. 1 g of preservative was applied to 10 g alfalfa. The alfalfa preserved with UTD’s solution saw better color retention and had little to no decomposition.
Applications:
- Animal feed preservative and nutritional additive.
Key Benefits:
- Safe - No known OSHA hazards and no special disposal guidelines, unlike the propionic acid used in current solutions
- Nutritious - Other preservatives only help retain initial nutritional value, this adds additional nutritional content to feed
- Stable - Commercial hay preservatives evaporate over time, this solution remains as a salt, allowing longer storage
- Enhanced Value - Animal feed is preserved longer from a single treatment, with increased nutritional content than before
Inventors:
Duck Joo Yang, Ph.D. - Profile
Matthew Fiala
IP Status: United States patent 9,770,045 issued on September 26, 2017.
Licensing Opportunity: This technology is available for exclusive or non-exclusive licensing.
ID Number: MP-15045
Contact: otc@utdallas.edu