Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Chicken Feed



One of the constraints on Iraqi agriculture is a source of high-quality animal feeds.  Iraq does not come anywhere close to producing enough feedstock for their domestic needs.  Yields are low, feed values are low......this makes it difficult to produce a high quality meat product for the Iraqi consumer.

One of our ag advisors is a poultry specialist, very knowledgeable about all aspects of poultry management.  Part of his effort has involved helping the Iraqi farmers import high-protein feedstocks to increase their efficiency in growing chickens.  

These pictures are of a typical feedmill in Iraq.  They are labor-intensive, which is probably a good thing since it provides employment for some number of men.  Much of the operation is still manual, such as shoveling ingredients into the hopper, bagging and transporting.  I suspect these guys are plenty tired when they finish their day!!

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