Application of pine nut needles and shells in the feeding of farm animals and poultry (review)

Forests cover one-third of the planet’s land surface. Forests are essential for maintaining a clean environment, food security and biodiversity. Forests are also a source of food for animals. In the processing of forest resources, the forest industry accumulates various forest biomass wastes containing valuable and nutritious biologically active substances. The article provides an overview of the current state of the art in applying forest industry waste to feed farm animals and poultry. The authors presented the characteristics of biological properties of plant forestry raw materials and described the mechanism of their action on the animal organism. The authors analysed the results of studies of domestic and foreign scientists on feeding animals and poultry with feed additives containing pine needles and pine nutshells. The authors also characterised the possible advantages and disadvantages of using feed additives. The analysis of Russian and foreign scientific literature in the area under study has shown that forest industry waste in feed production and animal feeding is relevant as the available fodder base does not always allow to satisfy the need of animals for nutrients and biologically active substances. It has been noted that pine needles are used worldwide as a feed additive, but in the countries with the most significant areas of forests and developed forest industry, their use is the most common and effective. The use of cedar nut shells in the feeding of farm animals and poultry is most produced in Russia, while this area is underdeveloped in the world. The literature review has confirmed that using forest industry wastes such as pine nut needles and shells in animal feed production is promising livestock production.