Farmers have been warned that Britain's surplus sugar beet stocks should not be used as a permanent alternative to cereal animal feed.
With the cost of animal feed rising due to escalating wheat prices and the freeze-thaw winter making field of sugar beet unsuitable for human consumption, some farmers have been using beet as an alternative food source, Farmers Weekly reports.
However, experts are insistent that the window of opportunity for using this beet will be so small it may not be economically beneficial.
In addition, vet Richard Vecqueray told the publication that using untreated beet can present many problems for livestock.
"Soil contamination can bring listeriosis risk … Frost damage can also cause the crop to spoil quickly, which can upset rumen function," he said.
Animal feed producers have been trying to reduce the impact of rising wheat prices by bulk buying and stockpiling grain, news agency Reuters reported earlier this week.
Typical Guttridge equipment used in the animal feed industry includes:
