SmartFeed4Food

The main goal of the project is to reduce fruit and vegetable waste by reusing it in the livestock sector to produce innovative silage bales. From a circular economy perspective, this approach supports lower livestock production costs, strengthens local economies, and contributes to environmental sustainability. The core innovation lies in the dynamic combination of locally produced forage with surplus or discarded fruits and vegetables, which are mixed with specific feed additives. Using a specialized pressing machine, these mixtures are compacted and wrapped in plastic film to create silage bales that preserve nutritional quality. This solution allows livestock farms to optimize cattle feed management, reducing the reliance on externally purchased raw materials and lowering feed costs. At the same time, the optimized diet has been shown to improve animal performance, contributing to better growth rates and enhanced economic outcomes for farms. Additionally, the project aims to support the organization of the meat supply chain and promote the certification of meat quality, thereby increasing market opportunities for local producers. The practice demonstrates how innovative, locally adapted strategies can tackle both food waste and input costs while boosting farm resilience and environmental outcomes.