 technological advancements in alternative feed for ruminants technological advancements in alternative feed for ruminants prof pat francis director of ugirie is extremely passionate about supporting ug s innovators and seeing that their visions are turned into practical projects which have significant impacts on the national and regional development landscape prof francis is an agriculturist microbiologist and a fulbright scholar among others she pursued her phd in animal nutrition food technology in her professional career she has done quite extensive work in the area of improving animal nutrition by making alternative feed for ruminants for example sheep and goats some of the technological innovations employed include  1 the silage press  this apparatus is used to compress forage in a 45gallon drum it reduces the manual labour currently used in silage production and facilitates the roll on roll system silage can be kept in storage for up to two years 2 lactobacilli spp  beneficial microorganism is sprayed on to forage aids in its preservation this reduces forage loss due to spoilage by other microorganisms 3 multi nutrient blocks  sourcing the active ingredient binding agent in cement to make the mum blocks this reduces the quantity of cement incorporated into the block thereby reducing cost of production ssmith tue 2142023 1120  