Local researchers have recently found a way to use overflowing piles of unsold rice.<br />A new study shows that COWS that consume rice are healthier and often produce higher quality beef and milk.<br />Cho Sung-min with the details. <br /> Rice is still the most common staple for South Koreans, but it's clearly lost some popularity.<br />A government report shows that in 2017, rice production hit the lowest level in 37 years... and the amount of rice people eat has been falling steadily since 2011.<br />That means there's literally tons of rice left over, which the nation is having a hard time finding ways to use.<br /><br /> Now, researchers from the Rural Development Administration have conducted multiple tests to see if rice is suitable to be used in livestock feed.<br />They said cows that were given special feed made of rice... became more healthy and produced higher quality meat and milk.<br /><br />According to their study, top-grade beef from the rice-fed cows and the ordinary ones showed a quality difference of ten percentage points,... with the rice-fed cows clearly superior.<br />Their beef also had twice the amount of vitamin E, which functions as an antioxidant. <br /> In the case of dairy cows, the ones that were fed rice showed a significantly higher pregnancy rate than the ones that had normal animal feed.<br />They also yielded more milk,... and their milk contained almost thirty percent fewer somatic cells, a type of blood cell that raises the chance of growing harmful bacteria. <br /><br />With those discoveries, the researchers predicted that more farms will grow rice specifically to feed animals instead of people.<br /><br /> "More land will be used to cultivate special rice for animal feed since feeding rice to cows has been proven to have positive outcomes." <br /><br /> The RDA says it's studying ways to use rice to make specific kinds of animal feed that can enhance the overall quality of South Korea's livestock.<br />Cho Sung-min, Arirang News. <br />
