Abstract: Unconventional feedstuffs are an important supplement to ruminant diets. With the rapid expansion of the scale of the cattle and sheep industries, the supply of conventional feedstuff raw materials is difficult to meet the demand. China is rich in unconventional feedstuffs resources. Using unconventional feedstuffs to replace conventional feedstuff can not only alleviate the pressure of insufficient feedstuff supply in China, but also reduce feedstuff costs and bring higher economic benefits to farmers. This paper classifies and outlines the application status of four categories of unconventional feedstuffs, including miscellaneous oilseed meals, woody plants, wild herbaceous plants, and agricultural by-product residues, summarizes the common shortcomings of such raw materials, such as high contents of anti-nutritional factors and poor palatability, and puts forward key technical points for the efficient utilization of unconventional feedstuffs from aspects such as raw material screening and addition ratio control, removal of anti-nutritional factors, improvement of diet palatability, and scientific combination of feedstuff additives, aiming to broaden the sources of ruminant feedstuff, balance the supply of feedstuff, and provide references for healthy and green farming of cattle and sheep.

Key words: unconventional feedstuffs, ruminants, anti-nutritional factors