What is the primary reason for adding additives to livestock feeds?

The primary reason for adding additives to livestock feeds is to enhance quality and quantity. Feed additives often serve various purposes such as improving nutritional value, promoting growth, increasing feed efficiency, and enhancing overall health in livestock. By incorporating specific vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and probiotics, these additives can lead to better animal performance, weight gain, and production levels, such as increased milk and egg production.

Other options, while they may seem relevant, do not represent the primary goal of feed additives. Increasing feed cost is counterproductive and not a desired outcome. Making the feed smell better can be beneficial for palatability, but it is not the main objective. Reducing weight of the feed itself would be irrelevant as the goal is to provide sufficient nutrition rather than to minimize feed volume. Thus, enhancing the quality and quantity of feed through strategic additives aligns with the overarching goal of optimizing animal health and productivity.