A NORTH YORKSHIRE company is developing a new type of cattle feed which could provide a welcome boost for beleaguered British farmers .

Ecosyl Products Ltd, which invents treatments for cattle and sheep, has won a DTI-funded Smart award to develop a process to create a hybrid of hay and silage.

The company, of Ellerbeck Way, Stokesley, received assistance and guidance to secure the award from Business Link York and North Yorkshire innovation and technology advisor Roger Benson.

About 95 per cent of British cattle are fed silage, a wetter, greener form of feed, instead of hay.

Silage is made using a fermentation process that produces acids which preserve it.

Ecosyl's answer has been to develop a formula for producing a hybrid "moist" hay, a concept that has been around for a while, but which until now has used hazardous chemicals in the production process.

Ecosyl's new process combines environmentally-friendly preservatives used in the food industry with anti-fungal micro-organisms to produce a fodder that has all the nutritional attributes of silage but does not require the use of harmful chemicals.

It is hoped the new product will lead to an increase in beef and milk productivity, as cattle can consume more hay than silage.

Ecosyl research director Dr Terry Owen said: "This process has the potential to revolutionise the animal feed industry.