Farmers can benefit greatly from working with a animal nutritionist to develop customised feeding strategies based on their specific farming needs. Qualified animal nutritionists can help optimise a lick/feeding programs that suits their clients’ farming setup, management style, and scale. This results in better animal production and eventually to a more income for the farmer.
What can you expect from your nutritionist?
Nutritionists will assess their client’s nutritional practices from beginning to end, aiming to add value to their business. They will generally look at the following:
- What kind of production system the client is running.
- How the client manages their system.
- How many animals are on the farm.
- The purpose of those animals.
- What feed resources the client has available on farm.
- What labour resources the client has available.
These are all essential starting blocks required for formulating licks/feeds to suit the farmer’s needs.
There are a few different types of products used in custom formulations on the farm. The most popular products fall within the following categories: concentrates (which require mixing on farm), supplements (can be fed as-is), and premix packs. Concentrates generally contain non-protein nitrogen (NPN), medications (not always), and minerals. Supplements typically fall into various categories (maintenace or production supplements depending on the type of grazing), while premix packs comprise mineral and vitamin mixtures that may include medications. The products your nutritionist uses will be determined by the aforementioned criteria.
Once the feeding programme has been formulated and communicated, the onus is on the client to implement the plan according to the instructions. A good nutritional plan is only as effective as its execution and management.
Executing and managing the feeding program
Mixing
When mixing a ration or a lick, it is essential to ensure that you have the correct equipment for the formulation to achieve a consistent final product.
For farms or feedlots with large numbers of animals, it may be more cost-effective to use highly concentrated products. In these cases, it is necessary to make use of a mixing wagon or a mechanical mixer capable of homogenously mixing feed at high volumes. Protein concentrates can be dangerous if not managed correctly, as they have high inclusions of NPN and, in some cases, medications like Ionophores.
Professional mixers are expensive and require trained staff to operate and manage them. If this is not possible, ready-mixed supplements are a better option as they are fed as is. Supplements in the concentrate form require mixing with feed ingredients like maize, salt, etc on the farm. These products are generally safer and should be mixed thoroughly on a flat surface with a shovel. While it does not require mechanical mixing equipment, it is labour-intensive.
Feeding
Feeding licks and complete feeds require different feeding strategies. Every animal nutritionist will give their clients guidelines on how to feed their animals. There are a few rules of thumb that can be followed to ensure that animals are fed safely.
- Do not leave animals without licks or supplements for long periods of time (especially when giving high-NPN-containing supplements such as maintenance licks on dry grazing).
- Always ensure that animals have access to enough roughage unless specifically instructed otherwise.
- Fresh, clean water should be freely available.
- Ensure that you have enough feeding trough space for the number of animals you are intending to feed (this depends on the intake of the supplement or lick).
- When feeding complete feeds, manage feed troughs so that they are not empty for long periods (as these cause metabolic disorders) and keep feeding times and routines consistent.
In the case of complete feeds, ensure that adaptation to the feed is done properly and always check feeding troughs for any sorting behaviour. Sorting is an indication that the animals are not eating the diet as formulated. This behaviour can be exacerbated by feed separating in troughs. Feed separation is most commonly seen when roughage is not cut to the correct length and mixed with a fine meal.
Success
At the end of the day, the most important thing is that the feed or lick the ruminant consumes needs to be the same as was originally formulated. If the feed mixing and management are not on par, animals will not perform as intended.
