“Feed efficiency” is a term used regularly in animal production that refers to the measurement of an animal’s ability to turn feed nutrients into meat or milk.
Simply put, it is how much meat or milk an animal produces from their diet and how much is wasted.
Have you considered how well your cattle’s diet is performing and whether they are utilising it as efficiently as possible? Knowing how well your animals’ diet is performing is important, as feed represents up to 70% of beef and dairy production costs.
If this feed is not being utilised efficiently, it can not only incur major costs (from undigested feed passing through animals, creating expensive slurry), but it can also lead to less milk being produced by cows and more days spent on-farm by finishing cattle.
With the increase in feed costs this year from rising grain and protein prices, making more use of the same feed has never been more critical.
Digestion analysis provides information on feed utilisation
Carrying out a simple digestion analysis — also called manure sieving — can provide information on how well animals are utilising the feed they are receiving, helping producers identify what amount of undigested feed is passing through the rumen in a wasteful manner.
A digestion analysis can also provide insights into the rumen fermentation and digestive functions of cattle, helping producers diagnose areas for improvement in both their ration formulation and their management of the herd.
Alltech has pioneered some of the most extensive work in this area over the last 40 years.
Finding a lot of grains or large fibre particles in the manure can indicate that the feed is not being retained in the rumen for an adequate amount of time or that it is not being digested sufficiently while there.
Many factors — such as ration formulation, diet presentation and feed quality — will affect feed utilisation and, ultimately, animal performance.
What happens during a digestion analysis test?
A digestion analyser is a stack of three sieves with increasingly smaller holes from top to bottom. The following steps are completed by an Alltech specialist as part of a digestion analysis.
Assess
Manure samples are collected from the herd and placed in the manure sieve. The samples are then passed through the sieves. The sieves are separated, and the particles in each are examined and evaluated.
An example of a manure evaluation is illustrated below; click the photos to enlarge and refer to each caption for a detail on the process.
Act
Based on the feed utilisation results from the digestion analysis and examination of the particles left at each level on the manure sieve, an Alltech specialist will review the existing diet and make recommendations, including management advice and diet reformulations.
These recommendations can be compared nutritionally, by cost and by the carbon output of the diet. Farmers will benefit from resolving any inefficiencies in their diets, which will help increase their animal performance and reduce their feed costs, with the added bonus of a reduced herd carbon footprint.
Reassess
After two weeks of implementing the recommended advice, Alltech will re-evaluate the farm’s feed utilisation with a second digestion analysis test to monitor any changes and/or improvements that have occurred.
With feed costs representing up to 70% of beef and dairy production costs, knowing how your animals’ diet is performing is essential to maximising their feed utilisation.
Alltech’s solutions are proven to help cattle achieve a higher health status and to optimise their feed use, resulting in increased and efficient animal performance.
Alltech’s focus on fermentation and feeding the rumen has led to the development of Optigen, a non-protein nitrogen (NPN) source.
Optigen concentrates the nitrogen fraction of the diet, creating space for more energy. The nitrogen in Optigen is slowly released over time in a manner similar to soybean meal.
A major benefit of Optigen is that it supplies a key nutrient source for the fibre-digesting bacteria in the rumen. So, not only does Optigen satisfy the animals’ protein requirements with a decreased reliance on imported and expensive soya bean meal, but it also allows producers to release more energy from the overall diet and waste less.
Alltech offers a free on-farm digestions analysis, during which a nutritionist will assess the animals’ diet utilisation and its effect on their performance.
Our team of technical representatives, who are based throughout Ireland, is available to discuss each of these areas in more detail with you. If you are interested in learning whether Alltech can help you, click this link to fill out a form to schedule your free on-farm digestion analysis.
