Farmers who are in the business of finishing cattle have been reminded to be wary of the level of starch in cattle diets as excessive levels could lead to acidosis cases.
Speaking to a group of beef farmers suppling cattle to ABP Food Group, animal nutritionist from Brett Brothers Ltd, Heather Peppard, delivered a presentation on factors to consider “within the farm gate” to improve the performance of livestock.
She said: “The diet that should be presented to finishing cattle needs to be balanced for starch, sugars and digestible fiber.”
The group of farmers heard the presentation while on a site visit to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) Tully Progeny Test Centre last month.
The animal nutritionist reminded farmers of the basic principals of a good finishing diet for cattle.
She said: “The diet has to include an element of forage whether that be silage grown on the farm or possibly straw or hay.
“Then combined with that, you have to look at all the feeds available such as maybe fodder beet or whole crop silage and then ingredients coming into the farm such as a purchased feed or home-grown cereals to be balanced.
“The most important aspects when looking at finishing diets is to make sure that there’s not too much starch in the diet, which could lead to acidosis.”
She emphasised that it is “really important” that farmers get their livestock diets assessed and consult a professional nutritionist.
Heather also advised farmers that the inclusion of feed additives, rumen buffers and yeasts can reduce the risk of acidosis in intensive finishing systems and improve overall feed efficiency.
Water and feed space
As well as feed factors, the animal nutritionist reminded farmers of the importance of water access and feed-barrier positioning for cattle.
Farmers often are reminded of the importance of ensuring cattle drinkers are kept clean and are checked regularly but in cases, this job can be sometimes overlooked.
“There must be water freely available, and it must be potable and have the same standard as what we as humans would drink as well,” she continued.
She explained that based on data from the Tully research centre where feed intake and water intake is measured, “the minimum amount of water that any animal is consuming [here] at present is 40L/day”.
She also said that farmers should pay attention to how comfortably cattle can feed at the barrier.
“The best feed in the world could be put in front of cattle, but they’re not going to perform if they’re not able to actually physically access that,” she added.
She noted the actual space allowance for feeding is important, but also reminded farmers to make sure the barriers are “set at a height that allows the animal to physically reach that feed”.
“If animals are showing that they consistently have a bare patch at the back of the neck, that means that they have to reach to get feed. We would encourage a farmer in that situation to maybe look at either adjusting the feed barrier height, or maybe to push in feed on a more regular basis throughout the day.”