Dairy and Beef CattleDairy and Beef Cattle

Essential Nutrients and Feedstuffs

Nutrient:Nutrient:

• Defined as a chemical element or compound needed to support the life of any animal

• Six Essential Nutrients for All Animals: Carbohydrates, Protein, Fat, Vitamins, Minerals and Water

Carbohydrates:Carbohydrates:

• Found in largest amounts in animal diets

• Primary function is to provide energy for basic bodily functions

• Also helps maintain body warmth and store fat

• Feedstuffs: corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, sorghum

ProteinProtein

• Amino acids are the basic building blocks of Protein

• Funtions: – Development and repair of body tissues and organs

– Produce milk and develop the fetus

– Develop immune system and construct enzymes

Feed sources of Protein: Soybean meal, fish meal, alfalfa, cottonseed hulls, barley, brewers grains

FatsFats

• Fats provide 2.25 times the energy of carbs.

• Fat=solid at room temperature

• Oil=liquid at room temperature

• Functions: source of energy, help absorb vitamins

• Feedstuffs with Fats: corn, sorghum, barley and wheat

VitaminsVitamins

• Needs in very small amounts in animal diets

• Functions:– Regulate digestion and metabolism– Development of hair, bones and vision– Regulate body glands and form new cells– Protect animal from disease– Maintain nervous system

Examples: A, D, E, K, B-complex

MineralsMinerals

• Essential to support life but needed in very small amounts

• Functions:– Develop teeth and bones– Construct body tissues– Aid in digestion of feedstuffs– Regulate body processes

• Examples: Calcium, Sodium, Sulfur, Iron

WaterWater

• 70% of animal weight is water

• Cannot live without water

• Functions:– Regulate body temperature– Transport nutrients in bloodstream– Aid in digestion and metabolism– Maintain body shape– Eliminate waste products

Feedstuffs:Feedstuffs:

• Defined as any ration ingredient provided to support life or increase productivity of the animal

• 4 Major categories of feedstuffs:– concentrates– roughages– feed supplements– feed additives

Ration:Ration:

• Amount of food required by an animal in a 24-hour period

• Balanced Ration: a ration containing correct proportions of carbs, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and water

Concentrate FeedstuffsConcentrate Feedstuffs

• Concentrates are high in energy (Carbs and fat) and low in fiber

• Protein Supplements maybe added to increase protein levels

• Examples: Corn, sorghum, oats, barley, wheat, and rye rations

RoughagesRoughages

• Roughages are low in energy and high in fiber

• Legume: roughages that can take nitrogen from the air and use it for their own nutrition and eventually put N in the ground and have higher protein as a feedstuff

• Non Legume: roughages that cannot process Nitrogen from the air

Roughages - con’tRoughages - con’t

• Legume roughage examples: alfalfa, clovers, kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, oats

• Non legume roughage examples: pasture grasses, corn silage and wheat straw– silage is the entire corn stalk and seed fermented

together with the help of bacteria during anerobic digestion

Feed SupplementsFeed Supplements

• #1 nutrient supplemented in feeds = PROTEIN

• Sources of Protein Supplements:– soybean meal (most common), urea, linseed meal,

cottonseed meal, corn gluten meal, brewers dried grain and distillers by products, fish meal, dried milk and whey; In the past: blood meal, bone meal, meat meal and feather meal

• Vitamins and Minerals are also supplemented either as ground powder or solid block

Feed AdditivesFeed Additives

• Non nutritive substances added to rations to increase animal productivity.

• Antibiotics, wormers, hormone-like products, chemotherapuetics

• Animals must have a complete and balanced ration in order to complete all of the following functions:– body maintenance– growth and fattening– lactation– reproduction– work