Forum: Avoiding Grains to minimal level to Ruminants
Published:March 28, 2013
By:Dr.Madanlal Sharma
Grains are the main source of energy to Ruminants as practiced today. But anatomically and physiologically ruminants are designed to digest roughages and fibrous feed to produce VFA's to meet out the major (70%) component of maintenance energy requirements. With the expectation of extra energy supplement for lactation, grains are being fed. But during the process, we create a challenge for animal to forcibly draw energy through grains. Grains are rich in starch and help in elevating and creating an environment to produce lactic acid. With the production of Lactic acid, own production of VFA's is reduced considerably. Reduction of Ruminal pH further affects the immune status adversely. See, wild animals who do not access to grains, hardly suffer with immune related diseases like FMD and others.
Can we utilize this experience to design a nutrition with minimal use of grains yet managing the energy requirements for production?
It is vary good discussion but evry farmer or milk producer has it own limitation like land and other resources but I think by increasing the use of silage we can reduse the use of grian where land holing is less
To all;
In my opinion, in today’s world plenty of people supposing to run a profitable livestock with only northern European breeds and with burning an ambition to make more money feeding ruminants according to their natural structure are almost difficult.
As far as I know in the 90s, New Zealanders were feeding livestock only with a grass-based diet not any grain in the world, but now, they also seem to be a slave to money.
Since I am solely managing a large non-organised farm having cattle heads of 22000-odd at Mataji Gosala at Barsana, u p as well as we are using very little amount of grains and maximal amount of fiber to the milch cows only during the lactating period [in the non-lactating period no grain is provided ] quantum of prevalence of diseases is minimal. Discussion by Dr M Sharma may help the milk producing farm to enhance their margin of profitability by using more fiber based feed as a source calorie need of the animal concerned.
Feeding of grains can never be avoided in today's dairy animals which have been genetically engineered to produce more and more milk as compared to cows of earlier days. Excessive feeding of grains in the absence of roughage's only adds to health issues due to acidosis (SARA) and related ailments like laminitis and reproductive failures. As the author as well as many commentators has pointed out, energy deficiency and also non availability of quality roughage's are the main constraints in proper Dairy feeding affecting Dairy farming economics adversely.
Some farmers have tried/and are feeding brewery waste which is a good energy source though. However, in the long run this affects the health condition of the cows badly. Many farmers have discontinued feeding this to their animals.
We have come out with a feed that provides both the required energy, protein needs of the animals as well as quality roughage's. Designed for cows yielding around 20 litres a day, this feed can also help sustain 25-30 liter production if a specific protein meal is fed extra, which we are currently supplying to farmers across S.India.
This discussion has been done many times. China has published a report on it. I think only balance and time to time change according to thie lactation stage is needed to build better feeding strategy.
In most countries the good quality roughage is not available and therefore they feed grains. It is quite right that if you can feed only good roughage in terms of quality and quantity it will better for the health of the animal and even if some decrease in the milk production occurs, this will be compensated by the longevity and sustainability of the life and production.
The most interesting take-home feeling I gathered from these comments, is the role that health and well-being of the cows play for most of the participants. It is important to realize that dairying in those countries where it is a major industry; explotedit is a business and as such, is driven by profits. Cows are bred to be pushed and make milk, regardless of their own wellbeing, the expected life span of a commercial dairy cow is of 2 1/2 lactations, and these facts are not probably going to be improved ever. These cows are kept and handled exactly the same than other domestic animals we consume, as in a factory. I think that those of you who still have dairy cows and others animals, exploited the traditional way, should feel privileged and enjoy it while it lasts.
Am a dairy farmer in Kenya -That is in Africa. The constraints of good fodder production the world over is under threat by among other things climate change and diminishing land sizes.Its hard to avoid the temptation of being the super farmer with a river of white gold.But I think we have done well in improving the breeds without a similar effort the other end to improve on fodder quality and farming method.I have used a sweet sorghum hybrid with Sudan grass and am impressed that in future I can tame my ambition and reap benefits by reducing feeding too much grains.
I agree with Umberto. One of the major reasons for the decline in modern cow fertility is to do with the health and wellbeing of the animals. Transition period is a critical moment in the dairy cow's lactational cycle. It is during this time that cow has to cope with high demand for nutrients for increasing milk production and yet the dry matter intake is low. Also there are hormonal interplay and diseases such as metritis, displaced abomasum, milk fever, ketosis, etc. All of these factors affect fertility. It is now emerging that certain omega 3 fatty acids are essential for embryo survival. Equally important is the balance between the supplies of omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids (4:1 is considered ideal). Unfortunately the makeup of the dairy cows ration is inadequate in omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA.
Crowding caused by the drive for profitability causes stress and can severely impact on reproductive performance.
The short-term gains from producing more milk should not undermine the long term beneficial effects of proper welfare management and dietary rationing on cow health and fertility.
I am not a Dairy farmer. But in the forum discussion, I did not come across any cost comparisons between grain fed and grass fed dairy/beef ruminant live stocks. If there is indeed a cost and hence profit advantage in grain fed ruminant livestock, then it would be very difficult to convnice farmers to switch to roughage feeding or even minimal grain feeding.
Grains are the major source of energy and volatile fatty acids production for the milk synthesis. Grains inclusion in the animal feed is optimised according to production status of the animal as well as buffer level in feed. I have offered 5 kg of corn grain to a high producing cow per day without any apparent harmful effects on cow health. Milk production of that group was 35 +. But i have included Sodium bi carbonate at dose rate of 250 gram per day. So if we offer buffer in feed i think no harmful effects.
Not related but I need an answer please!
Daily feeding of ruminant animals is essential in the routine management but not a substitute to milking of animals, please explain?
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