Productivity and profitability in supplemented feed systems for

Sheep or Beef

Appropriate Feeding systems for feeding

lambs approach Vs ewes approach

Totally different mindsets that can lead to challenges if inaccurate

• lambs must have a rapid gain to improve feed conversion and reduce $ cost per kg gain

• High dry matter intake is crucial to achieve this

• High quality forage and/or supplement to drive intake and productivity

• Not about cost/head/day minimisation

• All about lower cost per kg gain

• ewes are all about holding body weight or managing modest weight loss

• Ensuring we allow maintenance requirement

• Can totally manage lower quality forages

• all about cost/head/day minimsation

Specifications for diets that are appropriate

• Ewes

• Max at 60% NDF

• As low as 8MJ

• As low as 8% protein

• ( NB has to be better in last trimester especially mutiples)

• Lambs

• Max at 30% NDF

• Want at least 11MJ

• Want 16% Protein

• See the difference in diet density!

A- The dry ewe : 60 kg• Maintenance megajoules = 10% of Bwt + 1

• 6mj + 1mj = 7MJ

• Plus excercise 20% uplift = 1.5mj

• Total 8.5mj/day

• She can eat about 700-750g/day fibre before gutfill

• You get to decide if she hits maintenance before she hits gut fill

( loosing 20g/day fine…but that only that saves about 0.6MJ/day so question the worth of it considering it can cost reproductive outcomes)

straw cereal hay vetch WCS poor silage good silage barley

NDF g/kg 700 500 400 500 600 450 150

mj/kg 6 9 10 15 8 10 12

ewes: Intake is relatively ample vs low requirements: so nutrient density can be low

straw cereal hay vetch WCS poor silage good silage barley

NDF g/kg 700 500 400 500 600 450 150

mj/kg 6 9 10 15 8 10 12

Max DMI to gutfill 1 1.45 1.8 1.45 1.2 1.6 6

kilos to 8.5 mjMaintenance 1.4 0.95 0.85 0.55 1.05 0.85 0.7

Can I hold this ewe on this feed stuff ?

straw cereal hay vetch WCS poor silage good silage barley

NDF g/kg 700 500 400 500 600 450 150

mj/kg 6 9 10 15 8 10 12

Max DMI to gutfill 1 1.45 1.8 1.45 1.2 1.6 6

kilos to 8.5 mjMaintenance 1.4 0.95 0.85 0.55 1.05 0.85 0.7

Can I hold this ewe on this feed stuff ?

straw cereal hay vetch WCS poor silage good silage barley

NDF g/kg 700 500 400 500 600 450 150

mj/kg 6 9 10 15 8 10 12

Max DMI 1 1.45 1.8 1.45 1.2 1.6 6

mj/day

kilos to 8.5mj 1.4 0.95 0.85 0.55 1.05 0.85 0.7

cost/kg 20c 30c 40c 50c 22c 24c 45c

cost $/day to maintain 0.20 0.285 0.34 0.275 0.23 20.5 31

add 200g barley 0.090.29

Can I get it wrong with XS weight loss on a ewe?

• Yes we can impedefuture reproduction of the ewe of course

• Also impede lamb mortality and productivity with impacts of foetal programming that last a life time, but play out short term

• Some work we have been doing with Uni of Qld at “spyglass” to try to reduce classic North Qld early calf mortality shows what is manageable re calf health too

• Classic impact in the south in drought too

Qld cattle on low quality tropical forage that limits intake and nutrient capture … reduces colostrum amount and quality and compromises new born calf several ways. We do this too !

B- The lamb 30 kg• Maintenance megajoules = 10% of Bwt + 1

• 3mj + 1mj = 4MJ

• Plus excercise 20% uplift = 1mj

• Total 5mj/day

• BUT , they can only about 350-400g/day fibre before gut fill.

• They hit gut fill fast . Especially on poor fodders

• We need to push growth along and sell stock, but with limited capacity to eat fibre , so nutrient density crucial

Costs at slow vs fast weight gain

• The power of improved Feed conversion ratio to reduce cost per kg gain is considerable….as is poor FCE to increase Cost/kg gain

• Its the reason that simple low cost/head/day outgoing wont work in lambs, weaners and growing stock

• Also the reason that chicken is cheap even at chicken feed = $400/t +……..FCE = 1.65:1

The feed on offer to our 30 kg lamb

• Feed type Good Moderate Poor

• ME 11 9.5 8.0

• NDF% 40 50 65

• ADF% 30 36 45

$/t 300 200 100

<<<Less mature<<< >>> more mature>>>

The numbers on 30kg lamb growth

• Hay type Good OK Poor

• Intake KGDM/d 0.9 0.75 0.55

• Energy intake 10 7 4.4

• Growth rate g/d 125 50 -10 to 0

• Days to gain 5kg 40 100 many

• Kg Feed/kg gain 7:1 15:1 100:1

The Outcome in $ for Lamb

• Feed Good OK Poor

• Growth rate g/d 125 50 0

• % of feed making meat 50% 30% 0%

• Kg Feed/kg gain 7 15 100

• Feed cents/kg 30 20 10

• Cost to gain1kg $2.10 $3.00 $10

Sooo..Can we agree that we want to grow at least 200kg/day min in our lambs or FCE is terrible !

• Maintenance + Excercise = 5 MJ/day

• Each gain cost 40 mj approx

• 200g/day = 8mj

• 13 Mj/day…

• And we can only consume 350g/day fibre to deliver those 13mj

straw cereal hay vetch WCS poor silage good silage barley

NDF g/kg 700 500 400 500 600 450 150

mj/kg 6 9 10 15 8 10 12

Max DMI 0.5 0.75 0.9 0.75 0.60 0.8 2.4

Mj/day 3 7 10 11 5 8 29

wt change g/day -70 +50 125 150 0 75 ? Lots

How are my ewe feeds for 30 kg lambs then ? Pretty poor as animal eats too little to gain weight

All these are same fibre intake to fill the lamb, but eating 4%+ of Bwt daily in total….not 2% …or 3% even

cereal hay $300 0.5 0.2 0.7 0 0

Good silage $200 0 0 0.5 0.2

pellets $500 0.7 1.4 0.3 0.8 1.7

DMI 1.2 1.6 1.0 1.3 1.7

MJ daily total 13.2 20 10 15 21.5

Weight gain 180g 320g 120g 220g 340g

Day to gain 5kg 27 15.5 43 23 15

kg feed/kg gain 6.56 5.1 8.6 5.9 5

Cost/kg gain $2.74 $2.44 $3.10 $2.33 $2.33

% feed to maint 34 25 45 30 22

% Feed to gain 66 75 55 70 78

Lower cost per kg gain in lambs is driven by

- high DMI in some form ie

-really good forage quality -and/or good supplementation

Because of thisLow cost per kg gain in feeding

systems is rarely linked with low outgoings per animal per day

Protein ? Yes for lambs and last trimester ewes

• In our growth system , protein delivery is crucial . Its got to sit beside the energy delivery to produce gain

• Its not overly important in ewe feeding systems much till close up

• Its important , but its still not the most critical thing

• DMI is the critical thing for nutrient capture

So why not just do it on 100% grain all the time ?Because of rumen dysfunction ! • You probably call it Acidosis for simplicity…but it’s a pretty complex situation

• XS and fast fermentation of mild acids as energy sources in the rumen

• Not fast uptake of the acids , often due to lack of fibre to promote mixing

• Build up of what are good things in most ways: Too much of a good thing ! (It’s a bit like rum everyone)

• Fibre digestion fails , bugs die , rumen wall buggers up….intake drops right away to nothing, animals stop growing…and if left alone may die

Real costs are mostly Subacute though

• We hate mortalities when lambs are worth hundreds

• But most costs are about the “not dead” inefficiencies of poor intake and poor digestion and morbidity not mortality

• So Coprice manage this with a combination of carbohydrates that spread the rate of breakdown….and also use of a couple of key tools to reduce challenge considerably. Both with strong University trial work to support them

• Acidbuf: The Pre-eminent rumen buffer available

• Diamond V: That reduces rumen dysfunction and optimises digestibility

Now to some new diets: all in one feeds from CopRice that are convenient and simple• Low gut fill characteristics, so high dry matter intakes

• A carbohydrate spread that is spread and relatively safe

• Contains tools that further offset the risk

• Protein at appropriate levels

• Reduces/stops the need for extra fibre source purchases