Purchasing concentrates – what ingredients are important?
With housing having occurred or just around the corner on many beef farms, Catherine Egan, Beef Specialist at Teagasc, reminds farmers to focus on the ingredients making up their concentrate feeds.
When reading the ingredients on the label, it is important to know that the composition in terms of percentage in the feed are in descending order. This means that the first ingredient you read will be at the highest inclusion rate.
For that reason, it is vital that the first three to four ingredients should have a high energy, UFL and protein rate. You don’t want to see lower quality feeds or poorer type by-products at the beginning of the ration as this will indicate an inferior type ration. Some of the primary, quality ingredients to look for a barley, maize and soya bean meal.
Barley
Barley is probably the most common feed ingredient in rations in Ireland, as it is high in energy. Rolled barley is preferred over ground barley.
It is a high-starch ingredient, thus posing a risk of acidosis at high feeding rates. It has a low protein content (10-11% crude protein), and is also low in vitamins and calcium. To prevent the risk of acidosis occurring in finishing diets, its inclusion should be limited to 6-7kg of finishing diets; higher inclusions are possible, but feeding management is critical.
Maize
Maize meal is usually in high inclusion rates where animals are being finished. Feeding maize meal whole can be an issue as it is not very palatable. Ideally it should be mixed through the ration or pellet.
It is a high energy, high starch energy ingredient, but unlike either barley or wheat it is a lower risk to acidosis as 30% of the starch is bypass. A low protein (9-10%) and calcium ingredient, there is no limit on usage but price relative to natively grown cereals will limit inclusion.
Soya bean meal
A by-product of soya bean oil production, soya bean meal is a high quality protein feed (48% crude protein) with high energy content. High in bypass protein, it has a good amino acid profile and is high in lysine but low in methionine.
Although there is no limit on inclusion, its addition to concentrates is restricted by the protein requirement of the ration and price. It is an expensive form of protein, as it is imported into Ireland. Other alternatives such as maize distillers, rapeseed meal and beans may be a relatively cheaper source of protein to balance concentrates.
Tune in to this week’s Beef Edge Podcast
Teagasc Nutritionist, Aisling Claffey discusses winter nutrition and diets on this week’s Beef Edge podcast. Aisling explains that beef systems are simple and it comes down to trying to maximise intake and growth whilst minimising stress and digestive upsets.
A combination of factors ultimately decides how close you get to growing and finishing cattle to their genetic potential. These include management, diet, housing, water and disease control. Aisling highlights the importance of taking a silage sample and discusses the targets to see in the report. Then based on the result, the concentrates are balanced.
Listen in below:
Diary date - Teagasc National Beef Conference
The Teagasc National Beef Conference 2024 takes place on Tuesday, 19 November at 5pm in the Landmark Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim, N41 N9W4.
The theme of the conference is 'Sustainable Beef Farming: Pathways to a greener future'