Ration Balancing Basics

Ration Balancing Basics

By Jaclyn Krymowski

Regardless of your production goals – maintenance, growth or finishing – keeping the ration simple may be your best bet for reaching your target. There is no need to make things difficult and include every ingredient under the sun.

Start with a high quality forage and then add in supplements to fill in the nutritional gaps.

“Ration balancing is a complex topic that can be intimidating but the best designed feed mix (or ration) is the simplest one,” write Dr. Benjamin Wenner and MacKenzie Dore in the Ohio State bulletin Basic Ration Balancing. “Some diets are intended to be a standalone ‘complete mixed feed.’”

Of course, the ration needs to take into account the location of the operation and other factors that influence the diet, like the animals raised, available feeds and facilities. But with these in mind, the rest is about sticking to the nutritional fundamentals built around what works best for you.

Forages First
Forages are one of the most important – and cost effective – bovine dietary staples. But its effectiveness is only as good as its quality.

Neutral detergent fiber, or NDF, is a primary indicator of forage quality, as it measures the amount of indigestible cell wall material. Total digestible nutrients, TDN, are the total nutrients in forage that can be utilized by the animal.

While there are many other ways to measure quality, these are the two most basic, simplest assessments and can pair well with a visual examination.
To calculate the most accurate diet, it’s optimal to have forage sampled before balancing the ration whether you are doing a full total mixed ration, utilizing pasture or offering free choice hay.

Selecting Key Ingredients
When selecting or evaluating the ingredients in any ration, there is always the consideration that each is multifactorial. This is because dry matter intake (DMI) is based on the animal, the environment and the diet.
The main components of a ration often take into consideration ingredient availability, accessibility and affordability.

At times, there will be tradeoffs. For example, cow-calf operations that go with seasonal waves will find that they are always paying more for nutrition in the winter when requirements go up and additional resources are needed.

Feeding programs on the other hand aren’t subject to as much seasonal swings and they rely less on forage.

Providing a Nutritious and Digestible Source
Cereal grains are utilized as concentrated sources of energy, particularly in finishing rations where they comprise up to 90% of the ration dry matter. Additionally, they are an important contribution to the protein needs of growing and finishing cattle.

“Digestibility of grains like corn, barley and oats is improved when grains are processed. Processing methods such as steam flaking have been shown to improve feed efficiency versus dry rolling. By cracking the outer shell of the grain, rumen microbes are better able to utilize grain starch and minerals,” reads a 2023 Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) bulletin Optimizing Feedlot Efficiency. “Processing also allows grain to be mixed with supplements, and affects palatability and passage rates. However, processing grains too finely leads to acidosis. Finding the ideal method and level of processing contributes to an improved F:G (Feed to gain ratio).”

About Ionophores
Ionophores are a popular additive to rumen diets. They are antimicrobials that improve the animal’s nutrient availability and include products like monensin, lasalocid, and laidlomycin propionate.
By acting on the rumen microbes, they improve feed efficiency.

“Most rumen microbes convert the complex fiber and starch in forage and grain into simple molecules that can be absorbed into the bloodstream to provide energy and protein to the animal,” reads the BCRC bulletin.

“Ionophores improve feed efficiency and weight gain by selectively inhibiting methanogenic bacteria, and allow the beneficial rumen bacteria to make more feed energy available to the animal.”

All About Timing
Timely feed delivery is crucial, especially on cow-calf operations. Consistent feeding ensures optimal calf growth and cow health, particularly when pasture quality is insufficient.

Typically, the faster the animal is expected to grow, the more it will require dietary energy (from starch, carbohydrates, or fats) and protein. Younger animals consume less feed each day and thus usually require a greater percentage of key nutrients such as proteins in their diet. Younger animals only require a greater concentration of protein because they consume less total feed. It is common to see protein in the diet decrease andbe replaced by more energy as the animal matures and consumption increases.

In finishing situations, cattle should start at a DMI of 1.5-2% of their body weight and create uniform pens to ensure the right rations are being provided to the right group. Intake should never be increased the same day of a diet switch/change.

Starting out,the concentrate: forage ratio will be around 6:4 and as the animals progress the concentrate proportion will increase while the forage decreases.

“Substituting forage with grains in finishing rations can lead to substantial improvement in feed efficiency. Steers fed higher grain diets grow faster, finish sooner, and produce heavier and fatter carcasses,” says BCRC.

“Research also suggests that the type and quality of grains and the balance of essential nutrients, like vitamins, proteins, and trace minerals, significantly impact feed efficiency. Balanced rations increase average daily gain and can decrease feed cost per pound of gain. In order to prevent rumen acidosis and liver abscesses, it is necessary to appropriately adjust cattle from forage-based feed to high-energy grain-based rations.”

If nutrition isn’t your wheelhouse, ration balancing can seem cumbersome and overwhelming. It’s one of the many reasons several operations opt to work with a qualified nutritionist. But whatever the situation, having a rudimentary understanding of ration basics can ensure nothing falls between cracks throughout all stages of production.

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