Archives

Economics don't support use of supplemental feed protein

Supplemental protein in a good barley-based beef feed ration can increase rate of gain in cattle, but it may not be worth the extra cost to producers, say Alberta livestock researchers looking at feed requirements.

Two years of research at three sites in Edmonton and southern Alberta indicate that using supplemental protein at rates recommended by the National Research Council (NRC) can increase rates of gain in cattle. However, the economics of achieving that gain doesn't pencil out for producers.

The findings are part of a three-pronged study that looked at types, timing and amounts of supplemental protein in beef cattle rations. The project was launched to evaluate the 1996 NRC protein recommendations, which say that increasing crude protein in rations by 1.5 percent (on a dry matter basis) will increase the performance of feedlot cattle. The study was funded in part by Canada/Alberta Beef Industry Development Fund (CABIDF).

Researchers found that increased protein increases rate of gain in cattle, however the benefit isn't cost effective.

In one component of the research, Feedlot Health Management Services of Okotoks looked at the effect of feeding supplemental protein to feeder cattle on feedlot performance, carcass grading and overall cost of production. In another component, University of Alberta researchers looked at the protein requirements of both mature and feeder cattle under cold temperatures. In a third component, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada ruminant nutritionists at the Lethbridge Research Centre looked at the metabolic responses of feeder cattle to supplemental protein.

"Our advice to feeders is there's no economic advantage to feeding supplemental protein in a standard barley-based ration," says Dr. Tim Guichon, with Feedlot Health Management Services of Okotoks, who along with colleague Dr. Calvin Booker, looked at a key aspect of the research - the economic return of feeding 1 to 1.5 percent supplemental protein in the form of urea, or canola meal, to feedlot animals.

The findings of Feedlot Health Management Services researchers were confirmed in a similar project led by Dr. Erasmus Okine, an associate professor of ruminant nutrition and metabolism at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Okine, as part of the overall project, looked specifically at the value of feeding supplemental protein to feeder cattle as well as mature cows in cold weather. Do cattle have a need for extra protein in winter?

"We found our cattle very efficient at using protein in cold weather," he says. "The take-home message is that the NRC has over estimated the need for protein in its recommendations."

While the study on supplemental protein showed no direct economic benefit to producers, it will help further the knowledge base on protein requirements, say two Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers in Lethbridge.

Drs. Karen Beauchemin and Karen Koenig, both ruminant nutritionists at the Lethbridge Research Centre, confirmed that supplemental protein increases activity of rumen microbes that produce protein and ultimately the amino acids an animal uses for growth.

"We found when we supplemented a barley-based diet with a true protein source, such as canola meal, there was an increase in microbial protein production," explains Beauchemin. "That means there was a response in how much protein is available for absorption by the animal."

Beauchemin notes the NRC recommendations are designed to produce a biological response and are not intended to show an economic response. However, the research data will help fine-tune computer nutrition models that ultimately help livestock nutritionists formulate rations.

© 2004 Meristem Information Resources Ltd.
Meristem® is a registered trademark of Meristem Information Resources Ltd. All rights reserved.
Legal Disclaimer