1. Essential Nutrients and Feedstuffs
Dairy and Beef Cattle
Essential Nutrients and Feedstuffs

2. Nutrient:
Defined as a chemical element or compound needed to support the life of any animal
Six Essential Nutrients for All Animals: Carbohydrates, Protein, Fat, Vitamins, Minerals and Water

3. Carbohydrates: Found in largest amounts in animal diets
Primary function is to provide energy for basic bodily functions
Also helps maintain body warmth and store fat
Feedstuffs: corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, sorghum

4. Protein Amino acids are the basic building blocks of Protein Funtions:
Development and repair of body tissues and organs
Produce milk and develop the fetus
Develop immune system and construct enzymes
Feed sources of Protein: Soybean meal, fish meal, alfalfa, cottonseed hulls, barley, brewers grains

5. Fats Fats provide 2.25 times the energy of carbs.
Fat=solid at room temperature
Oil=liquid at room temperature
Functions: source of energy, help absorb vitamins
Feedstuffs with Fats: corn, sorghum, barley and wheat

6. Vitamins Needs in very small amounts in animal diets Functions:
Regulate digestion and metabolism
Development of hair, bones and vision
Regulate body glands and form new cells
Protect animal from disease
Maintain nervous system
Examples: A, D, E, K, B-complex

7. Minerals Essential to support life but needed in very small amounts
Functions:
Develop teeth and bones
Construct body tissues
Aid in digestion of feedstuffs
Regulate body processes
Examples: Calcium, Sodium, Sulfur, Iron

8. Water 70% of animal weight is water Cannot live without water
Functions:
Regulate body temperature
Transport nutrients in bloodstream
Aid in digestion and metabolism
Maintain body shape
Eliminate waste products

9. Feedstuffs:
Defined as any ration ingredient provided to support life or increase productivity of the animal
4 Major categories of feedstuffs:
concentrates
roughages
feed supplements
feed additives

10. Ration: Amount of food required by an animal in a 24-hour period
Balanced Ration: a ration containing correct proportions of carbs, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and water

11. Concentrate Feedstuffs
Concentrates are high in energy (Carbs and fat) and low in fiber
Protein Supplements maybe added to increase protein levels
Examples: Corn, sorghum, oats, barley, wheat, and rye rations

12. Roughages Roughages are low in energy and high in fiber
Legume: roughages that can take nitrogen from the air and use it for their own nutrition and eventually put N in the ground and have higher protein as a feedstuff
Non Legume: roughages that cannot process Nitrogen from the air

13. Roughages - con’t
Legume roughage examples: alfalfa, clovers, kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, oats
Non legume roughage examples: pasture grasses, corn silage and wheat straw
silage is the entire corn stalk and seed fermented together with the help of bacteria during anerobic digestion

14. Feed Supplements #1 nutrient supplemented in feeds = PROTEIN
Sources of Protein Supplements:
soybean meal (most common), urea, linseed meal, cottonseed meal, corn gluten meal, brewers dried grain and distillers by products, fish meal, dried milk and whey; In the past: blood meal, bone meal, meat meal and feather meal
Vitamins and Minerals are also supplemented either as ground powder or solid block

15. Feed Additives
Non nutritive substances added to rations to increase animal productivity.
Antibiotics, wormers, hormone-like products, chemotherapuetics

16. Animals must have a complete and balanced ration in order to complete all of the following functions:
body maintenance
growth and fattening
lactation
reproduction
work