The primary feed for beef cattle is straw, with wheat straw, corn stalks, and rice straw making up the majority. These types of roughage are low in nutritional value, containing only small amounts of crude protein and digestible energy. They can have a crude fiber content ranging from 30% to 40%, along with lignin levels between 6.5% and 12%. Once consumed, these fibrous materials pass slowly through the digestive system, leading to reduced feed intake, incomplete rumination, and poor digestion. To improve their utilization, they must undergo processing and treatment.
Various methods are used to process and enhance the quality of straw. These include chopping it into pieces of 1.5 to 3 centimeters or grinding it into fine particles, which increases the surface area exposed to the rumen, reduces bulk, and allows more feed to be consumed at once. Straw crushing technology has proven effective, turning long fibers into short filaments that are easier for cows to digest. This method is widely promoted and considered an efficient way to manage straw-based feeds. Combining physical treatments like chopping with chemical methods such as ammoniation, silage, alkali treatment, or microbial fermentation can further boost feed intake and the digestibility of organic matter by 10% to 25%.
Because roughage alone doesn’t provide enough nutrients for beef cattle at all growth stages, it’s essential to supplement with concentrates—energy and protein-rich feeds. Typically, concentrates make up less than 50% of the diet. However, due to their high density and small size, they can be difficult to mix evenly with coarse feed. To ensure proper feeding, several strategies can be used:
1. Mix wet or rough feed with concentrate for free-choice feeding.
2. Feed roughage first, then sprinkle the concentrate over the remaining feed in the trough, encouraging the cow to eat both together.
3. Feed concentrate first, then introduce the roughage after the cow has finished eating, especially when the concentrate makes up more than 30% of the diet.
Grain-based feeds, such as barley, rice, and oats, often have hard shells or seed coats that need to be processed for better digestion. Common methods include:
- **Crushing**: The most common technique, where grains are ground into small particles (around 2mm). Too fine a grind can cause dry feed to clump in the gut, making digestion harder.
- **Flattening**: Cooking and pressing the grains increases weight gain by 5% to 10%.
- **Soaking**: Soaking 100 kg of grain in 150 liters of water softens the feed and improves digestibility.
- **Roasting**: At around 150°C, this converts starch into a gel-like form, enhancing flavor and palatability while removing harmful substances.
- **Germination**: Sprouting grains increases vitamin content, making them ideal for adult bulls.
- **Saccharification**: Mixing ground seeds with hot water at 55–60°C for 4 hours increases sugar content to 8–12%, suitable for fattening cattle.
- **Pelleting**: Combining finely ground ingredients according to the cow's nutritional needs and forming them into pellets, cakes, or blocks using special machines is ideal for yaks and finishing cattle.
These techniques not only improve feed efficiency but also support better health and growth in beef cattle.
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