Providing high-quality feed for your animals
FAST FACTS
Good-quality feed can be expensive and reduce a farmer’s profits.
Despite this constraint, farmers should not compromise on feed quality, says Dr Naudé Roussouw.
Logistics constitute a major part of the farm-gate feed price.
As most livestock owners know, good-quality feed contributes significantly to animals’ health and productivity. Equally, quality does not come cheap, and profit, at least in the short term, suffers. How then, does the farmer achieve a balance?
Dr Naudé Rossouw, director at Mpumalanga-based Rossgro Feeds, explains that the main contributors to the cost of animal feed are research costs, ingredients, transport of raw materials and processed feeds, equipment, labour, and the feed conversion rate of the animal.
He advises farmers not to focus simply on the cost of quality feed, but rather on what they will lose if they buy substandard feed.
“Farmers may not realise it, but a portion of their feed cost [pays for] research. A great deal of research is needed to formulate the best feed and determine the optimal nutrient absorption rate for the [specific] needs of each animal category. Research is critical to guarantee that animals are provided with scientifically formulated feed products so that they can achieve peak performance and health, ” he says.
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