Animal Feed and Nutrition Technologies

Cold process technology for preparation of Urea Molasses Mineral Block (UMMB)

The consistency of UMMB facilitates gradual licking along with intake of straws that provide a more balanced nutrients pool supply to the microbial growth vis-à-vis microbial digestion of cellulosic straws and thereby improvement in the availability of nutrients. The main advantages are: better way to manage crop residues; improves productive and reproductive performance; reduces methane emission; better health status; scope for value addition blocks as a vehicle for medicine or nutraceutical administration; better economic returns. Moreover, feed banks of UMMBs can be set up by the Government to provide balanced feeding of ruminants under field conditions. This technology is very simple, easily adoptable and convenient for the easy transportation and also safe storage at dry place for reasonably long period.

Compressed Complete Feed Blocks (CCFB)

Compressed complete feed block technology provides benefits to the farmers and feed manufacturers. This is a promising technology for the regions where shortages of green and dry forages exist and bulky dry crop residues are transported from surplus areas. The advantages are: a promising way to feed a balanced ration to ruminants; an efficient nutrients delivery system-less feed wastage; saving of time as well as labourers; feed as blocks require lesser storage space; compressed feed cheaper and easier to transport; better way to manage crop residues and reduce pollution; improves productive and reproductive performance; reduces methane emission from animals; better health status; scope for value addition-blocks as a vehicle for medicine or nutraceutical administration; better economic returns through providing stability in feeds and milk prices. Moreover, feed banks of CCFBs can be set up by the Government to prohibit burning of crop residues under field conditions by the farmers and also as a pre-emptive disaster management measure

Urea Molasses Liquid Diet (UMLD)

The crop residues are principal diet in ruminants’ especially in tropical countries and they are deficient in nitrogen, minerals and vitamins. In order to mitigate the deficiency of these nutrients in crop residues to a greater extent to fetch the improvements in the production performance of ruminants (cattle and buffaloes), a complex of cane molasses, urea, minerals and vitamins in liquid form (UMLD) have been developed. This technology can be used to balance the crop residues-based diet under normal vis-à-vis drought and flood-affected areas to get the appropriate production performance under scarcity conditions. Technology Details:

Cane molasses are a cheap source of energy-rich in Sulphur though grossly deficient in nitrogen has been used in the diets of ruminants for different purposes. A combination of urea and protected protein gives a better response than NPN as N source alone and the levels of protein meal have been varied from 2 to 13% of molasses. Experiments have been conducted on supplementation of intact protein to urea molasses liquid diet (UMLD) in the form of fish meal/cotton seed meal in growing ruminants and found very effective with regard to the performance of animals. UMLD comprised (%) of cane molasses-84, urea-3, fish meal—10, mineral mixture-2 and salt-1. This technology is simple, easily adoptable and convenient for easy transportation in cane molasses tankers to draught and flood-affected areas and can also be stored for a reasonably long period. During draught/flood periods, UMLD can be fed to ruminants as a scarcity feeds for 120-150 days along with the small amount of green fodder and crop residues. Moreover, UMLD can also be fed to replace conventional concentrate mixture from 15-20% under normal feeding regime in ruminant diets.

Molasses based multi nutrients liquid supplements (MMLS) for ruminants

Ruminants mainly thrive on crop residues, which are deficient in protein, minerals and vitamins so the straw-based ration provided to milch/meat animals should be balanced in all the nutrients required for optimizing the production, reproduction and health of ruminants besides better economic return from animal farms. Moreover, the management of crop residues is also linked with the burning of straws is a real “burning issue” in India. Annually >20million tons of straws biomass is burnt in the field due to various reasons, which is causing serious environmental pollution. Another side we are presently deficient (10.95%) in dry crop residues. Thus, using the MMLS along with crop residues will certainly improve the nutrients utilizatio n from straw-based diets and the productive and reproductive performance of ruminants can be improved substantially under farmers’ conditions. Moreover, animals of Gausala can be reared economically using MMLS and crop residues-based diets at a cheaper cost. Technology Details:

As we are aware that ruminants are able to utilize efficiently urea (i.e. 30% of total CP requirement) provided readily fermentable carbohydrate (cane molasses) is available in the diet.
Liquid supplements having urea, minerals and vitamins have shown improvement in nutrient utilization to enhance growth rate, milk and reproductive performance at cheaper feeding cost. The effect of molasses and sugar on fiber digestibility will depend on the composition of the ration and the level of cane molasses or sugar in the ration. When molasses is used at 12% or greater of diet dry matter, it will decrease dry matter and fiber digestibility. When used at 8-10% of diet dry matter, in dairy and beef diets, molasses-based liquid supplements or sugar did not depress fiber digestion compared to control diets. The effect of sugar or molasses on fiber digestion will depend on the effective fiber level in the ration, particle size and forage form (hay or silage). In dairy rations, which are formulated to meet or exceed the fiber requirements of dairy cows, cane molasses or sugar should not depress fiber digestion when used at less than 8% of the diet dry matter.

Farming system based area specific mineral mixture

Basal feed of livestock in mixed farming systems depend on the cropping system, specific to each agro-ecological zone.
The feeding of poor quality roughages (wheat & paddy straw and sugarcane tops) with little supplements to cattle and buffaloes in the Indo-Gangetic plains of Northern India results in mineral imbalances leading to specific deficiency disorders, which primarily contribute to their poor reproduction and production performance. It contains only those essential minerals which are likely to be deficient d ue to long term feeding of wheat/ paddy straws and sugarcane tops as major roughage. However, existing area specific mineral mixtures used in different parts of India contain almost all the essential minerals and sometimes non-mineral components. It is cost effective supplement and specific for Wheat-Rice-Sugarcane farming system

SMB (Solid Multinutrient Block)

Ruminants mainly thrive on crop residues, which are deficient in protein, minerals and vitamins. In order to mitigate the deficiency of nutrients in straws to greater extent for bringing improvements in the production performances of cattle and buffaloes a complex of urea, cane molasses, oil cake, minerals and vitamins in shape of blocks (SMB) have been developed through the application compacting technology. The consistency of SMB facilitates gradual licking along with intake of straws that provide a more balanced nutrients pool supply to the microbial growth vis-à-vis microbial digestion of cellulosic straws and thereby improvement in the availability of nutrients. The main advantages are: better way to manage crop residues; improves productive and reproductive performance; reduces methane emission; better health status; scope for value addition-blocks as a vehicle for medicine or neutraceutical administration; better economic returns. Moreover, feed banks of SMBs can be set up by the Government to provide balanced feeding of ruminants under field conditions. This technology is very simple, easily adoptable and convenient for the easy transportation and also safe storage at dry place for reasonably long period.

Microencapsulation of Lactobacillus Probiotic

The benefits of probiotic (L. acidophillus NCDC15) feeding are well established in neonatal calves. Till now the probiotic supplementation in calves was done by mixing the culture in milk or feed followed by subsequent sub culturing every day. This practice sustained the probiotic culture for 15 days, but after that fresh culture of probiotic is required, which is not possible at farmer’s doorstep. Also, when fed as such, the acidic pH of stomach kills many probiotic bacteria, decreasing the percent availability of viable probiotic culture at site of action i.e., small intestine. Development of microcapsule has increased the shelf life of the probiotic culture to 126 days (under refrigeration) and 112 days (at room temperature). So once microcapsule is prepared, it will suffice for more than 4 months as source of probiotic. Later when the microcapsules were stored in vacuum packed pouches, the required log value of 6 was maintained till 161 days (under refrigeration) and 133 days (at room temperature). Additionally, coating of microcapsule has improved the percent availability of viable probiotic culture by shielding against the harsh condition of acidic pH of stomach.

Formulation of a Novel Feed Supplement for Cattle and Buffaloes Reared in Indo Genetic Plains of Northern India