Just like humans, livestock need a balanced diet to produce at maximum efficiency.
For farmers, it can be a challenge to feed their animals just the right balance of all essential ingredients that will produce that succulent piece of beef or top quality milk. Atlantic Nutrition Enterprises Inc. has been working over the past three years to help take some of the guesswork out of the process.
With financial assistance from the Prince Edward Island ADAPT Council (which administers the CARD program funding in the province), the company has been analyzing the starch and sugar content of Prince Edward Island forages. Dr. Les Halliday was with the project for the first two years, and is now the beef development officer with the Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
"The sustainability of dairy and beef farms depends largely on the farmer's ability to efficiently manage feed inputs to their cattle," Dr. Halliday explained.
He said silage production and balancing rations with corn silage have always been major areas of concern because of the highly variable sugar and starch content. The project uses a biochemical analyzer to determine both the starch and sugar content.
When the project started, Dr. Halliday said Atlantic Nutrition Enterprises was the only firm in the region using the technology. He added, "The real benefit is, we now have made in Prince Edward Island data -- not just book rations from somewhere else."
Dr. Halliday said the three year testing period actually proved to be ideal, since there was an extremely wet growing season, the worst drought in 60 years and what he termed an ideal growing season. He added, "We have been able to compare the results and the products between a normal year and the two extremes."
A balanced diet for their animals has benefits for both beef and dairy producers. The feed costs can be reduced, milk components such as fat and protein can be improved, and the nutrient loading in manure can be reduced bringing down the emissions of carbon dioxide and methane into the environment.
Using by-product feeds like potato waste, wet brewers grain, bakery waste and corn silage can reduce feed costs by 0.5 to 1.5 cents per litre. For a herd of 50 dairy cows, that would result in an annual saving of between $2,250 and $6,750 per year.
For beef producers, he said the benefits focus on developing and maintaining a productive ratio even when there is an inconsistency between loads of by-product feed. He explained with tighter controls over feeding programs, beef producers would be able to produce animals of consistent quality.
With the recent announcement of a plant being built in Borden-Carleton to produce beef solely for the Atlantic Tender Beef Classic Program, Dr. Halliday said ensuring such quality has become paramount. Animals for the Atlantic Tender Beef Classic Program are grown to a strict protocol and marketed exclusively by Co-op Atlantic. Close to 80 percent of the beef for the program is grown by Island producers.