A System of Feed Supplementation for Beef Cattle under Grazing: Simulation

This work aimed to demonstrate the application of a computer system (Sistema Viçosa de Formulação de Rações) in the recommendation of feed supplements for beef cattle with 200 and 400 kg of body weight, on different pasture deferring and utilization periods. In order to an animal of 200 kg of body weight achieve 1 kg of daily gain in a pasture deferred in February and used in June or September, or deferred in April and used in June or September, it was necessary 2.16, 3.60, 0.50 and 3.23 kg of supplement/animal/day, respectively. In order to an animal of 400 kg of body weight, the need for supplementation was even greater: 4.21, 5.86, 2.48 and 5.24 kg/animal/day. The urea content (1.4, 0.9, 9.8 and 0.9; and 5.3, 0.9, 16.5 and 0.4%, respectively) and the mineral mixture content and composition in the supplements also changed dramatically in these different situations. The computer system allows to formulate specific supplements for each situation, in a rapid and efficient way, based on equations of supplement intake as a function of animal body weight and urea level, allowing to make supplements only for correction of nutritional deficiency or to obtain higher daily gains.

deferring; intake; nutrients; performance; urea