Independent trial work and practical technical notes from the RumenWorks team - covering grain feeding, green feed supplementation, bloat management and more.
Trial Benefit of PROVIDING ANIMALS WITH RumenWorks GREEN FEED LICK Objectives To demonstrate the benefits of supplementing animals with RumenWorks Green Feed Lick for: Weight gainFeed efficiency Materials and Methods LocationPallamallawa, NSWYear2024Duration49 daysAnimals 20 home bred steers split into 2 groups of 10~404kg starting weight Duration of the trial The trial ran for approximately 49 days.…
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Trial Benefit of PRE-FEEDING TRADE ANIMALS WITH RumenWorks GREEN FEED LICK Context Failing to properly prepare cattle for feedlot entry can result not only in animal loss, but also financial loss to producers. Stress and gut health can cause a severe impact to cattle productivity in feedlots. Objective To demonstrate the benefits of pre-feeding trade…
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Trial Benefit of RumenWorks Grain Enhancer Concentrate with Probiotic in grain and silage based Diets Context In recent years, producers have been seeing the value and profit in feeding sheep to meet market demands, however feeding ingredients other than cereals grains and protein meals isn’t overly common practice in Australia. Market signals and demand for…
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Feeding Trials The following trials were conducted at ‘Yimkin’ Inverell and ‘Carrington’ Delungra in July 2017. Both trials were run identically. Aim of Trial To ascertain the commercial benefits of Rumenworks Sheep Enhancer Concentrate with Probiotic Trial Methodology 100 second cross lambs were split into two groups. The first group was fed Barley at 70%…
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Acidosis in sheep can also be referred to as grain poisoning. It occurs when sheep experience a sudden change in feed type (i.e. accidentally eating a significant amount of grain quickly). This causes a radical shift in the contents of the rumen, resulting in sickness, damage to the gastrointestinal tract and or possible death. Practical…
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There are two different types of sheep grain feeding occurring in Australia. Full sheep grain feeding, where lambs are locked in feed yards. 100% of the diet comes from the total mixed ration (TMR).Paddock Grain Assisting, where the lambs/sheep live in the paddock and are provided with access to grain feeders or trial fed. The…
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Grain Buffering is achieved by adding an ingredient or set of ingredients to a sheep or cattle grain diet to neutralize lactic acid. Lactic acid is produced by the sheep’s rumen when feeding cereal grain. Essentially, feeding any cereal grain to sheep will cause an increase in the production of lactic acid within the rumen.…
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Weathering of parent material, build up of organic matter and deposition of alluvial matter all contribute to the base characteristics of soils. Depending upon their ratios, soils exhibit chemical, physical and biological characteristics known as soil “type”. Each soil type has a varying profile; this profile directly affects the nutrient retention and transfer into plants.…
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RumenWorks Green Feed Lick + monensin is a useful aid in the control of Bloat. The physical structure of the ruminant (sheep and cattle) digestive system places their main site of digestion right at the upper most section of the gastrointestinal tract. This initial compartment is the large muscular bag known as the rumen. The…
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Efficient utilisation of dry feed can make a dramatic improvement in the bottom line of any business. Allowing animals to eat dry standing feed and giving them the necessary supporting nutrition to increase their ability to convert these high fibrous feeds into meat, wool or milk for calves and lambs is beneficial. While the benefits…
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The RumenWorks Green Feed Lick plus monensin contains a measured dose of monensin, minerals and energy to aid in the control of Bloat. Hence it is important to ensure that we get the correct level of consumption. In sheep, ideally 30 grams per head per day, Cattle, approximately 100grams per head per day for a…
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Autumn and spring rainfall (or irrigation) can deliver exceptional growing conditions for plants. With soil fertility, moisture and warm temperatures plant growth can be dramatic. Production of rapidly growing lush crops and pasture are the things many producers dream of…but are they being used to maximum efficiency? Plants require concentrations of essential nutrients such as…
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Yard weaning done correctly using high quality starches and a balanced mineral supplement will: Minimise weight loses through the weaning periodAllow cattle to perform better post weaning.Allow for superior feed conversion to be attained. Successful weaning is dependent on getting calves onto the feed as quickly as possible. Some key practical tips for weaning to…
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The term ‘dark cutters” is a commonly used term to describe meat post slaughter that presents as a very dark colour. The incidences of dark cutting vary between locations and times of the year but industry recognises that it occurs at a rate around 8-10% of animals slaughtered. (NSW DPI, Dark Cutting Beef-What is It?…
Read moreMonendox 200 G Microgranulate Feed Additive is a registered product of PAH Australia Pty Ltd, APVMA No. 64659.
The single biggest contributor to sheep and cattle profitability is increasing the feed conversion rates on pasture. The following independent trial highlights the effectiveness of RumenWorks Green Feed Lick.
| Treatment | Kg consumed per kg of gain |
|---|---|
| Control | 14.2 kg |
| Competitor | 10.3 kg |
| RumenWorks Green Feed Lick | 7.0 kg |
Conclusion — by using RumenWorks Green Feed Lick it took 7 kg of grazing oats pasture to produce 1 kg of beef, compared with 14 kg for cattle on no supplementation.
Independent trials conducted in 2015 showed an average improvement in weight gain of 9%. Over a 38 day period this equated to an extra $13.68 per head return.
| Treatment | Average daily gain |
|---|---|
| Control | 1.30 kg |
| Competitor | 1.33 kg |
| RumenWorks Green Feed Lick | 1.42 kg |
Other trials conducted with sheep on green, native pasture showed an increase of 10 days extra grazing per paddock over a 30 day period.
Cattle and sheep consumption rates can vary due to individual conditions on property, and in the animal. As a guide to attain protection against grass tetany, the following dose rates should be used as a base point.
| Dose Rate | Cattle | Sheep |
|---|---|---|
| 200 kg | 50 g/day | 30 g/adult head/day |
| 400 kg | 100 g/day | — |
| 600 kg | 150 g/day | — |
Feeding: in high pressure situations such as bloat and grass tetany the product must be continuously available. There must be adequate troughing — 1 trough to 25 head for cattle, 1 trough to 50 head for sheep. Spread the troughs around the paddock and near watering points.
| Macro Nutrients | g/kg |
|---|---|
| Calcium | 130 |
| Magnesium | 99 |
| Phosphorus | 18.7 |
| Sulphur | 47.4 |
| Sodium | 82.68 |
| Carbohydrates | 174.2 |
Cattle Dose Rate
Per head per day as a base guide for protection against grass tetany.
Sheep Dose Rate
Per adult head per day as a base guide for protection against grass tetany.
Weight Gain Improvement
Average improvement measured across independent 2015 trials.
To aid in growth rates, pasture utilisation, bloat and grass tetany management.
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Investing in the feed mixer and nutrition advice has paid off in increased weight gains, as well as business resilience. With Ross’s help we feel confident for the future, because another drought is bound to happen. Heifers are also on a RumenWorks lick to help get them up to breeding weight, about 310kg, and they have access to a RumenWorks lick at calving. We believe that helps them recover from calving and get back into calf down the track. We’re constantly changing the ration with Ross Gibson’s recommendations, to keep the cows in good condition.
Making nutrition a priority at an early stage and focusing on high quality genetics, means our cattle are thriving, despite poor seasonal conditions over the past five years. The key to achieving that quick growth is nutrition, and by using an automatic feed mixer, along with recommendations from livestock nutritionist Ross Gibson. Using a ration of rolled wheat or barley, soybean meal and hay, along with a RumenWorks supplement in a long trough has allowed us to finish cattle despite the drought. The higher level of nutrition begins at weaning. We yard wean for at least a fortnight onto grain and the rumen lick, which gets their rumen working, and those cows rumen will be fully developed to set them up for the rest of their lives, so they should be able to adapt a lot quicker to changing conditions.
We have been using RumenWorks products for two years and have been impressed with the improvement in our calves when we wean and the health and high reproductive health of our cows. Ross Gibson has been so helpful with his advice and support of our enterprise, which has endured many varied weather anomalies during this time. We cannot thank him enough and look forward to continuing to work with him in the future.
We have been using RumenWorks’ sheep products for 5 years now, including Green Feed Lick, Grain Assist Pellet and Performance Plus Pellet. The technical input and support provided by Ross and his team is highly valuable. The Grain Assist pellet has become a permanent inclusion into our program. We use it in combination with oats and barley to imprint feeding in lambs leading into weaning and then to set up gut health for life in lambs in the immediate post-weaning period. As a result of implementing this weaning program, the growth rates and overall animal health of our weaners has improved considerably. Amelie Poll Dorsets strongly recommends Rumenworks Animal Nutrition, with their range of products and technical service.
Our Autumn drop lambs that go to the domestic market have a target weight of 50-52kgs, then the winter drop lambs go to export with a target weight of 65-70kgs. Once you understand how the gut works and how important micronutrients are it makes a big difference to how you feed your lambs. Having the mineral component of the diet correct using RumenWorks Green Feed Lick or Sheep Grain Assist Pellets can mean the difference of a conversion of 5 to 1 verses 8 to 1. What we really like about the RumenWorks Green Feed Lick is that it is quite incredible how the animal will decide if it’s required or not. You can go for a month and the usage of the lick can be minimal then you have a change of weather or paddock conditions and they just go for it because they actually need it.
This is the best lamb marking we have ever had with 178% marked. We had fewer ewes to pull, and we had even fewer poddy lambs to raise. We attribute this great result to constant use of RumenWorks Green Feed Lick, RumenWorks Pre Joining Lick and RumenWorks Pre Lambing Lick. We also believe the constant supply of a small amount of grain with RumenWorks Sheep Grain Assist Pellet in feeders and rough hay has been worthwhile. All this goes to help us get the best out of our good pastures.
We put RumenWorks Pre-Lambing Joining Lick out 6 weeks prior to lambing and leave out for 3 weeks into lambing. We have a big improvement in reduced birthing losses and pregnancy toxemia in the ewes, and increased lamb survival. This is a product I would not be without.
We run 200 Autumn calving Angus cows with the on-set of cold and frost. The feed stifles in the Upper Murray so we are always pushed with grass tetany. With the use of RumenWorks Green Feed Lick we minimised the losses and found that the cows would milk better in the conditions and the calves did not have a set-back during the colder months.
There is no doubt our lambs benefit with extra weight gains using RumenWorks Bloat Feed Lick. We find using the RumenWorks product helps us get our lambs to market that couple of weeks quicker, which can make a big difference at the end of the lamb season.
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