“Ration (Aahar) Balancing Programme”

Scientific feeding practices are important in daily management activities for domestic animals to maintain productivity and reproductive potential. Ration is related with concentrates, green fodder, dry fodder part requirement per day in case of animals.

Nutritional requirements of animals are changing as per age, breed, season, reproductive stage and health condition. Proper feeding and maintaining required dry mater intake is skillful and regular assignment for the animal owners.

Traditionally, animals are fed ad-lib as per available crop residue resources and limited costly cakes are fed in very limited amounts. Ample fodder production practices, proper storage and planning for requirements pertinent to one season are not followed regularly. Short and periodic adjustments for feeding of animals are now commonly observed on livestock farms. The situation leads to higher expenditure on feeding during adverse circumstances, seasons and calamity.

Ration balancing program is scientific feeding practice for all farm animals, which avoids extra feeding, extra expenses, extra losses. The program is computerized advisory for providing correct amount of concentrates and fodder for all animals considering their correct requirements. National Dairy development board, Anand is pioneer organisation in our country to develop ration balancing program.

Although, feeding is practiced by animal owner through concentrates, green and dry fodder, animal requirements are concerned with amount of protein, energy, fat, minerals and vitamins for different body processes. These nutrient requirements are different for specific functions and metabolic processes of the body like growth, maintenance, reproduction, milk production, disease protection etc.

Farmers commonly face deficiency of concentrates or greens for feeding of livestock. The program of ration balancing suggested for feeding of available resources, provides all possible alternate ways to tackle deficiencies for balancing the nutritional requirement of animals.Thus the suggested correct proportion of feeding inputs is highly beneficial for improvement of milk production in terms of both quantity and quality, even during adverse climatic conditions.

The utility of ration balance in program is also related with environmental considerations. The proposed pattern of feeding reduces methane emission by nearly 14 per cent. Simultaneously, program is suitable for avoiding risk of metabolic diseases leading to lactational hazards like fever and ketosis. The program is important and essential part of advance managemental practices.

All feeds have some moisture percent as grains and hay contain 10 to 15% moisture, silage carries 40 to 70% moisture, pasture greens have 80-90% moisture. The net amount of feed is to be calculated as 2.5% to 3% of body weight dry matter basis. Thus , a 500 kg cow with 10 litres of milk daily will require 15 kg feeding on dry matter basis, whereas the dry cow of same weight will have to consume 12.5 kg on dry matter basis.

Feeding cost is generally 70 per cent of the total expenses on farm and unless and otherwise monitored regularly, it may extend up to 80%. Hence advisory services are necessary for farmers to have efficient utilization of available resources. The program of Ration balancing is also emphasing use of areas specific mineral mixtures, which can fulfill deficiencies of minerals in soil and fodder in the region.

Ration balancing program is more profitable for small folders, rural farmers and dairy entrepreneurs. It is mandatory to provide nutrients for expression of genetic potential of animals in terms of milk productivity. The program is coined with INAPH, I.e. Software for Information Network for Animal Productivity and Health. It is necessary to extend use of ration balancing program on all animal farms for improvement of dairy sector.