Nov 11-15/2025
DAIRY NUTRITION
AND FEEDING
MANAGEMENT
Ration formulation
Dairy Nutrition and Feeding
Management
5. Ration Formulation for dairy cattle
INTRODUCTION
▪ It is important to feed balanced ration to dairy animals as feed
contribute a major part of the cost of production.
▪ Dairy farmers often remained confused while formulating ration for
dairy animals.
▪ Transition from traditional livestock production to modern production
system
▪ Demanding key inputs such as improved forage and Agro-industrial by
products
3
Ration Formulation
• Ration formulation is the process
of combining feed ingredients that
will meet the nutrient
requirements of animals for the
intended purpose of production.
• Animals are most productive when
fed a ration balanced according to
their needs.
© 2021 Land O’Lakes, Inc.
Objectives:
• To describe how to formulate a
balanced ration
• To demonstrate ration
formulation using simple tool (On
farm feed advisor).
© 2021 Land O’Lakes, Inc.
Out comes of the training
By the end of the session, Agricultural experts,
extension workers, and dairy farmers will be able
to:
• Explain what a balanced diet is
• Explain the role of balanced diet and how they
should be formulated using a simple tool
• Make a home mixed concentrate for different
types of dairy cows at home
© 2021 Land O’Lakes, Inc.
Ration formulation depends on
• The dry matter intake
• The nutrient requirements of the animal
• Chemical composition and nutritive value of
feed ingredients
• Availability of feed ingredients
• Cost of feed ingredients
Information required from the animal
• Type of animal
• Weight of the animal (HGM)
• Age
• Stage of pregnancy
• Milk yield
• Milk quality
• Price of milk
Ration formulation for different classes of animals
• Sufficient quantity of energy yielding nutrients
• Sufficient quantity and adequate quality of proteins
• Sufficient quantity and correct balance of minerals and
vitamins
• Sufficient bulk or roughage for normal rumen function
Rations must be formulated and updated regularly to avoid
underfeeding or overfeeding of nutrients
Methods of ration formulation
• Mobile based tool for nutrient balancing
• Computer assisted ration formulation
• Pearson square method
• Trial and error method
Mobile based tool for nutrient balancing
(On-farm Feed Advisor)
• Is a mobile based tool that can help to advise farmers to
balance major nutrients in animal diet
How to calculate the weight of
dairy animal using HGM
• Measure chest girth of
animal in inches/cm as
shown in the picture and
look into the corresponding
column for weight in
kilograms
Heart girth measurement
Measurement of hearth girth circumference can be used to predict body
weight accurately. A non-elastic measuring tape should be placed just
behind the front legs and behind the shoulders of the heifer/cow. The
tape should be pulled snug, and the circumference recorded.
Be sure the animal is standing with both front legs evenly placed on the
ground.
The table in the next slide gives body weight for various hearth girth
circumferences of small, medium and large dairy breeds.
Heart girth measurement
Digital advisory tool/ On-farm feed advisor
• The ‘On-farm Feed Advisor’ is a mobile phone based nutrient
balancing application
([Link]
downloadable from Google Play store or
([Link]
Appstore.
• Can be operated by extension workers, progressive farmers, and
farm managers who have some basic understanding of animal
nutrition.
• The investment is almost zero if the users possess an android/ iOS
smartphone.
On-farm feed advisor
• The tool mainly works based on two databases:
• Nutritional requirement of animals and
• nutritional quality of feeds.
• The main activities to be done in the app are as follows.
A. Feed the data (Key in the required data)
• The nutritional requirement for body maintenance, growth,
gestation (if any) and production are embedded in the backend,
• The user has to key in the girth (in inches/centimeter) or weight
of the animal, type of animal (cow), quantity, quality and price of
milk produced, type of feed fed to the animal per day, its
quantity (in kg), and whether the feed is ‘own’ (available in the
farm such as crop residue) or ‘purchased’ from the market
Feed type Price per kg (ETB) DM(%) NDF(%) ME(MJ/kg DM) CP(g/kg)
Maize stover 10 90 65.15 9 40
Wheat straw 10 93.6 77.5 7.1 27.5
Teff straw 12 92.25 72.66 7.7 50.2
Rice straw 12 90 61.11 6.81 40
Green maize fodder 4 25 69.1 8.44 77.6
Pulse husk 12 90 51.93 8.6 71.3
Compound feed 40 90 36.91 9.44 190
Groundnut cake 45 80 16.39 9.78 410
Cotton seed cake 42 92.5 43.7 9.1 300
Noug seed cake 43 92.1 35.49 9.6 320
Lin seed cake 50 91.6 36.2 10.9 310
Wheat bran 25 89.7 19.4 13.04 165
Maize grain 35 89.9 19.4 13.03 99
Vetch hay 18 89.1 39.39 10.2 140
Rhodes grass 15 92.3 69.9 8.6 83
Maize silage 5 70 63 9.7 84.1
Napier grass 4 25 63.41 9 101
Desho grass 4 25 69.2 9 117
Molasses 20 57.7 1 14.5 16.3
Oats vetch mixture 15 91.7 61.67 10.2 91.3
oats 15 92 62.51 10 61.3
Alfalfa 20 90 35 10 259
Native hay 15 91.7 74 7.4 60
Feed type Price per kg (ETB) DM(%) NDF(%) ME(MJ/kg DM) CP(g/kg)
Mill waste 20 89.8 35.4 10 109
Enset (leaf and 2.5 20 36.7 7.5 150
stem
Banana (leaf and 2.5 20 38.7 7.5 140
stem
Sugar cane top 4 25 40 7.8 87
Cassava leaf 3 25 11.4 8 247
Cassava peel 3 30 16.6 8 49
Cassava tuber 15 31 3.4 10 23
B. Calculate Nutrient Gap
• After entering the animal and feed details, when the tool is asked to
‘Calculate Nutrient Gap’, it will show the status of nutrient shortage
or surplus under the present feeding regime.
• This is estimated from the nutrient requirement and availability
through the feeds provided.
• The system will automatically take the nutritional information and
price of the locally available feeds from the local feed database,
updated in advance by the local extension agent. (Note: before going
to a village or farmers, the local feed advisor/extension agent has to
update the feed database in the App.)
Balance nutrients
• Then when we instruct the tool to ‘Balance nutrients’, the
system automatically computes the cheapest ration and
provides the solution (balanced diet) in such a way that
nutrients in the proposed feeds match the animal’s
requirements.
Systematic and Stepwise approach for using the App
1. Installation: Download the App from the store and open;
2. Enter farmer data (name, village, district);
3. Input animal details (animal type, stage of pregnancy, milk
production, quality and price);
4. Enter feed details (feed name, quantity fed, ‘own’ or
‘purchased’);
5. Click ‘calculate nutritional gap’;
Systematic and Stepwise approach for using the App
6. It will display the required nutrients, nutrients supplied through present
feeding and shortage or surplus of nutrients.
7. After reviewing this information, if we want to challenge the animal to
produce more considering its production potential, indicate the percent
of additional production (0-50% according to the genetic potential) and
click ‘balance the feed’;
8. It will display a page with the cheapest feed solutions indicating what
feeds to be used and the quantity.
9. It will also give additional information, such as nutrient gap before and
after balancing, cost of feed before and after balancing, additional milk
and income (due to feeding over and above the requirement, and
predicted methane emission before and after balancing.
Who and how to use it
• All extension agents who are associated with livestock
production can use it.
• One of the prerequisites of using the OFA Tool is preparing the
local feed database in which information on price, nutritional
content (ME, CP) and market availability are included.
• Initially, one can use book values for the nutritional information,
but it can later be replaced with lab values for accuracy. This is
the initial work the extension agent has to do before going to
farmers to provide feed advice.
Benefits of Ration formulation
▪ Animal get almost exactly as per its body and production need
▪ Due to balanced feeding farmer gets optimum production
▪ It prevents wasteful expenditure
▪ Improves immunity and make animals healthy
▪ Reduces chances of infertility and improves reproductive efficiency
▪ Variety of feed ingredients can be utilized
▪ Reduce GHG emission
Summary
The tool can help formulate a cheaper diet with locally available
feed ingredients.
Apart from energy and protein balance, the tool provides very
useful information about the feed cost before and after
balancing,
Predicted emission of greenhouse gases before and after
balancing the diet.