Pocahontas star herald., 1916-01-14
1.-THE BALANCED RATION.

II
1.-THE BALANCED RATION.
By III. y. Dyorachek. Professor OF Ami.
nal Husbandry, U. OF A.
The writing OF this article In un.
dertaken with the express purpose in
view OF bringing out the facts which
30 TO show that the balanced ration Is
reality and not a complicated i'm.
aginary scientific standard which is
beyond the comprehension OF all but
the college professor. Il is fact that
a large proportion of practical feed.
ers feel that IL is a good subject for
discussion, but do not adopt IT,
From the preceding article Il was
learned that muscle and protein tbs
sue in the body came from protein
substances In plant and animal foods.
Heat. fat and energy come from car
bohydrates and fats. The demand for
these compounds varies with the
needs OF the body. When an animal
Is growing, and therefore building
muscle. hide. animal matter in bone.
for protein II development is TO take
place normally. II the animal Is ma.
ture and is being fattoned. carbohy.
drates and fats should be supplied
literally, as they form fats more eco
nomically than protein. II. then. the
feeder supplies sufficient amounts OF
protein, carbohydrates and fats TO ad.
equately meet the needs OF the ami.
NAL fed under these varying condi.
tions OF growth. fattoning work, etc,
he is feeding a balanced ration.
The balanced ration is the result Of
experimental work where animals
were fed known amounts OF the va.
rious nutrients and their development
noted. Il was established that II a
growing animal were to develop nor
mally II must be fed not less than a
certain minimum amount each Of pro-
tein, carbohydrates. and fats. This
minimum is known as the feeding
standard for growing animals OF the
same class. II, then, we feed animals
foods which contain nutrients sum
cient to satisfy this standard we
should be and are feeding a balanced
ration. We have feeding standards
which are adapted to all classes OF
live stock and for various conditions
OF production.
The question is often asked wheth-
er or not Il Is necessary under an
conditions 10 feed a balanced ration
as set forth by a feeding standard.
There Is no question In my mind that
there are conditions under which the
feeding Of a balanced ration would be
impracticable from an economical
standpoint Our feeding standards
are only approximate at best, and
should be looked upon as a guide rath-
er than as absolute requirements
The analyses of feeds are also aver.
ages since the composition OF plants
is affected by the character Of the
soil upon which they are grown, eli.
matte conditions, methods Of curing,
and other factors. Variations must be
made 10 suit the individual needs OF
the animals fed and the feeder him
self must make these variations, guild.
ed by the results obtained. Nothing
is more true in live stock feeding than
the old German adage, THE eye Of
the master fattens his cattle" How
ever we can say that the minimum
Of protein must at least be satisfied,
although an excess of protein may be
fed, making the ration very narrow,
but still economical This condition
will always arise where such feeds
as alfalfa and cotton seed meal are
cheap and fed literally. This extra
supply OF protein is not necessary,
but it makes economical ration.
In figuring a balanced ration there
are many factors 10 be considered.
The mere meeting of the require
ments will not always give a salts.
factory ration. \ few Of the more
important factors will be briefly treat.
ed. Feed selected should be such as
will be relished by live stock. Good
results cannot be expected from feeds
v'hich are not eaten with relish, no
ioatter how much nutriment they con-
.ain. A ration should have enough
roughage to give It sufficient bulk to
satisfy the appetite of the animal
Furthermore, roughages are generally
cheaper than concentrates. The crops
raised on the farms should be used as
much as possible and livestock is the
best means through which to market
bulky farm crops which might other.
wise be wasted. Variety stimulates
appetite and therefore increases con.
sumption, which should be accompa.
MED by greater returns. Market val.
ue Of feeding stgffs should always be
taken into consideration. The actual
test Of a successful feeding operation
is the profit made. If production is
expensive, profit will be small, al.
though gains may be satisfactory.