Nutrient requirements of beef cattle
When considering feeding cattle it is important to:
- Establish the level of performance required (i.e. growth or maintenance).
- Determine the nutrient requirements the animal needs to perform at the desired level.
- Estimate as accurately as possible the nutritive value of the pasture and the animal’s current performance.
- Determine what the nutrient deficiency is and how to correct this deficiency.
For more information see Planning and managing a supplementary feeding program.
The following table provides estimates of the nutrient requirements of breeding animals at various stages of pregnancy and lactation, and in turn what feeds could be used to over come any deficiency that exists. It is provided as an example only, please contact your local cattle advisor for specific information for your situation.
You can read how these estimates were calculated in the B.NBP.0799 Final Report – Nutrient requirement tables for Nutrition EDGE manual (PDF 787 kB).
Daily requirements of Bos indicus crossbred heifers, cows and bulls, walking 7km/day, for metabolisable energy (ME), rumen degradable protein (RDP), undegraded dietary protein (UDP), calcium and phosphorus for maintenance and production
| Liveweight (kg) | Daily gain (kg) | Daily requirements | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ME (MJ) | RDP/UDPA (g) | Calcium (g) | Phosphorus (g) | ||
| Pregnant heifers – last third of pregnancy | |||||
| 350
400 450 |
0.4
0.4 0.4 |
62
68 74 |
512
564 614 |
20
22 23 |
15
16 18 |
| Dry pregnant mature cows – last third of pregnancy | |||||
| 350
350 400 400 450 450 500 500 550 550 |
0.0
0.4 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.4 |
45
58 50 64 55 70 59 75 64 80 |
373
496 412 532 452 579 492 623 532 665 |
12
20 13 22 15 23 17 25 18 26 |
12
15 13 16 15 18 17 20 18 21 |
| Lactating first-lactation cows — with calf four months old | |||||
| 350
400 450 |
0.1
0.1 0.1 |
96
103 108 |
798/145
849/128 898/112 |
27
28 29 |
19
20 22 |
| Lactating mature cows — with calf four months old | |||||
| 350
400 450 500 550 |
0.1
0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 |
93
99 105 110 115 |
772/351
821/336 867/321 911/307 953/293 |
23
25 26 28 29 |
18
19 21 22 24 |
| Bulls | |||||
| 500
600 700 800 |
0.4
0.4 0.4 0.4 |
100
112 128 134 |
825
927 1063 1110 |
23
25 26 27 |
19
22 25 27 |
A Where only one value is given this is RDP and there is no UDP requirement. Source: B.NBP.0799 Final Report – Nutrient requirement tables for Nutrition EDGE manual, 2015.
The ‘B.NBP.0799 Final Report – Nutrient requirement tables for Nutrition EDGE manual’ also has estimates of:
- Metabolisable energy requirements (MJ/day) of cattle for maintenance and growth. For example if the pasture has a metabolisable energy value of 8MJ/kg of dry matter, then for Bos indicus crossbred steers weighing 300kg and a growth rate of 0.5kg/day is desired, the requirement for energy is 57MJ/day.
- Rumen degraded protein (RDP) and undegraded protein (UDP) requirements (g/day) of cattle for maintenance and growth. For example if the pasture has a metabolisable energy value of 7MJ/kg of dry matter, then for Bos indicus crossbred steers weighing 300kg and a growth rate of 0.5kg/day is desired, the requirement for rumen degraded protein (RDP) is 510g/day and 68g/day of undegraded protein (UDP).
For more information about Nutrition EDGE workshops please email FutureBeef or contact your local beef extension officer.
The Nutrition EDGE workshop is part of the EDGEnetwork®, an education and information initiative of Meat & Livestock Australia designed to benefit livestock producers and the wider industry. Phone 1800 023 100 or visit the EDGEnetwork website for more information.