Livestock Nutrition

Biography

Biography: B.M. Bhanderi

Abstract

In South Asia, India has the largest buffalo population and 99 per cent of milk producing buffaloes are owned by small to medium landholding farmers, fed primarily on crop residues and agro-industrial by-products. As there are limited feed and fodder resources in the country, available feed resources need to be utilized judiciously, with value addition. Through appropriate feeding practices, milk production and the productive life of buffaloes can be improved. In view of this, NDDB has been assisting different agencies in setting up bypass protein/fat, mineral mixture, urea molasses block and cattle feed plants and developing strategic feed supplements. Protein meals should be given suitable chemical treatment, so as to improve their efficiency of utilization for various production purposes. The process is termed as bypass protein technology, which need to be used on large-scale to treat the available protein meals for improving their rumen bypass value for improved growth and milk production. High yielding buffaloes during transition period need to be supplemented with bypass fat to combat early lactation stresses, reduce body weight loss and enhance milk production and reproduction efficiency. Different type of compound cattle feeds need to be manufactured for various categories of growing and lactating buffaloes appropriate to the area and season, including feed for dry pregnant animals and young buffalo calves. As minerals deficiency in feed resources varies in different agro-climatic conditions, all the categories of buffaloes in different zones need to be supplemented with area specific mineral mixtures for improved growth, milk production and reproduction efficiency. As crop residues form the bulk of animals’ diet and poor in digestibility, efficiency of utilization of crop residues can be improved, if supplemented with deficient nutrients through urea molasses mineral block (UMMB) licks. Lactating buffaloes are usually fed one or two locally available concentrate feed ingredients, grasses and crop residues in sub-tropical countries. On feeding a balanced ration and large-scale implementation of the above-mentioned technological advancements in the field of animal nutrition, it should be possible to enhance milk production and productive life of buffaloes in the country.