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Feeding plays pivotal role in realizing the genetic potential of milch animals. It is also considered critical in the overall success of dairy development programme, as feeding alone contributes more than 70 per cent of the total cost of milk production. The Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology Laboratory of NDDB has developed processes, formulations and machinery for production of various feed and feed supplements, for efficient utilization of available feed resources.
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| Ration Balancing Programme |
| Farmers usually feed their animals based on one or two locally available concentrate ingredient(s), along with the grasses and crop residues, which leads to imbalanced feeding. As a result, milk production potential of the animals is not fully exploited and the cost of milk production is some times higher, if the animals are over-fed. NDDB has developed user friendly computer software, which can be used for advising the farmers, through a village based trained local resource person, to balance the ration of animals by re-appropriating the locally available feed resources. NDDB is providing training on ration balancing programme to the dairy cooperatives, NGOs, service providing organizations etc. |
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| Compound Cattle Feed |
| The Laboratory is providing cattle feed advisory services to the cattle feed plants (CFPs) under the dairy cooperatives, by monitoring chemical composition of cattle feed, bypass protein feed and other specialized feeds and their raw materials, including mineral mixtures, by imparting training to the quality control officers and other staff of CFPs on feed formulations, testing of raw materials and finished products, testing mineral salts and mineral mixtures. |
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| Bypass Protein Supplement |
| India has limited feed resources for milk production, including protein meals. Usually, protein meals are degraded in the rumen to the extent of 65-70 per cent, leading to wastage of nitrogen by its excretion through dung and urine. NDDB has standardized and commercialized bypass protein technology, using regionally available protein meals, like rapeseed meal, groundnut meal, sunflower meal, guar meal and soybean meal. These protein meals are treated suitably, so as to reduce their degradability in the rumen from 60-70% to 25-30%, in a specially designed airtight plant. Cost of treatment of protein meals is less than a rupee per kg and on feeding one kg treated meal in comparison to untreated; there is increase in milk production by more than a litre. Bypass protein technology is being provided to the dairy cooperatives and private agencies. |
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| Mineral Mixture Supplementation |
Supplementation of minerals helps in efficient utilization of absorbed nutrients and in so many other ways, for improving growth, milk production and reproduction efficiency.
NDDB has standardized formulation, plant and process for production of mineral mixture. In addition, state-of-the-art facilities have been set up by NDDB to speedily and accurately test the quality and level of minerals in raw materials, finished product, feeds and fodders. NDDB undertakes mineral mapping programme to identify area specific mineral deficiencies and formulate area specific mineral mixture to meet the mineral requirement of animals in a particular agro-climatic zone. |
| Urea Molasses Mineral Block Licks |
The urea molasses mineral block (UMMB) is a strategic feed supplement for ruminant animals. Crop residues are deficient in fermentable nitrogen, energy and minerals. In absence of adequate quantity of green fodder in the diet, rumen microbes don’t get nutrients supply for their own growth. As a result, digestibility of fibrous feed in the rumen is affected.
As ruminants can synthesize protein from non-protein nitrogen, UMMB supplementation delivers urea and energy in small doses on continuous basis. NDDB has developed ‘cold process’ of manufacturing UMMB and designed a simple plant and automatic pressing device for manufacturing block licks. UMMB manufacturing technology has been provided to dairy cooperatives, private organizations and international agencies. Currently, dairy cooperatives and private agencies produce about 400,000 blocks per annum benefiting small dairy farmers in green fodder deficient areas. |
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| Enrichment and Densification of Crop Residues |
Crop residues are unevenly distributed across the country; some areas are surplus, while there is a perennial shortage of dry fodder in some areas. Not only productivity of livestock is affected due to regional imbalances and shortages, but also huge expenditure is incurred on transporting crop residues from far off areas, due to low bulk density of biomass.
NDDB has devised various methods and machinery for the enrichment and compaction of crop residues in various forms, such as blocks, briquettes, pellets etc. that improves their nutritive value and increases bulk density. With NDDB’s assistance, a few plants have been set up in fodder surplus areas that are producing enriched and densified feed blocks, for use in deficit areas. |
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| Green Fodder Production Enhancement |
Timely supply of quality fodder seeds of improved genetics of various forage crops, grasses and pasture to the milk producers are important in increasing fodder productivity per unit area. In view of this, NDDB has designed and implemented fodder seed multiplication and distribution project through dairy cooperatives. NDDB is assisting milk cooperatives in the procurement of breeder seed, its multiplication by the farmers and establishing fodder seed processing plants.
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