Example one: Feed-on steers 480 to 580kg
Copy the example scenario (Example one: Feed-one steers 480 to 580kg) from the examples list and open the scenario, this will illustrate how the program may be used in the following example.
Note: Data can be entered or changed in the cells with a yellow background, while the results are displayed in the locked blue cells.
Example one describes taking feed-on steers through from 480 to 580kg live weight on a grain ration. The diet is fed on a ratio of 80:20 grain (80%) to roughage/grass (20%) after a ramp up time of 14 days to avoid acidosis.
The calculator begins with a section called Primary Inputs (Figure 1), it requires the user to fill out the first four yellow input cells. The information about the feed quality can be found either on the product label, from the feed provider, or by contacting a ruminant nutritionist or beef extension officer.
In this example there are 2 different feeds, the grain ration and the roughage or grass portion.
- ME: metabolisable energy of the feed measured in megajoules per kilogram (MJ/kg) of dry matter as fed. The grain ration in this example has a ME of 11.32MJ/kg of dry matter. Enter this in the cell.
- W: the current animal live weight, measured in kilograms. The starting weight is 480kg and target weight is 580kg so enter the mid point of 530kg to reflect an average weight over the time.
- DMD: the dry matter digestibility of the feed as fed, entered as a percentage. The grain portion of the ration has a DMD of 89%
- Animal age measured in years. In the example the animal is approximately 3 years old.
Follow these links for more examples of using this calculator:
Introduction to the LWG Calculator: the functionality, assumptions & definitions