Improve Feed Efficiency | Reduce Ingredient Variation | Control Consistency
The SarBatch Total Mixed Ration Optimizer (TMRO) (Figure 1) is a patented (US 2024/0041819A1), state-of-the-art system used to reduce ration variation by reducing the particle size separation in total mixed rations (TMR). Moreover, the SarBatch TMRO has been used to apply SarStart Starter products directly to the starting ration, allowing customers to completely bypass the drenching process. It also has been shown to reduce nutrient variation, and reduce micro-ingredient variation in numerous demonstration trials. In addition, in University research trials, SarStart LSC have been shown to improve feed efficiency. Overall, the SarBatch TMRO is a cost-effective system to control the consistency of your TMR and get the feeding benefits of improved feed efficiency by reducing methane production in cattle.
Sorting is the process of cattle and other livestock selectively choosing portions of the TMR to consume. (See Video). For beef cattle, this is usually flaked grain in the ration, though they may target the distiller’s grain or fibrous material as well.
Through this action of sorting, the composition of the TMR changes as the total mixed ration is consumed. Specifically, small particles, such as micro-ingredients, fall out of the ration and are not mixed well due to their hydrophobic nature which makes them difficult to dissolve in a water slurry micro-ingredient applicator. These small particles, or fines, can be lost in the wind or are cleaned out of the bunk as fines and discarded. The financial costs of loss of fine particles in the ration are estimated to be from thousands to millions of dollars per year depending upon the size composition of the ration of the operation. The SarBatch TMRO has been demonstrated to reduce fines by, on average, 46.9% for more than 62 different rations and commercial feedyards as shown on Figure 2. Thus, the system reduces the loss and variation of both small feed particles and micro ingredients.
In addition to fines reduction, the SarBatch TMRO has been demonstrated to substantially reduce variation of micro ingredients (Figure 3) and nutrients (Figure 4) in the TMR. This allows us to address the issue of micro ingredient distortion throughout the ration. This distortion has been observed to be as high 410% as shown in Figure 5.
Micro ingredient variation has commonly been shown to be as high as +/- 39% as shown in Figure 6. This issue with micro ingredient variation is mainly thought to be caused by issues with disbursement in water of the micro ingredients rather than issues with mixing of the TMR. As is shown in Figure 7, the moisture variations of these TMRs are quite low (usually around ~4%) which shows the TMR is well mixed in most cases.
This issue with micro ingredient disbursement in water is thought mainly to be due to the low solubility of some of the crucial micro ingredients in water. We address this issue by using SarStart LSC which substantially improves the solubility of the micro ingredients as shown by Figure 8. Overall, the use of SarStart LSC and SarBatch TMRO has been shown to dramatically improve micro ingredient distortion and nutritional distortion in the TMR.
SarTemp has been proven to reduce methane production in ruminants. SarStart LSC has a similar formulation and is just as effective. This reduction in methane directly improves the energy content available in the rumen, which improves feed efficiency and average daily gain. This has been confirmed though feeding trials conducted at the University of California, the University of Nebraska, and Texas Tech as shown below in Figure 9. Overall, SarStart LSC was shown to improve average daily gain (ADG) by 3.3% and feed efficiency by 1.9% in beef cattle when consuming steam flaked corn. This represents a substantial improvement in average daily gain and feed efficiency.
To learn more about our products and find out if they are right for your animal or feedlot, contact our sales team. We are here to help!
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