1. Dry forages and roughages 2. Pasture, range plants and green forages 3.Silages 4. Energy feeds 5. Protein supplements 6. Mineral supplements 7. Vitamin supplements 8. nonnutritive additives

Contain at least 18% crude fiber, with values up to 50% crude fiber

High is cellulose, hemicellulose and possibly lignin

Low in readily digested carbohydrates such as starch and sugars ◦ Lower digestibility and lower energy values than

concentrates

30% protein for alfalfa and 2-3% for straws Examples are legume hay, grass hays,

wheat straw, cornstalks, corncobs, cottonseed hulls, peanut hulls, and rice hulls

Example are bermuda grass pasture, sorghum-sudan grass, tall-grass prairie species, and wheat pasture

Winter range pasture in range states may contain as little as 15-30% moisture, wheat pasture may have as much as 90% pasture.

Young, well fertilized wheat pasture can have very high crude protein and can be very digestible, late season prairie hay is the opposite.

Produced by ensiling plant material under anaerobic conditions

Plant material undergoes a controlled fermentation that produces acid

The acid kills off the bacteria, molds, and other destructive organisms

The fermentation process reduces the nutritive content of the material

These feedstuffs provide the bulk of the diets of herbivorous species (ruminants and cecal fermenters)

Characteristics include: being immature when harvested, green and leafy, soft pliable stems, free of mold and moisture, palatable, free from foreign material

Legumes generally have a better quality than grass because legumes have a lower stem and a higher leaf content

Forage is generally considered to be of higher quality than a roughage

Variables affecting the nutritive content of forages and roughages:

Maturity at harvest Weather damage Soil fertility Plant species Harvesting method

Digestibility and palatability of a forage decrease with advancing maturity and increasing fiber level

Primarily include: Cereal grains By-product feeds from cereal grains Fruits and nuts All low in protein Contain less than 18% crude fiber or protein

content less than 20% Usually high in starch High in energy content

Cereal grains: Low in crude fiber 2-10% Corn, sorghum, wheat about 2% Barley 6% Oats 10-12%

Fed to ruminants to increase the energy density of the ration

Fed to monogastrics as the primary source of energy for their diets

First limiting amino acids◦ The first amino acid whose lack of availability

restricts the performance of the animal

Three main sources: Plant origin (soybean meal, cottonseed

meal, corn gluten meal) Animal origin ( fish meal, dried skim milk,

tankage) Nonprotein nitrogen (NPN) (urea, purified

amino acids)

More than 20% crude protein Save money by feeding the NPN to

ruminants who convert lower to higher quality

Energy content varies on how much oil was removed in the extraction process

Sources: Salt Bone meal Oyster shell Limestone

Compounds usually supplemented: Vitamins A,D,E for functional ruminants Vitamin K, Riboflavin, folic acid

Catchall category for ingredients added to rations for a reason other than nutritive value

Stimulate growth and production Improve feed efficiency Enhance health Alter metabolism Antibiotics, coloring agents, flavors,

hormones, medicants