Previous Page | Right click this page to print.

Liquid Supplements

Liquid supplements (LS) are liquid by-products of sugar, paper, and cheese production and fermentation combined with nutritive and nonnutritive additives. Liquid supplements provide macronutrients such as energy and nitrogen and also serve as a carrier for micronutrients and nonnutritive additives. In addition to the nutritional value of liquid supplements, liquid supplements also improve the palatability and reduce the dustiness of a complete feed. Liquid supplements are an established feedstuff for beef cattle, used increasingly for dairy cattle, and are used to a lesser extent for sheep and horses.

Liquid supplements can be distributed via individual feeders, injected into low-quality forages, added to complete feeds, or added as top-dressing to feeds. The formulation of the liquid supplement is based on estimated consumption. Consumption may either be fixed or variable depending on the feeding method. If consumption is not fixed, consumption varies from animal to animal and within an animal with changing environmental and physiological conditions. Consumption may be regulated by means such as the use of a regulated feeder or the addition of a relatively unpalatable compound such as phosphoric acid. The formulation of a liquid supplement may also be customized by adding other ingredients and/or by changing the proportions of the existing ingredients to fulfill specific nutrient requirements. Use of liquid supplements does require specialized mixing and transportation equipment and storage facilities.

Liquid supplements may function as energy sources. Generally, the ingredients are molasses-based with added water and other liquids and solids. Additional energy sources include hemicellulose extract, lignin sulfonate, and grain, whey, and brewer's and distiller's, and lipid-based products, streptomyces solubles, and propylene glycol.

Liquid supplements may also function as nitrogen sources. The usual crude protein content is 30-35%, however some supplements contain up to 80% crude protein. Liquid supplements may be formulated to provide rumen undegradable proteins. Often, urea is used as a crude protein source. Other ingredients include ammonium lignin sulfonate, and whey, corn, beet, molasses, brewer's, and fish-based products. More recently, data has proven the inclusion of preformed proteins in liquid supplements to improve the performance of animals fed a low-quality forage.

Additional nutritive additives to liquid supplements include phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, sodium, and chlorine-based compounds. A number of the microminerals are also included in liquid supplements. Vitamins included in liquid supplements include A, D, and E.

Nonnutritive additives included in liquid supplements include antibiotics, ionophores, hormones, antioxidants, ethanol, and flavoring agents. Emulsifiers and suspending agents are also included in liquid supplements. In more recent years, the quality of liquid supplements has been improved by emulsifiers and suspending agents. Emulsifiers promote the formation and stabilization of equal distribution of one liquid within another. Suspending agents promote the formation and stabilization of equal distribution of a solid in a liquid. Specific suspension agents are referred to as pumpable dry supplements. The agents suspend the nondissolvable materials in a thick solution. Then, at the time of distribution, the solution thins and is pumpable.

Previous Page | Right click this page to print.