The major reason for feeding lipids (fats and oils) is for their energy density, however, other nutritional benefits are also well recognised including:

1. Fats and oils bind mash mixtures, making the feed more homogeneous and less susceptible to segregation. They can also reduce fines within pelleted diets.

2. The addition of fat and oil in feed reduces the formation of dust, not only during feed milling, but also improves on-farm handling, which may reduce the risk of respiratory issues.

3. Lipids supports the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) and carotenoids.

4. Addition of fats and oils can improve the palatability of feed.

5. Lipids are a source of essential fatty acids, primarily linoleic and α-linolenic acid. Although essential fatty acids in pig diets are generally not considered to be deficient, supplementation of omega 3 fatty acids can improve the reproductive performance of sows. Fats are insoluble in water and do not solubilise in the gastrointestinal tract. The more emulsified a fat is, the more digestible it will be, and consequently the more energy it will provide to the animal.

Vitalsorb™ Pure is an emulsifying agent containing phospholipid components to support oil-in-water emulsions for the superior digestion and absorption of dietary fats and oils, particularly saturated fats. The effective supplementation of fats and oils requires a balance between nutritional composition, production efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. It is recommended to consult with professionals and tailor supplementation strategies to individual farm requirements for optimal results.

Weather in temperate climates significantly influences animal farming, presenting both advantages and challenges for farmers. These climates, characterized by distinct seasonal changes, can positively and negatively affect livestock health, productivity, and welfare.

Positive Effects
During spring and summer, moderate temperatures and ample rainfall promote lush pastures, providing high-quality forage for grazing animals like cattle and sheep. This enhances their nutrition, leading to improved weight gain, milk production, and overall health. Additionally, natural breeding cycles align with seasonal changes, ensuring that offspring are born during favorable conditions, increasing survival rates and growth.

Negative Effects
However, temperate climates also bring challenges. Extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and cold spells, can stress animals, reducing feed intake, milk production, and growth rates. Excessive rainfall can cause flooding and waterlogged pastures, limiting grazing and causing hoof problems. Prolonged droughts lead to feed shortages and water scarcity, increasing production costs and affecting animal health.

Adaptation Strategies
To mitigate these challenges, farmers are adopting various strategies:

1. Diversifying Feed Sources: Ensuring a mix of forage, grains, and supplements to buffer against seasonal variability.Improving Shelter:

2. Providing insulated barns for winter and shaded areas for summer to protect animals from extreme weather.

3. Water Management: Implementing efficient water storage and irrigation systems to secure reliable water supplies during droughts.

4. Planning: Utilizing weather forecasts and climate models to plan breeding, feeding, and grazing schedules effectively. By adopting these strategies, farmers can enhance the resilience of their operations, ensuring the health and productivity of their livestock in the face of changing weather patterns.

Given the high cost and potential negative effects, fat supplementation requires careful consideration:

1. Because rumen bypass fats contain saturated fats (for example, MooFat™ range of bypass fats), they are not toxic to the rumen microbes and pass through the rumen unaltered, providing an energy source.

2. Calcium salts may depress dry matter intake, possibly due to their pungent odor and slightly bitter taste. Cows that have not had previous exposure to these fats may require an adaptation period.

3. Not all fats are the same, as their fatty acid profiles differ. They should be selected based on individual fatty acids supplied by a fat source, specifically the balance of the saturated fat, palmitic acid (C16:0) and the unsaturated fat oleic acid (C18:1). Increased palmitic acid leads to increased partitioning of energy to milk, primarily through increased milk fat production (milk has a relative high concentration of C16:0), whereas stearic acid directs energy toward body fat reserves. The best by-pass fat for dairy cows is therefore dependent upon your aim and stage of lactation.

4. Raw soybeans are a good source of fat (20%), however, they contain urease, an enzyme that breaks down urea to ammonia in the rumen, which could cause ammonia toxicity and should not be fed with urea in a ration. Roasting soybeans is recommended to destroy the urease.

5. Antioxidants need be added to all feed fats as appropriate to stabilise their condition, minimising the possibility of oxidation rancidity developing.

Vitalsorb™ Pure is an emulsifying agent containing phospholipid components to support oil-in-water emulsions for the superior digestion and absorption of dietary fats and oils, particularly saturated fats.

Supplementing fats needs careful consideration due to their high cost and potential negative impacts:

1.Total dietary fat contents in excess of 6-8% of total dry matter can adversely affect rumen function, fiber digestion, dry matter intake, and milk production. A typical TMR, without supplemental fat will contain about 3-4% fat.

2. Saturated fat (generally found in animal fats and in some by-product feeds, such as palm kernel expeller) has less influence on fiber digestion in the rumen, but digestibility of the fat may be inferior depending on the level of saturation.

3. Similar to other feeding changes, fat should be gradually introduced into diets.

4. Rendered or processed fats originate primarily as recovered waste fats and can be highly variable in quality, and need to be analysed routinely.

5. Good quality fats should contain no more than 1% moisture.

Vitalsorb™ Pure is an emulsifying agent containing phospholipid components to support oil-in-water emulsions for the superior digestion and absorption of dietary fats and oils, particularly saturated fats.

Energy intake is the main determinant of live weight gain of cattle. Therefore, maximizing energy intake is important, particularly for feedlot cattle where above average growth rates are expected. Although the major reason for feeding fats and oils is for their energy density, other benefits are well recognised:

Fats are commonly supplemented to beef cattle rations to increase dietary energy density (fats contain approximately 2.25 times more energy than cereals, and don’t add to the acid load in the rumen). Furthermore, the heat increment associated with digestion and metabolism of fat is much lower than other feed ingredients, helping to combat heat stress. On the other hand, when cattle are experiencing cold stress related reduced dry matter intake, the addition of fat increases the dietary energy concentration to compensate for the reduced intake, and so contributes to maintaining higher levels of animal performance.

Inclusion of fats and oils also enhances average daily gains, increases feed use efficiency, and improves carcass characteristics.

Fats also aid in the absorption of fat-soluble nutrients, such as vitamins A, D, E and K, and carotenoids.

However, with the recent high prices of fats, strategies to improve cost-effectiveness needs to be considered, particularly as prices are expected to remain historically high.

Vitalsorb™ Pure is an emulsifying agent containing phospholipid components to support oil-in-water emulsions for the superior digestion and absorption of dietary fats and oils, particularly saturated fats.

Supplementing fats needs careful consideration due to their high cost and potential negative impacts:

1. Because rumen bypass fats contain saturated fats (for example, MooFat™ range of bypass fats), they are not toxic to the rumen microbes and pass through the rumen unaltered, providing an energy source for the cow.

2. Calcium salts may depress dry matter intake, possibly due to their pungent odor and slightly bitter taste. Cows that have not had previous exposure to these fats may require an adaptation period.

3. Not all fats are the same, as their fatty acid profiles differ. They should be selected based on individual fatty acids supplied by a fat source, specifically the balance of the saturated fat, palmitic acid (C16:0) and the unsaturated fat oleic acid (C18:1). Increased palmitic acid leads to increased partitioning of energy to milk, primarily through increased milk fat production (milk has a relative high concentration of C16:0), whereas stearic acid directs energy toward body fat reserves. The best by-pass fat for dairy cows is therefore dependent upon your aim and stage of lactation.

4. Raw soybeans are a good source of fat, however, they contain urease, an enzyme that breaks down urea to ammonia in the rumen, which could cause ammonia toxicity. Roasting soybeans is recommended to destroy the urease.

Vitalsorb™ Pure is an emulsifying agent containing phospholipid components to support oil-in-water emulsions for the superior digestion and absorption of dietary fats and oils, particularly saturated fats.

Supplementing fats needs careful consideration due to their high cost and potential negative impacts:

1. Total dietary fat contents in excess of 6-8% of total dry matter can adversely affect rumen function, fiber digestion, dry matter intake, and milk production. A typical TMR, without supplemental fat will contain about 3-4% fat.

2. Saturated fat (generally found in animal fats and in some by-product feeds, such as palm kernel expeller) has less influence on fiber digestion in the rumen, but digestibility of the fat may be inferior depending on the level of saturation.

3. Similar to other feeding changes, fat should be gradually introduced into diets.

4. Rendered or processed fats originate primarily as recovered waste fats and can be highly variable in quality, and need to be analysed routinely.

5. Good quality fats should contain no more than 1% moisture. 6. A good approximation for cows in energy balance (not gaining or losing body condition) is to feed as much fat (both in feedstuffs and supplemental fat) as is secreted in milk.

Vitalsorb™ Pure is an emulsifying agent containing phospholipid components to support oil-in-water emulsions for the superior digestion and absorption of dietary fats and oils, particularly saturated fats.

Although the major reason for feeding fat is for its energy density, other benefits are well recognised:

Energy is the most critical nutrient affecting milk production of lactating dairy cows. Fats are commonly supplemented to dairy cow rations to increase dietary energy density (fats contain approximately 2.25 times more energy than cereals, and don’t add to the acid load in the rumen), to improve milk production and milk fat content, and energy balance to benefit body condition and hence fertility. Replacing carbohydrate sources of energy with fat also reduces the production of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Furthermore, the heat increment associated with digestion and metabolism of fat is much lower than other feed ingredients, helping to combat heat stress. Fats aid in the absorption of fat-soluble nutrients, such as vitamins A, D, E and K, and carotenoids.

However, with the recent high prices of fats, strategies to improve cost-effectiveness needs to be considered, particularly as prices are expected to remain historically high.

Vitalsorb™ Pure is an emulsifying agent containing phospholipid components to support oil-in-water emulsions for the superior digestion and absorption of dietary fats and oils, particularly saturated fats.

Calf feeding and management practices have been shown to significantly impact lifetime performance, therefore they should be considered as an investment, not as a cost.

1. A new-born calf will spend over 80% of their time lying down, therefore it is important to always provide a deep, warm, dry bedding.

2. At the first sign of scours, begin electrolyte therapy.

3. Antibiotics may be indicated with scours, but many forms of scours are caused by microbes such as viruses which are not controlled by antibiotics. Consult your veterinarian for guidance on the use of antibiotics in scouring calves.

4. Wean no earlier than six weeks of age, in a step-down approach.

Vitalsorb™ Pure is an emulsifying agent containing phospholipid components to support oil-in-water emulsions for the superior digestion and absorption of dietary fats and oils, particularly saturated fats.

Continuing our series of farmer-adopted guidelines, we’re emphasising the importance of these practices which have proven to have a significant impact on lifetime performance. With our Vitalsorb Pure lysolecithin, read on to know more how it plays a part in the process.

1. A rule of thumb is to increase the amount of CMR by 2% for every degree below 10°C.

2. If you change CMR during feeding, do it gradually over 4-5 days to prevent nutritional scours and digestive upset.

3. Solid feeds (forages and concentrates) should be introduced from one week of age and be freely available before weaning.

4. Gradual transitions between feed types should occur over two weeks.

Vitalsorb™ Pure is an emulsifying agent containing phospholipid components to support oil-in-water emulsions for the superior digestion and absorption of dietary fats and oils, particularly saturated fats.