Purdue University
Agricultural Experiment Station Lafayette, Indiana
Mimeo A.H. 195 February 12, 1957
THE USE OF ALFALFA MEAL IN CATTLE, SHEEP AND SWINE RATIONS
W. M. Beeson
Department of Animal Husbandry Purdue University Lafayette, Indiana
The increased use of poor quality roughages, such as corn cobs, cottonseed hulls, straw, cornstalks, corn silage and the like, in rations for beef cattle, sheep and sv/ine has re-emphasized the use of dehydrated alfalfa meal as a supplement to improve the nutritional status of these animals. Many experiments have shown that dehydrated alfalfa meal will improve the growth rate and reproductive efficiency of farm livestock. Since several excellent review papers (1,2) have been published in 1955 on dehydrated alfalfa meal, this paper will be confined to reviewing a few experiements which indicate the most important uses of alfalfa meal in rations for the species indicated.
Alfalfa meal contains some unknovmi factor(s) which stimulates gain and improves the utilization of feed by cattle on both growing and fattening rations.
Many experiments have been conducted at Purdue University to improve the formula of ''Supplement A" for beef cattle by adding different ingredients, such as fish meal, fish solubles, distillers solubles, molasses solubles, "B" complex vitamins, dried brewer’s yeast, active cell yeast, live rumen concentrates, antibiotics and hormones. Although some improvement in gain and feed efficiency has been made by adding active cell yeast and fish meal to the diet, the most consistent and significant effect has been obtained by fortifying the ration with dehydrated alfalfa meal,, antibiotics or hormones.
Research at Purdue (3) has shown that feeding 0.5 pound of dehydrated alfalfa meal per steer daily will significantly increase gain and feed efficiency above and beyond any extra carotene, protein or energy that might be furnished by this small amount of alfalfa meal. Thus, the value of dehydrated alfalfa meal in cattle supplements cannot be assessed entirely on a carotene (pro-vitamin A) and protein basis, but equally important are the unidentified growth factors, other vitamins and mineral elements.
A typical effect of including 14 percent of dehydrated alfalfa meal in the formula of "Supplement A" is given in Table I.
Beef Cattle
Table I. Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal in Corncob Rations for Steers^