AS-391 March 1970
 Nutrition   Beef
Liquid Feeding: History - Problems - Research
W. M. Beeson and T. W. Perry, Department of Animal Sciences
Introduction
Liquid protein supplements for beef cattle have finally been developed to the point of being equal to dry protein supplements if they are formulated to contain the same essential nutrients.
A liquid protein (64%) supplement which is equal in nutritional value to a dry high-urea protein (64%) supplement is given below:
Purdue Liquid 64 (64% protein)
Pounds
Liquid urea (32% N) 290 Cane molasses 385 Ammoniated polyphos
(10-34-0) 90 Distillers solubles
(27% dry matter) 93 Salt solution (28% salt) 90 Calcium chloride 12 Sodium sulfate 10 Premix BJ 30
1000
—/premix:	20 million I.U. vitamin A*
10 gm. DES; 4350 gm. zinc sulfate: 9.5 gm. cobalt sulfate: 19 lb. water.
Historically, effective liquid supplements built around molasses, urea and phosphorus developed rather slowly because basic research studies were not emphasized. Owen et^ al. (1943) of Scotland made the first documented report on the use of molasses and urea in dairy cattle rations. Five years later (1948), Roswell Garst, a cattle feeder at Coon Rapids, Iowa, successfully fed beef cattle using a mixture of molasses, urea and minerals to balance ground corn cob rations for growing steers. In 1949, Culbertson et al. (1949) of Iowa conducted research on the use of a molasses-urea mixture for balancing the ration of steers.
Commercial liquid supplements composed of molasses, urea, phosphorus, trac< minerals and vitamins were introduced to the cattle trade in the U.S. in 1951. A molasses-urea cattle supplement was patented by Anderson and Rawlings (1956) and was later modified by Anderson and Rapp (1957) to include ethyl alcohol. Three examples of the formulas given in the 1956 patent are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Liquid molasses-urea supplements B-J
Phosphoric acid was first introduced into liquid supplements in 1896. Goldby (1896), a British scientist, obtained a patent on a liquid feed containing a combination of beet molasses and phosphoric acid. Fifty-nine years later, Henzies ert al. (1955) conducted research studies with steers using a mixture of molasses and phosphoric acid to supply small amounts of energy and phosphorus. Their studies indicated that phosphoric acid had a high biological availability for cattle. Subsequently, other water soluble sources of phosphorus have been used effectively in liquid supplemen
Beef Section • Animal Sciences Department Cooperative Extension Service, PURDUE UNIVERSITY, Lafayette, Indiana