A few observations of an old farmer of how mistakes in basic nutrition affect an animal’s health and performance and may similarly affect humans.
In grade ten agriculture a class taught by Mr. Stones, he told us that animal nutrition could be addressed in three parts; maintenance, production, and reproduction. Maintenance is just providing enough nutrients for the body to maintain its weight and size in a healthy state. Production includes extra nutrition needed for growth to adult size, production of milk, weight gain of beef, pork, poultry, or other animals, and nutrition for ability to run fast or do strenuous hard work.
Once these two needs are met, nutrients needed for reproduction and growth of the fetus must be provided. After a few short years and many mistakes working with animals, I learned that the correct way was the only way to feed animals to become healthy and profitable and that was to provide correct nutrition for whatever stage in growth, temperature, production, and reproduction that the animal was in.
This was where the waters got “muddied up” and maintenance, production, and reproduction needs had to be met for each individual animal and adjusted as their needs changed. Although rations had be balanced for protein, energy, fourteen essential amino acids, 10 different minerals, effective fibre, non-structured carbohydrates, DECAD, moisture, and vitamins; the balance of “effective fibre” and energy became the biggest challenge.
Energy sources are mainly from fats (animal, plant, or inert), grains, starches, and sugars. Fibres are supplied by hay and silages. Too little energy would reduce animal growth and milk production quickly, while too little effective fibre would cause sore feet and upset digestive systems.
Sore feet (laminitis) in a cow usually is first noticed as swelling of the inside toe of a hind foot and pain in walking. Did you ever have “gout”? This condition must be addressed immediately by changing the ration of the cow to feed less grain and more forage before the entire herd has sore feet. When I get gout, I immediately begin to eat less cake, less meat, no beer, and more green salads. When a cow is “dried off” (stops giving milk), it is essential to reduce her grain or carbohydrate intake and increase her forages to keep her from getting too fat.
What would eating less sugar, less pop, less beer, less starchy food, less fried food, and more salad do to your weight? A major ailment in dairy cows is known as “fatty liver syndrome” when the animal gets over weight and metabolism gets “lazy”; making the animal unproductive, the digestive system less efficient, and when the animal is finally diagnosed, very hard to nurse back to health.
It is a challenge to feed ruminants because they have four stomachs instead of only one in humans. There are millions of rumen microbes that live in a ruminant’s first stomach and digest roughage that we humans cannot. When these bacteria finish their life span, they in turn are digested and can make up half of the animals nutritional needs. Therefore nutritionists must balance the nutritional needs of the rumen bacteria as well as the animal. They must also calculate in which stomach different “pools” of digestion will occur! How fine the forage is chopped; how the grains are processed; is the grain in its first form or is it a by-product of beer industry (brewers’ grain) that has to be considered “neutral” as a fibre source.
It is an even greater challenge to balance nutrition for humans. If humans ate like grandpa did with mostly vegetables, meat, and homemade bread, it would be reasonably easy. Today there is so much processed food sold and consumed that contains dozens of further processed ingredients and many ingredients that are unknown — it is almost impossible to advise a person what to eat!
Many chemicals used widely on farms today manipulate other naturally occurring chemicals or minerals causing some crops or grains to be deficient in certain minerals. Because farmers know which crops and fields these crops were grown on, they can supplement additional minerals to balance an animal’s ration. Because of poor labeling, many foods (especially processed foods) have unknown quantities of some essential minerals! Some of the safest most nutritious food that you eat is from your own garden or what you buy from trusted vendors at the local farmers markets!
Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations. gladcrest@gmail.com
