Supplement Cost Calculator for Rangeland Goats
A least-cost supplement calculator was developed for rangelands goats?
| Publication date: | 10 October 2022 |
| Project status: | Completed |
| Livestock species: | Goat |
| Relevant regions: | National |
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Download Report
(0.6 MB)
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Summary
This project has produced a simple-to-use relative-cost of supplement calculator that will assist producers with decisions related to supplementation of Rangeland goats, by estimating the number of days and the feed cost ($/goat) to reach a target live weight.
Objectives
1. A report on the findings of a review of unpublished and published data on the nutritional requirements of goats, with emphasis on goats managed under rangeland/semi-arid environments for meat production used to guide the formulation of nutritional treatments to be used in supplement dose response experiments.
2. Completion of a collation of intake and growth responses (and equations) of Rangeland goats to a wide range of supplements (protein, energy) used to generate a least-cost supplement calculator.
3. Delivery of an easy-to-use excel-based calculator available for download by goat producers and advisors to assist them make decisions regarding the return on cost of a range of different supplements that might be fed to Rangeland goats to increase live weight gain.
4. Recommendations made regarding the pathway to adoption, new extension materials and publications, and assistance in the development of on-farm validation methods/projects.
5. Final report delivered outlining the learnings from the project and recommended next steps.
Key findings
A simple-to-use relative-cost of supplement calculator was produced that will assist producers with decisions related to supplementation of Rangeland goats, by estimating the number of days and the feed cost ($/goat) to reach a target live weight.
Benefits to industry
The project has:
- Provided ground-truthing of likely live weight gain of goats fed various supplements and rations.
- Produced a simple-to-use relative-cost of supplement calculator that will assist producers with decisions related to supplementation of Rangeland goats, by estimating the number of days and the feed cost ($/goat) to reach a target live weight.
- Integrated theoretical concepts, historical literature and current feeding experiments to collate a large body of information on the nutritional management of Rangeland goats that will be of value to research, extension and adoption staff working with goat producers.
MLA action
The simple-to-use relative-cost of supplement calculator to assist producers with decisions related to supplementation of Rangeland goats has been published on the MLA website.
