Farmers Business Network (FBN), the global AgTech platform and farmer-to-farmer network, announced FBN Livestock has partnered with Boveta Nutrition to deliver a proprietary feeding system for beef cattle that improves feed efficiency and carcass yield while reducing methane gas emissions and wet waste.
“With our optimized feeding algorithms, producers get more planned beef production from less feed, meaning a reduction in costs and an increase in profit potential,” said Rod Jones, co-founder and chairman of Boveta Nutrition. “In addition, beef cattle that follow the Boveta diet see a reduction in methane gas production.”
Boveta Nutrition’s optimized feed formulation ensures nutrients are being delivered more precisely so cattle consume less feed yet maintain, or even increase, their gain or milk production.
Ben Row, farm manager at Talcott Land and Cattle outside of Lincoln, Neb., participated in an FBN-managed independent study of the amino balancing program.
“Our cost of gain is around 71 cents now. We were at about $1.20 before, so that’s a big drop. Plus, the health of the cattle and their overall performance has gone up greatly,” Row said. “Everything is growing better because it’s the right nutrition to grow them the right way.”
Dr. Monty Kerley, FBN’s senior ruminant nutritionist, commented: “Amino acid balancing has been a standard nutritional practice in the swine and poultry industries to drive margin and animal growth, but we haven't been able to solve the riddle with beef cattle until now. After decades, we finally believe we’re able to deliver this solution to beef producers and its unique potential to decrease feed costs while maintaining optimal growth.”
The proprietary algorithm from Boveta is initially available to FBN cattle operators in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and South Dakota, with plans to expand nationally and internationally. A team of experienced FBN nutritionists, led by Dr. Monty Kerley, will help bring the industry-leading system to the market.
"With feed costs on the rise, we know just how important it is to bring an innovation to this sector that truly benefits our livestock producers. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Boveta to help change the beef feed industry," said Luiz Beling, president of FBN Direct.
Boveta has conducted a series of research studies and found:
- Backgrounding cattle on a forage diet showed a $0.20/lb. cost of gain advantage when on Boveta’s balanced diet supplement.
- Cattle on Boveta’s amino acid balanced finishing diet consumed 15% less feed, maintained daily gain, delivering an average savings of $0.07 per pound gained.
- A large commercial feedlot study produced a $30/head advantage for steers on the Boveta diet.
“Our studies clearly demonstrate the economic benefits of our system. It’s exciting because we’re delivering on our goal of enabling livestock operations to function more efficiently and profitably while minimizing feed waste and lowering the environmental footprint of meat and milk production,” said Greg Mills, president and CEO of Boveta Nutrition.
The Boveta optimized diet improves income over feed costs and reduces methane by 8-12%. In addition, roughage can be scaled back from beef feedlot diets to further decrease input costs and reduce methane up to 30% or more in a healthy and practical way.
The reduction in feed costs is significant for many ranchers who continue to face higher fertilizer and corn prices. According to the USDA Economic Research Service, prices for beef cattle feed were up 16% in May 2022 relative to May 2021.
FBN nutritionists are offering a feed consultation to assess each operation's unique needs and provide the correct supplement to optimize gains.
The entire beef and dairy study results can be accessed here.
