How to make a Total Mixed Ration (TMR)
Increase your milk yield by feeding your dairy cow on a Total Mixed Ration (TMR)
So how can I make a TMR?
Here’s a complete guide,For starters, you should feed your cow on dry matter equivalent to 4% dry matter (DM) of it’s bodyweight per day.When making a TMR of a cow weighing 420Kgs Bodyweight, requires to feed on 17 Kgs Dry Matter (DM) per day. Therefore you should combine the following;-
Silage – 20Kgs (6kgs dry matter DM)
Bhoma Rhodes Hay – 5Kgs (4kg DM)
Machicha(Brewer’s Yeast) – 3Kg (850grams DM)
Home-made Dairymeal – 6Kg (6 Kg DM)
Booster+® – 50 grams (2 tablespoons) for 54 days continuous and repeat after 120 days.
Maziwa mineral lick – 150 grams (150gms DM)
We have received many questions from farmers on what to use incase you fail to get above ingredients. To replace silage and lucerne, you can consider the following options.
There are several options to replace the fodder content based on what is available at the farm. In majority of cases, you fine grassy weeds at the farm. Some are highly nutritious yet ignored by majority of farmers.
Some of these include kikuyu grass and winter ryegrass.
Leguminous weeds such as clovers and other common weeds like blackjack are readily available in most parts of our country.
There are other options for example use of Super Napier Grass. It has a minimum of 16% crude protein and this positions it as a game changer in ration formulations. You will need less amounts of concentrates and lucerne. This will help you save on feeding costs translating into tangible profits.
Did you know you can make Dairymeal and Machicha(Brewers yeast) at home? Get a copy of our formula today, click here.
