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Ingredients |
Add, Edit, Duplicate, or Delete feed ingredients and select which subsets of ingredients to use to formulate a premix or feed. |
Suggested component levels |
Add animal categories and Edit suggested feed component levels for animal categories. (Feed ingredients are composed of components. Components may be:
|
Formulate |
Formulate Feed, Premixes, or Supplements (part of a feed). |
Reports |
View and print Ingredients, Suggested component levels, Formulations, and feed mixing sheets. |
| Help | Information and documentation about FeedForm. |
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Options for adding ingredients or editing ingredients in either a table or individually:
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Ingredients table
The following window is displayed when the Ingredients table is chosen:
Each item can be changed directly in the window. Ingredients to be included in the diet are checked in the Include column. If they are to be included in the premix they are checked in the Premix column and the Include column. Each column can be sorted by clicking on the column, then right-clicking and choosing ascending or descending. The width of each column can be adjusted by grabbing the edge of the column heading. Details for each column:
Column |
Description. |
Ingredient |
Name of ingredient. |
Premix |
Whether the ingredient should appear only in the premix formulator (for now). |
Include |
Whether the ingredient should appear in any formulator. |
Cost, $.ton |
Price of ingredient in $/2000 lb. |
DM, % |
Percentage of dry matter in the ingredient. |
DDM, % |
Percentage of digestible dry matter in the ingredient. When FNDF is a measured value, this is a calculated value: 100 – INDF – MFL. |
CP, % |
Crude protein (N x 6.25) in the ingredient as a percentage of the dry matter. |
NDF, % |
Neutral detergent fiber (cell walls) in the ingredient as a percentage of the dry matter. |
MFL, % |
Metabolic fecal loss as a percentage of the dry matter. |
INDF, % |
Indigestible NDF as a percentage of the dry matter. Unless a FNDF is a measured value (from a laboratory analysis), INDF is 100 – DDM – MFL. When FNDF is a measured value, INDF is NDF-FNDF. |
FNDF assay |
If checked, indicates that FDNF is a measured value. |
pfNDF, % |
Potentially-fermentable NDF (digestible NDF) as a percentage of the dry matter. When FNDF is not measured, pfNDF is NDF – INDF. Increasing level of feed intake reduces digestibility of NDF. For most producting animals, actual FNDF will be lower than the pfNDF. Estimates for suggested levels of pfNDF in FeedForm attempt to account for this. |
NSCHO, % |
Non-structural carbohydrates as a percentage of the dry matter. Always calculated by difference: 100 – CP – NDF – EE – Ash. |
EE, % |
Ether extract (fat, lipid) as a percentage of the dry matter. |
Ash, % |
Ash as a percentage of the dry matter. |
The remaining columns are minerals, vitamins, and additives with indicated units per unit of the dry matter and store the date when the ingredient composition was updated and store the source of the feed component information.
This window displays the same data as the Ingredients table window, except the information for only one ingredient is displayed. Ingredients are selected from a drop-down menu.
Duplicate or Delete ingredient
This window displays the same data as the Ingredients table window, but is for the addition of a single new ingredient. Ingredients can be duplicated (to be the basis of an additional ingredient) or deleted.
This window displays the same data as the Ingredients table window, but is for the addition of a single new ingredient. This differs from adding an ingredient based upon duplicating an ingredient because no values for any nutrients are included.
Options for editing and adding suggested levels of feed components for different classes of animals:
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Levels table
The following window is displayed when the Levels table is chosen:
Each item can be changed directly in the window. Details for each column:
Column |
Descriptions |
Animal |
Description of animals in this category. |
Wt, lb |
Average weight of the animal, lb. |
Select |
A check in this column indicates that this animal category has been selected for diet formulation. |
Chng/d, lb |
Daily weight change of the animal, lb. |
EDMI, lb |
Daily estimated dry matter intake, lb. |
DDM, % |
Suggested percentage of digestible dry matter to be in the diet dry matter. This is correlated nearly -1.0 with DDM. |
CP, % |
Suggested percentage of crude protein to be in the diet dry matter. |
INDF, % |
Suggested percentage of INDF to be in the diet dry matter. This is correlated nearly -1.0 with DDM. |
min pfNDF, % |
Suggested minimum level of pfNDF to be in the diet dry matter. |
max NSCHO |
Suggested maximum level of NSCHO to be in the diet dry matter. |
EE, % |
Suggested percentage of EE to be in the diet dry matter. |
Ash, % |
Suggested percentage of EE to be in the diet dry matter. |
The remaining columns are minerals, vitamins, and additives with indicated units per unit of dry matter.
This window displays the same data as the Levels table window, except the information for only one animal category is displayed. Animals are selected from a drop-down menu. Animals can be deleted from the data base and duplicated by clicking buttons in this window. Closing this window and then opening it or the Levels table window allows duplicated animals to serve as the basis for an added animal.
This window displays the same data as the Levels table window, but is for the addition of a single new animal category. This differs from adding an animal based upon duplicating an animal because no values for any nutrients are included.
Options for formulating feed, premix, or supplement:
The following window is displayed when the Feed option is selected:
The top part of the window displays the type of animal category selected (using one of the menus under Suggested component levels, see above) and the average weight and estimated dry matter intake. The Diet name, Formulation date, and Formulator are entered for printing reports. Cost per ton and Cost per ton of dry matter are calculated as the diet is formulated.
The middle part of the window displays composition of the formulated Feed, the Suggested level of each feed component, and the difference between the two. Differences are displayed in red if there is a shortage or overage. The check boxes above each suggested feed component are used to indicate which feed component is being used to balance the diet by substituting an ingredient. This is explained further below.
The bottom part of the window displays feed ingredients and their components. Only ingredients from the Ingredients list that have the Include checkbox checked are listed. A check mark in the balancer column indicates the ingredient that will be reduced when another ingredient is added to the diet.
Ingredients can be added to the diet by two methods: 1) Direct entry of the percentage of dry matter; and 2) Checking the box in the Substitute column.
Note that most of the minerals, vitamins and additives should be part of a formulated premix that, itself, is an ingredient to be used in the feed.
When ingredients are added by direct entry, the percentage of the Balancer ingredient is reduced by the same percentage added by the new ingredient and the diet composition in the middle of the window is updated. This approach is used to force a given amount of an ingredient to be in the diet. For example, a premix may be formulated to be included as 2% of the diet on an as-fed basis. Direct entry of a value slightly higher than 2% can ensure that the as-fed amount is 2% of the diet.
To add exactly the correct amount of an ingredient to balance a feed component:
1. Check the box above a feed component to be balanced.
2. Check the Substitute box for an ingredient that is high in the component to be balanced.
Add to ingredients list button
Click the Add to ingredients list button to add a formulated diet to the ingredients list to be used as an ingredient in another diet. The Diet name will be the name of the ingredient.
The following window is displayed when the Premix option is selected:
The contents of this window are very similar to the contents of the Feed formulation window with the following exceptions:
1. Only ingredients from the Ingredients list that have the Include checkbox checked and the Premix checkbox checked are listed.
2. The percentage of the diet dry matter that will be the premix is specified in the top right of the form.
3. The Premix values indicate the concentrations of feed components in the premix.
4. The Feed values indicate the concentrations of feed components in the feed at the given concentration of premix in the complete diet dry matter.
5. The balancer ingredient (corn gluten feed in the example above) is considered to be a carrier for the small amounts of ingredients included in the premix.
Usually, only the feed components beginning with potassium (K) through lasalocid would be balanced in the premix. Note that, even for those components, not all the feed components are required to be balanced. Some of them, iron (Fe) for example, usually are in high enough concentrations in the major dietary ingredients.
The following window is displayed when the Supplement option is selected:
The contents of this window are very similar to the contents of the Feed formulation window. However, only the non-balancer ingredients are displayed from the previous Feed formulation window. For example, if a diet was formulated that included primarily hay for mature, lactating cows and the hay had been the balancer ingredient in the Feed formulation window, only Corn gluten feed, Corn grain, Limestone, and the Cattle premix might be displayed in the supplement formulation window.
Clicking the Change to 100% button creates a formulation based upon the ingredients in this window. Thus, a feed mix to supplement the hay is created.
Options for creating reports that can then be printed:
The Feed, Premix, and Supplement formulations can be printed as reports or feed mix sheets.
Example Supplement mix sheet:
The feed mixing sheet is designed for the feed mill operator to enter weights of a portable mixer.
Reports for Ingredient compositions and the Suggested component levels are broken into subsets for easier printing.
Projects
Each FeedForm.mdb file can contain the formulation for only one diet at a time. To work on multiple different diets, copy the FeedForm.mdb file and name the copy appropriately for each diet.