NE for Growing/Finishing Beef Cattle• NE values of feeds + feed intake can be

used to:• Predict amount of feed required for

particular gain (programmed feeding)

• For example, used in heifer development

• 600 lb calf (1,200 finished weight)• Want 1.0 lb/d ADG• How much alfalfa do we need to feed?

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Programmed Feeding

• Requirements (from Table 7):• 5.16 Mcal NEm for maintenance

• 1.42 Mcal NEg for gain

• Alfalfa hay feed composition• 1.12 Mcal/kg NEm

• 0.54 Mcal/kg NEg

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Programmed Feeding

• 5.16 Mcal NEm/1.12 Mcal/kg NEm =

• 4.6 kg alfalfa for maintenance• 1.42 Mcal NEg/0.54 Mcal/kg NEg =

• 2.63 kg alfalfa for gain• Total = 4.6 kg + 2.63 kg = 7.23 kg alfalfa• Convert to lbs• 7.23 kg /0.454 = 15.9 lb alfalfa

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Programmed Feeding