Barley sprouts very well and has a good nutritional profile for cattle.  Protein levels are generally between 16% and 18%.  Digestibility is high, as well as the moisture content.

Approximately 2% of body weight is a good starting point.  If you have a 1,000lb animal, that's 20lbs.  Remember that fodder is not intended to be a complete feed.  You will still need some dry roughage (a minimum of 1%) in your ration.

Now you know you need roughage, but what is best?  Research has shown that fodder sprouts digest very quickly.  As a result, hays that are high in fiber and slow to digest compliment the sprouts.  By slowing down the digestion cattle can retain more of the beneficial nutrients and enzymes in the sprouts.  This means that grain hays and grass hays will actually work better in a fodder diet than alfalfa.

Although dry grains are high in energy, they are not in a form that can be easily digested.  As grains sprout hydrolytic enzymes breakdown compounds into simpler, more digestible forms.  What you end up with is an increase in available vitamins and minerals.  It’s a high protein, high energy, digestible (over 70%), wet feed. You get the benefit of energy, without the downsides of feeding dry grain.

The first change in health noted is usually coat condition. It's quickly followed by an improvement in hooves. Fertility rates, incidence of sickness, and overall herd health can be improved. Cows tend to have an increase in milk fats, which helps produce heavier, healthier, and thicker calves.

There is some variance in the type of cattle and current ration, but this is a basic guideline for choosing a system based on the number of head you have:

Absolutely! Sprouts are recognized by the AGA (American Grass Fed Association) as a grass fed source of feed. In addition, the systems can be setup to run organically. Feel free to contact us for specific details.

Please contact us! We'd be happy to answer any questions you have. (530) 615-0565 / info@simplycountry.net