[Unpad.ac.id, 14/06/2016] Livestock quality is determined by, among others, sufficient nutrients in their feed. Therefore, feed provision should be at least nutritionally complete and balanced. Breeder should consider the nutrients portion in the feed mixture properly.
Often, feed contained unbalance nutrients due to the complicated nutrients provision. The solution was introduced by a group of students of Faculty of Animal Husbandry Unpad, to ration formulation method in easy and simple ways.
Neng Teti Rusmayanti, Mesa M, Gina Umul M, Chairunnisa, and Intan Yanpebtinoer, were students of Fapet Unpad class of 2013 who introduced this method to the community. This method is a technology invented by Lecturer of Department of Animal Nutrition and Food Technology Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Universitas Padjadjaran, Ir. Atun Budiman, M.Si.
During the interview with PR Unpad, Monday (14/06), Neng Teti said that the technology was a simulation to calculate nutrients contained in the feed. These calculations were performed in popular number processing applications, Microsoft Excel. With this application, farmers and feed formulators can perform calculations in a simple and easy way.
With the application, Neng Teti and her friends collected feed material database that was often used for cattle, with complete percentage figures of the content contained in it, such as the figures of crude protein, crude fiber, fat, ash, calcium, phosphorus, and other energy content.
When farmers or feed formulators wanted to count the amount of nutrients to be blended, they need to only enter data feed material into worksheet calculations and simulation figures would appear. With the calculation formula in Microsoft Excel, the simulation would determine how many nutrients required according to the needs of livestock.
“We only input the feed data and the desired number of simulation in accordance with the needs of livestock. Thus, the nutritional content will automatically be adjusted, “said Neng Teti.
Confident that the method could help farmers, with Atun recommendation, these five tried to apply this technology to the dairy farmers in the Business Multipurpose Cooperative Tandangsari in Tanjungsari, Sumedang. Until now, the members of the cooperative have been greatly supported by the existence of this technology.
Gina said that the cooperative already applied other method. However, it was still done manually and has made the counting process lengthy and less accurate. With this technology, the counting process would run easily, quickly, and accurately.
In addition, this technology would also produce efficient livestock feeding. Because of the count, feeding could be set in efficient way in accordance with the needs of livestock. This would certainly save farmer’s cost of production.
“Without the counting, we will not know the exact nutritional content. If we do, it would be more on target, “said Neng Teti.
In addition, Neng Teti said that rather than counting applications such as Winfreed or others, this technology is far more efficient. “We can use Microsoft Excel, free and easy, with more precise accuracy compared to other applications,” said Neng Teti. *
Reported by Arief Maulana / eh
