If animals could speak, the first thing they would say is, “Stop eating us!”. The second thing they would probably say is, “Feed us well.” With this is mind, it is important for farmers and animal nutritionists to consider every kilo of feed consumed.
Any animal nutritionist worth his salt (pun intended), will tell you about the importance of phosphorus in an animal’s diet. As the feed experts at the IFP state, “Phosphorus plays a key metabolic role and has more physiological functions than any other mineral. These functions involve major metabolic processes such as, development and maintenance of skeletal tissue, maintenance of osmotic pressure and acid base balance, energy utilisation and transfer, protein synthesis, transport of fatty acids, amino acid exchange, growth and cell differentiation, as well as appetite control, efficiency of feed utilisation, and fertility.”
Clearly phosphorus is a vital feed ingredient, and yet so many farmers and feed manufacturers neglect to ensure that their feed products have enough of it. This is due to two main reasons:
1.The assumption that bulk feed raw material or forage naturally contains sufficient phosphorus.
While untouched grazing areas do have plenty of phosphorus in them, as animals continue to feed the levels will drop until it begins to impact productivity.
This is because nutrient levels are maintained in a cycle that rotates phosphorus from soil to plants to animals and back to soil. However, nutrients leave the cycle and need replacing, as the animal nutritionists working in Victoria, Australia, advise, “phosphorus is exported from the grazing system when animals, meat, milk or wool leave the farm.” Adding that, “Other losses of phosphorus occur by leaching (especially in acid sandy soils), runoff following heavy rain, and soil erosion.”
2.The use of low-quality phosphate feed additives.
Not all phosphate feed additives are equal. While modern farming requires close attention to limiting costs, lower quality phosphates in animal feed may also limit productivity. This means that cheaper phosphate feed additives may prove to be a false economy.
As an analysis of phosphate feed additives by Dr Hannes Viljoen, Technical Manager at KK Animal Nutrition (now part of the Yara Group) reported, “The value of an inorganic feed phosphate for animals can not only be certified by its generic name [Mono Dicalcium Phosphate (MDCP) or Dicalcium Phosphate (DCP)]. Within these descriptive classes, huge differences in composition and utilisation by animals exist. These include differences such as hydrated versus anhydrated products as well as the ratio of MCP to DCP in a product.”
The study, called ‘Utilisation of feed phosphates: Fact or confusion?’, also provided some useful comparison data of various sources of feed phosphates, as shown here:
As is clear from the charts, it is not only the type of phosphate feed additive consumed (MCP, MDCP, DCP) that is important, but also where the phosphate was produced.
It would be great if animals could eat three times their body weight every day, it would be easy to get sufficient nutrients inside them. However, poultry and livestock can only eat so much, so it is important to make use of every gram of feed consumed. Feed that isn’t ingested is wasted feed, and that means wasted money.
So, while there are already many factors to consider when selecting a feed additive (digestibility, growth rate, productivity, immune system strength, taste etc.) it is important to look beyond the price tag, and remember while all phosphate feed additives are important, some are more important than others.
AG CHEMI GROUP is a supplier of industrial feed additives, including feed grade monocalcium phosphate or MCP.
MCP has the following features and advantages:
- neutralizes the harmful effects of a number of elements - sodium, potassium, magnesium, and others
- ensures the proper functioning of the heart, nervous and muscular systems, as well as many other organs
- improves digestion, by increasing the activity of digestive enzymes
- strengthens the immune system
- participates in the relocation of lipids, protein biosynthesis, and the cleansing of the intestine from harmful substances
- improves the efficiency of carbohydrate, protein, fat, mineral, and energy metabolism in the body
- does not contain heavy metal impurities
- does not have a destructive effect on enzymes and vitamins, nor does it block the effect of proteins and the amino acids
- contains the highest degree of digestibility (bioavailability)
- a minimal amount of phosphorus is released in animal waste, limiting environmental pollution
- contains a minimal amount of mineral mixture for maximum digestibility
MCP – Animal Feed’s Most Effective Growth Supplement
MCP acts as an inorganic phosphate supplement and plays an important role in the animal feed industry. It provides animals with calcium and phosphorus, which helps to improve an animal's organism, metabolism, and the functioning of nervous, immune and reproductive systems thereby increasing productivity.
Specification
Ask For Price
Technical aspects of Monocalcium phosphate produced by the Phosagro group:
Production
PJSC PhosAgro
https://www.phosagro.com
The most important quality indicators
| Indicator |
Value |
| Total phosphorus (in terms of P) |
min. 22.3% |
| Total phosphorus soluble in 2% citric acid |
min. 95% |
| Mass fraction of calcium |
min. 15% |
| Residue on a sieve with a cell diameter |
> 3 mm - 0%
0,2 - 2 mm - 80%
≤ 0,2 mm - max. 20% |
| Light gray fine-grained flowable powder |
granulated |
Packing
- 800, 1000 kg BB
- silo truck (pneumatic tank)
Based on recent studies, phosphorus from monocalcium phosphate is more useful for livestock and poultry than other inorganic sources, as the percentage digested is much higher. The addition of monocalcium phosphate to feed mixtures provides an increase in live weight of livestock and poultry by 5-12% higher in comparison with other types of feed phosphates. Monocalcium phosphate can be safely used for feed without any harmful consequences. Adding monocalcium phosphate to the diet of your livestock and poultry will increase their productivity, and bring excellent biological, energy, and economic benefits.
Photo credit: KK Animal Nutrition, wikitalks, ChathamRockPhosphate, Bunge
