An increasing number of producers have turned to feeding their stock everything from cakes to vegetables as drought conditions linger, but nutritionists are warning it could have detrimental impacts to the animal or its carcase.
The lingering dry times across NSW and limited or expensive hay and grain options means producers have been opting for a number of unusual stock feed sources.
Everything from onions, potatoes, watermelons and sweets had been advertised for struggling farmers, but Central Tablelands Senior Lands Services Officer Brett Littler said some options could be deadly to sheep and cattle.
Onions become toxic if fed to cattle at more than 1.5 kilograms per head with potatoes and turnips a choking risk.
Mr Littler said there was also a mould risk or unregistered chemical residues from the crops that could threaten meat exports.
“I’ve lost count of the number of strange feeds I’ve been asked about recently, everything from liquorice, cakes and biscuits to carrots and oranges,” he said.
“I’ve recently seen watermelons offered on Facebook possibly by people with good intentions trying to help farmers out but they need to understand that the water content is so high that cattle fed only water melon as a ration would starve to death.
“I had a call about cabbages being sold at $570 a tonne delivered, but the dry matter cost worked out to be over $5000 a tonne, not to mention the other issues.”
High sugar content products can become a laxative for animals and carrots could impact the animals fat at slaughter, causing it to turn yellow and become runny, potentially condemning a carcase.
Landmark Animal Production Specialist Courtney Lloyd said alternative feed sources could be used successfully, but it came down to the way they were controlled.
While many of the alternatives are offered at a cheaper price, Ms Lloyd said it was important to consider the costing on a dry matter basis.
“At the moment when things are so tight we need to be making sure that we are doing it (feeding) and doing it well and doing it in the most cost effective manor,” she said.
“Also being able to do it in a way that is consistent. So at the moment every load of grain is different every load of pellet can potentially be different, it’s managing our transitions.
“There is definitely an avenue, they just need to do their research.
“At the end of the day we are looking at the bottom line but we have to be smart about what we do.”
For further advice on livestock feed contact your nearest Central Tablelands Local Land Services vet or livestock officer in Bathurst, Cowra, Lithgow, Molong, Mudgee or Orange.