Neco 2018 Agricultural Science Question 6

Practice essay / theory question 6 from the 2018 Neco Agricultural Science examination. This question covers Animal Production, Dairy Nutrition, Energy Balance .

Neco 2018 Agricultural Science Essay / Theory
Topics: Animal Production Dairy Nutrition Energy Balance
Question 6 NECO • 2018 • AGRICULTURAL_SCIENCE • essay

A smallholder keeps four lactating dairy cows. Each cow produces 20 litres of milk per day and has an average body weight of 450 kg. The daily dry‑matter intake (DMI) per cow is 12 kg and the ration is composed of 60 % maize silage (dry‑matter 35 % with metabolizable energy (ME) 10 MJ kg⁻¹ DM) and 40 % concentrate (dry‑matter 90 % with ME 13 MJ kg⁻¹ DM). Maintenance energy requirement for a cow is 0.56 MJ kg⁻¹ BW⁰·⁷⁵ per day. Energy needed for milk synthesis is 3.14 MJ per litre of milk.

Question Parts

( a )
Calculate the total metabolizable energy (ME) supplied by the ration per cow per day (in MJ).
( b )
Determine whether the ration meets the combined energy requirement for maintenance and milk production. Show all calculations.
( c )
If the ration were found to be deficient by 5 MJ per cow per day, propose a new concentrate proportion (as a percentage of the total DM) that would exactly meet the energy requirement, keeping the silage component unchanged. Show the calculation used to obtain the new proportion.

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About This Question

This is Neco 2018 Agricultural Science Question 6. It is one of the essay questions from the 2018 Neco Agricultural Science examination.

The question covers Animal Production, Dairy Nutrition, Energy Balance .

View More Neco 2018 Agricultural Science Questions More Neco Practice Questions Back to Questions

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