The importance of urea-molasses blocks and bypass protein in animal production: The situation in Bangladesh

Molasses remains underutilized as an animal feed in Bangladesh. Urea and molasses are used for supplementation of fibrous feeds in many countries. Used in sprayed form on straw or in liquid form, urea-molasses caused practical problems in village farming conditions owing to urea toxicity from higher intake by livestock, as well as difficulties in handling, storage and transport to remote villages. To overcome these problems and to produce a supply of easily available energy and nitrogen to ruminants, a simple method has been developed for making urea-molasses blocks with locally available ingredients and equipment at the farm level in the villages. To evaluate the nutritional potential of urea-molasses blocks fed to livestock on a straw based diet, a study has been conducted on the performance of livestock under on-farm conditions. Results from experiments on the nutritional value of the block are reported. Daily live weight gain, milk yield and draught output of cattle increased significantly. A similar positive response in the performance of sheep and goats was also observed. Once the supply of rumen fermentable nitrogen and energy is ensured to optimize the rate of degradation of fibrous substrate with supplementation of urea-molasses block lick, the next limitation to production is the availability of amino acids absorbed from the intestine. To overcome this limitation, protein with a low rate of degradation, such as fish meal, could be used as bypass protein. Several experiments were conducted on the effect of supplementation of bypass protein on the performance of cattle, sheep and goats in both on-station and on-farm conditions. Results indicated a positive response in daily live weight gain, milk yield and draught power output. 31 refs, 6 figs, 6 tabs