Animal Feed (Interface)

CLEM.Interfaces.IFeed

This interface defines the suite of properties required for all feed types used in CLEM.

The animal feed interface ensures that all feed items used in the model contain the parameters required to track the quality and quantity of the feed. This ensure activities such as ruminant growth can determine the amount of energy and crude protein provided with the feed for animal production.

This now includes a larger list of values as required by the Grow ruminants (Protein and Fat) and Grow ruminants (Oddy) ruminant growth activities, with the original Grow ruminants activity only using a subset of the properties.

The following parameters are required by all feed types

A feed type category is provided that allows activities to act on specific feed types. These categories are a tag and do not affect the parameters required.

The following are currently available

  • Concentrate: A concentrate style feed with ether extract included in metabolisable energy content calculation.

  • Hay silage: Hay and silage, e.g. non-grazed forage.

  • Milk: Milk produced by lactating breeders and consumed by sucklings and people.

  • Pasture Temperate, Pasture Tropical: pasture

The Gross energy content (MJ/kg Dry Matter) of the feed type.

The Metabolisable energy content (MJ/kg Dry Matter) of the feed type.

This is a user provided value for initialisation and the MEContent property of the FoodResourcePacket or Ruminant.Intake should be used to provide output.

The Dry Matter Digestibility of this store type provided as a percentage.

The percent fat of the feed type.

Percent Nitrogen of this store. This value allows the percent nitrogen to be supplied in order to determine the crude protein percent in certain feed types and is the approach used in tracking pasture quality.

The percent of this feed type that is crude protein. This value allows the crude protein percent to be supplied in some feed types. This is managed by options in the user interface.

The rumen degradable protein percent (g/g CP * 100) of the feed type.

The value of acid detergent insoluable protein for the feed type.

See also