Productive responses to supplementation with RUMALATO® in beef calves

RUMALATO® is a mixture of sodium and calcium salts of malic acid, it acts at rumen level to modulate ruminal fermentation. The main benefit is an increase in ruminal pH, because of the disappearance of lactic acid and its consequent transformation into propionic acid. The increase of propionic acid, that is the main gluconeogenic volatile fatty acid, has a positive effect on energy efficiency.

In order to evaluate the effect of supplementation with RUMALATO® on the productive performance of beef calves, a trial was carried out in a commercial feedlot in the Toledo area. The study included 82 calves, housed under standard production conditions. The animals had a surface area of 10 m²/animal. The calves were divided into two homogeneous groups (n=41) with an average live weight (BW) of 128 kg each. The animals received a complete feed, supplemented with 2 kg/ton of RUMALATO® (RUM), or not supplemented in the CONTROL group (CTL). In addition, the animals received straw ad libitum. Calves were weighed at the beginning and at the end of the trial. Total increase of body weight (IBW), average daily gain (ADG), as well as feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured.

Increase of body weight was significantly different (P = 0.02) among groups. Calves in the CTL group showed a mean body weight of 189.5 kg, and RUM animals showed a mean body weight of 195.8 kg. The ADG of RUM calves was higher (P = 0.01) than that of CTL calves, being 1.45 kg BW/d for the RUM group and 1.40 kg BW/d for the CTL group.

Regarding FI, it was significantly lower (P = 0.05) in the RUM animals (5.86 kg DM/animal/d) than in the CTL (6.00 kg DM/animal/d). The FCR showed a tendency (P = 0.1) to be different between treatments, with calves in the RUM group needing 4.20 kg DM to gain 1 kg live weight, compared to CTL calves that needed 4.30 kg DM.

After evaluating the results, it was concluded that supplementation with RUMALATO® improves the productive performance of beef calves. Calves that received the product had a higher average daily gain and tended to decrease the feed conversion ratio.