Recording: Key nutritional strategies for optimizing feed efficiency

Published on 28-05-2025 - By Kemin Animal Nutrition and Health

At Kemin, we believe that feed efficiency is the foundation of profitable and sustainable ruminant production. In today’s landscape — marked by rising feed costs and environmental concerns — optimizing feed utilization is more critical than ever.

With decades of expertise in ruminant nutrition, we support producers and nutritionists in transforming nutritional challenges into opportunities for improved performance and sustainability. Join us as we dive deeper into the science and application of feed efficiency, empowering you to get more from every bite and take your dairy or beef operation to the next level.

Explore the insights from our webinars at your own pace: watch the complete webinar sessions or specific segments of each speaker.

Webinar 1 • Economic impact and nutritional tools to improve it

The first webinar of the series explores nutritional strategies to optimize feed efficiency in dairy cows, a growing priority under economic and sustainability pressures. The session dives into energy- and protein-based efficiency metrics and how these can be practically benchmarked on farm to improve profitability and reduce environmental impact.

Key topics include the role of amino acid balancing, protein quality over crude quantity, and how to support microbial protein synthesis through effective use of energy sources. Practical recommendations are shared to improve efficiency through forage quality, cow health, reproductive timing, and the use of nutritional tools like buffers, yeast, and on-farm monitoring parameters such as MUN, urine pH, and rumen function.

Click on the links below to watch or listen to the recordings:

[en español]
El webinar se realizó con interpretación simultánea en español. ¿Te gustaría (re)ver la versión en español?

Webinar 2 • From science to nutritional strategies for improved health, reproduction, and farm profitability

The second webinar in the series takes a closer look at the complex interplay between feed efficiency, cow health, and reproductive performance. As dairy producers face growing pressure to produce more with less, understanding the factors behind individual cow efficiency becomes essential — not only for profitability, but also for long-term herd sustainability.

This session highlights how residual feed intake (RFI) offers a more accurate way to measure feed efficiency at the cow level, while the concept of ‘dilution of maintenance’ helps nutritionists formulate diets that optimize output over energy needs. We also discuss the role of the rumen microbiome and genetic tools like the Feed Saved (FSAV) index in improving overall herd efficiency.

From precision nutrition strategies to practical on-farm monitoring, the presentations offer actionable recommendations to support both productivity and fertility through smarter nutrient utilization.

Click on the links below to watch or listen to the recordings:

[en español]
El webinar se realizó con interpretación simultánea en español. ¿Te gustaría (re)ver la versión en español?

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