Use of urea based multinutrient blocks for enhanced performance of dairy cattle-A Review

In India, farmers rely mostly on agro-industrial byproducts, straws, and other fibrous feeds for livestock feeding, particularly during lean periods. Such feeds are deficient in energy, minerals, proteins, and vitamins and livestock reared on such a feeding system suffer from malnutrition, therefore requiring supplemental feeding and fortification of such low-quality feeds to harvest the true genetic potential of livestock. Supplementation with Multinutrient Blocks also called as Urea Molasses Mineral Blocks is considered one of the easiest and effective methods of fortification of low-quality roughages. Multinutrient blocks are lick blocks consisting of urea, molasses, brans, oil cakes, mineral mixtures compensating for the lack of adequate nutrients in poor quality roughages and therefore a cheap and rich source of nutrients required for optimum production, growth reproduction, and health. Multinutrient blocks offer a condensed source of nutrient supplementation to cater to the nutritional needs of livestock feeding on poor fibrous feeds. The ease of transportation, storage, and its use coupled with improved performance production in terms of milk, meat, reproduction along with increased rumen microbial growth in the rumen and consequent improved digestibility makes the use of Multinutrient blocks as a preferred source of supplementation in livestock feeding, particularly during the winter months in Kashmir Valley when pastures and orchards are dried up and covered with snow and feeding of animals is confined to sheds using poor quality roughages like paddy straw and during summers in rest parts of the country when hot weather causes less growth and availability of green fodder.