Animal feed needs to meet the requirements of the animal. For all animals it must contain dry matter, various groups of nutrients, minerals and trace-elements and should not be mixed with dirt and soil nor contain poisonous ingredients (for example pesticides or herbicides).

Generally animals must have a ration containing:

● Energy (from carbohydrates and fats) to maintain the body and produce products (milk, meat, work). The carbohydrates and fats not needed for production are converted to fat and stored in the body.

● Protein is needed for body building (growth) and maintenance as well as milk production. Without protein there would be no body weight gain nor milk production. Excess protein is converted to urea and fat

● Minerals help in body building as well as in biological regulation of growth and reproduction. They are also a major source of nutrients in milk.

● Vitamins help regulate the biological processes in the body and become a source of nutrients in milk

● Water helps all over in body building, heat regulation, biological processes as well as a large constituent of milk production as well as eggs.

The cattle feed consist of two component- roughage and concentrate.

(a) Roughage: It largely contains fibers such as green fodder, silage, hay and legumes like berseem, cowpea.

(b) Concentrates: It is low in fibers but contains relatively high proteins and other nutrients. It includes cotton seeds, oilseeds, oats, barley, gram and their by-products like wheat, beans and molasses etc.

Cattle need balanced rations containing all nutrients in proportionate amounts. Besides such nutritious food material, certain feed additives containing micronutrients promote the health and milk output of dairy animals.