Balancing Animal Feed Rations: The Essential Role of the
Pearsons Square Method
1. Why is the use of the Pearsons Square method an important tool for
animal producers when determining rations?
The Pearsons Square is considered an important tool in animal
husbandry because through a simple calculation method the appropriate
proportion of two ingredients can be determined in order to obtain a
balanced ration of feed. A balanced ration will contain the desired
amount of nutrients that will meet the energy and protein requirements
of the animals so that they are healthy, have good growth and optimize
their performance.
2. Explain how the Pearsons square can be used in a serving that
involves more than two foods.
Even when the Pearsons Square is designed to balance a serving with
two ingredients, other foods can be added by making a mixture or a
composition of several ingredients that will be analyzed as if they were a
single type of food. For example, you can make a mixture of corn oats or
a supplement of wheat and soy meshes. In order to make the
calculation, the crude protein content of each ingredient in the mixture
must be known to calculate the average percentage of crude protein
that would go on the left side of the square and that is used as input
data to know the required portion of the mixture. Mix to obtain the
desired% CP (center of square).
3. What nutritional problem do you foresee using only Pearsons square
to balance a serving? Explain your reasoning.
The Pearsons Square is an efficient method to balance rations according
to the crude protein content, however it is not very precise when
balancing the adequate proportion of vitamins and minerals, therefore
Pearsons Square Method
1. Why is the use of the Pearsons Square method an important tool for
animal producers when determining rations?
The Pearsons Square is considered an important tool in animal
husbandry because through a simple calculation method the appropriate
proportion of two ingredients can be determined in order to obtain a
balanced ration of feed. A balanced ration will contain the desired
amount of nutrients that will meet the energy and protein requirements
of the animals so that they are healthy, have good growth and optimize
their performance.
2. Explain how the Pearsons square can be used in a serving that
involves more than two foods.
Even when the Pearsons Square is designed to balance a serving with
two ingredients, other foods can be added by making a mixture or a
composition of several ingredients that will be analyzed as if they were a
single type of food. For example, you can make a mixture of corn oats or
a supplement of wheat and soy meshes. In order to make the
calculation, the crude protein content of each ingredient in the mixture
must be known to calculate the average percentage of crude protein
that would go on the left side of the square and that is used as input
data to know the required portion of the mixture. Mix to obtain the
desired% CP (center of square).
3. What nutritional problem do you foresee using only Pearsons square
to balance a serving? Explain your reasoning.
The Pearsons Square is an efficient method to balance rations according
to the crude protein content, however it is not very precise when
balancing the adequate proportion of vitamins and minerals, therefore
