PEARSON SQUARE

Balancing a Ration

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Pearson Square
 What are they?
 What do they show?
 What are the limitations?

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Pearson Square- Practice
2000 lbs. of feed is needed to feed a 100
lb. growing hog.
 How do we determine how much

protein a growing hog would require?

 18%
 Corn and Soybean Meal (SBM) are
selected as feeds.

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Pearson Square- Practice
 A feed composition table shows

Corn has an average of 8.9% crude

protein

SBM has an average of 44.4% crude

protein

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Pearson Square- Main Question

 How much corn and soybean meal need

to be mixed together for 2000# of
feed?

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Pearson Square

Step 1 -Draw a
square on your
paper and place
diagonal lines across
the square. Shown
here.

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Pearson Square
 Step 2 – Write the
final or goal
percentage of
protein you want the
end ration to meet. 18.0

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Pearson Square
 Step 3 –Write the
names of the feeds  Corn
8.9%
to be used at each 

corner with the

percentage of crude 18.0
protein under the
name. Shown here!
 SBM
 44.4%

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Pearson Square
 Step 4 – Subtract  Corn 26.4 parts
8.9 % corn
the percentage of
available crude
protein from the
desired crude 18.0
protein. IMPORTANT
even if the number
is negative, make it
positive. This is  SBM 9.1 parts
where the diagonal  44.4% SBM
arrows come in play!
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Pearson Square
 Step 5 – The numbers at the two right
corners are the “parts” that each feed
ingredient makes up in the ration.
 26.4 parts corn
 +9.1 parts soybean meal (SBM)
 35.5 total parts

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 Pearson Square
 Corn 26.4 parts corn
 8.9% 35.5 total parts

18.0

 SBM 9.1 parts SBM

 44.4% 35.5 total parts


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Pearson Square
 Step 6 – The percentage of each feed
needed in the ration can be found by
dividing the number of parts by the
total parts, then multiply by 100.

 26.4/ 35.5 = .744 x 100 = 74.4% corn

 9.1/ 35.5 = .256 x 100 = 25.6% sbm

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Pearson Square
 Corn 26.4 parts corn
 8.9% 35.5 total parts
74.4%

18.0

 SBM 9.1 parts SBM

 44.4% 35.5 total parts
25.6%

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Pearson Square
 Step 7 – The amount of each feed
ingredient for a large batch of feed is
determined by multiplying the
percentage of each by the total amount
of feed desired

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Pearson Square
 Our batch of feed = 2000 lbs.

 2000 x .744 = 1488 lbs. Corn

 2000 x .256 = 512 lbs. SBM

This creates a 2000 lb. ration @ 18%

Crude Protein
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What are the
requirements
of a feed
label?

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