 Prolix is a palatable, protein enriched molasses based liquid supplement for beef and dairy cattle containing a balanced profile of essential minerals and vitamins with the added benefits of consumption control, safety and convenience. For Prolix Dairy information, please click here.
Prolix was first released in 1998, its popularity has since increased significantly and it is now available throughout Central and Southern Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT.
Developed using technology from the United States and United Kingdom, the Prolix supplementation program has been refined and improved to complement Australian beef production systems.
 When fed in conjunction with a suitable roughage source such as pasture, Prolix ensures essential protein, phosphorus, trace minerals and vitamins are provided to enhance livestock production. The consumption control mechanism ensures intake can be held at the most nutritionally and economically desirable level.
Prolix is the safe and convenient program to optimize livestock nutrition. The full service program includes the provision of 500 litre feed-out troughs and delivery of the product into the paddock.
These features make Prolix supplementation programs the number one choice in livestock nutrition.
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Your pastures are the key to optimal cattle production. By using an effective supplement program like Prolix (full service supplement) or Pasture Plus, you will enhance your animal’s utilisation and performance on the feed that you have available. Prolix and Pasture Plus can be used on both growing and mature pastures as well as crop stubble and hay.
Pasture Utilisation
Pasture growth is seasonal and many pasture species throughout Southern and Central Queensland and Northern New South Wales are typically summer growing and remain dormant over the winter months.
Changes in pasture quality can affect your cattle’s productivity. This is because:
- As plants mature during winter their nutritional value declines, resulting in reduced levels of Protein, Energy and Minerals.
- The mature plants are harder to digest and utilise efficiently. This is due to increased levels of fibre.
Your pastures are the key to optimum cattle production. By using Prolix, you will enhance your animal’s utilisation and performance on the feed you have available.
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Improved Animal Performance
This is achieved first by increasing the animal’s ability to utilise fibre and secondly by supplying a balanced feed supplement that will help correct protein and mineral deficiencies which may be limiting the animal’s performance.
Safe and Efficient Urea Feeding
Through the incorporation of “Bonded Urea”, Prolix delivers a greater level of safety to your cattle than home mixed brews which contain urea. Bonded Urea will stimulate an animal’s appetite as well as supplying essential protein and energy to rumen microbes.
Rain Safe
Rain will sit on top of the Prolix in the trough and will be readily consumed by the cattle. The Bonded Urea process eliminates toxicity problems normally associated with other supplements.
A Comprehensive Mineral Package
Prolix contains a balanced combination of organic and inorganic minerals. Flavomycin®, which is also included, helps the rumen microbes to be more effective in fibre utilisation.
Minimised Seasonal Weight Losses During Winter
This will mean earlier turn off ages for store cattle and improved body condition for breeders at calving and joining the following spring.
Consumption Control and Cost Control
Prolix provides a unique method of limiting Prolix intake to a level which can improve your animal’s performance whilst meeting your budgeted costs. Two blends of Prolix, one “Sweet” and one “Sour” are blended together at the trough. By varying the ratio of Sweet and Sour, the cattle’s nutrient requirements can be met and the consumption level controlled.
Nil Capital and Labour
Prolix is delivered directly into 500 litre paddock troughs provided by the agent. This provides the customer with a double bonus; no mixing or storage equipment is required and there is no additional labour input needed for supplementing the livestock.
No Hidden Costs
The delivered price of Prolix is the fed price. The consumption report provided by your serviceman will allow you to calculate costs on a daily basis and a year to date basis after each visit.
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 There are two types of protein requires by ruminants.
One is Rumen Digested Proteins (RDP), such as urea. The other is Bypass Protein, which includes protein meals.
RDP's are utilised by the rumen microbe population as the building blocks for future generations of microbes. RDP's act as a catalyst in the rumen by increasing the rate of microbial protein production. The more rumen microbes present in the rumen, the faster the rate of digestion of the ingested roughage sources. These microbes are responsible for a large part of digestion in rumen. When rumen microbes die they are then digested in the small intestine tract as a source of microbial protein.
Bypass proteins are not broken down in the rumen and progress straight through to the small intestine where they are digested (they “Bypass” the rumen digestion process). Protein meals such as cottonseed meal are commonly fed to the diet, particularly for younger stock. Bypass proteins do not act to improve the rate of digestion of dry feed in the rumen.
How Does The Rumen Use Urea?
Urea has long been regarded as a cost effective source of RDP. Urea is a source of Non Protein Nitrogen and is converted to ammonia in the rumen by rumen microbes to supply their protein requirements. Providing cattle with a source of urea will stimulate the rumen microbe population, increase the rate of digestion and feed intake and give an overall boost to animal production.
The utilisation of ammonia in the rumen microbes is influenced by carbohydrate and mineral availability, particularly phosphorus and sulphur. Prolix provides a readily fermentable carbohydrate source by using energy from the molasses for microbes to utilise and allow them to maximize microbial protein production.
The level of sulphur in plants is contained in the protein. But as pasture quality declines (and the level of protein) the level of sulphur also declines. Prolix provides sufficient sulphur to ensure that the N:S ration is in the correct balance.
Problems with Supplementing with Urea
There can be many problems caused from supplementing with urea. Unintentional poisoning may occur due to inadequate mixing, supplements being contaminated by water, lack of consumption control (over consumption) or if the urea is introduced too quickly, particularly if cattle are in poor body condition.
 Prolix minimises the risks associated with supplementing with urea through the incorporation of Bonded Urea. This offers cattle producers many advantages over other supplements containing urea, such as:
- Greater level of safety
- Rain safe
- Sustained release of urea into the rumen
- Ammonia release synchronized with energy availability
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Another unique feature of Prolix is its ability to maximise performance from feeding urea whilst improving its safety.
Urea is widely recognised as a cost effective method of improving utilisation of pastures and forages. However, there are inherent problems associated with the very rapid release of ammonia in the rumen. Problems include wastage and in extreme cases, nutritional disorders.
These problems have been solved through the development of a process which regulates the release of ammonia making in gradual and sustained by chemically bonding the urea to the sugar molecules in molasses (Bonded Urea). The result is a larger, more stable molecule that resists enzyme attack. ‘Bonding’ extends ammonia utilisation to provide greater performance.
 The effect of slower release can be seen in the figure to the right.
Another added benefit is that ammonia release is synchronised with the sugar availability. This ensures that the rumen micro-organisms have access to the right amounts of both energy and nitrogen to form microbial proteins. This process secures the health of the microbial population leading to the maximum utilisation of nutrients.
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 Prolix utilises your cattle's taste buds to control consumption. Two liquids - one sweet, one sour - are mixed at the trough by the fully trained serviceman. The two blends are manipulated to meet the requirements of the cattle grazing in the paddock. As a result, each trough is custom blended to the cattle requirements unique to your operation.
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Prolix offers the customer an agent service program that is unmatched in the supplementation industry. A program that will substantially add to your bottom line of profitability and performance.
How?
Firstly the agent does all of the feeding-out work as well as supplying 500 litre troughs that are used for the supplementary feeding.
This provides a double bonus; the customer is not required to purchase any mixing or storage equipment and does not have to supply additional labour.
Then there is a fully serviced, monitored, feeding program. Every 10 to 14 days, your Prolix serviceman will visit your troughs. Each trough is measured and consequently the animals’ consumption rates are calculated. From this the trough percentage levels of sweet and sour are obtained, so as to ensure that the consumption level and nutrient levels are optimum for the class of cattle being supplemented.
After each visit you receive a written report outlining all of the information required, including consumption level on a per head per day basis, a real management plus!
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The full service program means that the customer does not have to spend money on storage facilities or delivery equipment and no labour is required to distribute the product on farm.
 The full service program also removes the need to purchase bulk quantities in advance. There is no large capital outlay and you pay for the product that is delivered into the trough. This avoids the risk of being caught out with large amounts of stock on hand when the season changes.
In addition to the capital savings, the consumption control feature allows easy budgeting in advance and avoids any risk of costs rising if budgeted consumption levels are incorrect.
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Both Pasture Plus and Prolix contain the rumen modifier, Flavomycin®. Flavomycin® is a feed additive that has been proven to enhance growth, performance and deliver commercial benefits for beef cattle production.
The Benefits of Using Flavomycin®
- Flavomycin® is approved for use with all classes of cattle, including calves.
- Flavomycin® provides an increased rate of weight gain and improved feed conversion efficiency.
- Flavomycin® improves digestion of high fibre diets.
- Flavomycin® has a significant safety profile. The active in Flavomycin® is flavophospholipol, which has one of the widest safety margins of any performance product
- Flavomycin® has a nil withholding period and therefore can be fed to stock right up until time of slaughter.
- Flavomycin® is highly palatable, so there is no refusal by the stock.
Flavomycin® is a cost effective tool to improve nutrient supply and profitability by positively influencing rumen fermentation patterns in ways the other performance products can’t.
The inclusion level of Flavomycin® in Pasture Plus and Prolix is at the recommended 10ppm.
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You will see the benefits of Prolix supplementation programs in many areas of your cattle operation. Prolix improves performance of many classes of cattle and is suitable for all stages of production.
Beef Cattle
Program |
Program Length |
When |
Consumption Target
Litres/Head/Day |
Weaning |
10 – 30 days |
At weaning time and onto pasture |
0.4 – 0.6 |
Growing Out & Backgrounding |
90 – 150 days |
Any time after weaning |
0.4 – 0.7 |
Breeders Joining |
30 – 90 days |
At least 30 days before and after joining |
0.5 – 0.8 |
Breeders Pre Calving & Calving |
90 – 120 days |
60 – 90 days before calving until 30 days after calving |
0.6 – 0.8 |
Breeders & Aged Calves |
90 – 120 days |
60 – 90 days before calving until 60 days after calving |
0.6 – 1.0 |
Feedlot Receival |
1 – 14 days |
On receival and in sick pens |
0.4 – 0.6 |
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Prolix is designed to improve the diet of cattle receiving adequate dry matter and obtaining energy from their existing diet. It does provide some energy, but mainly aims to supplement the animal's protein, mineral and vitamin intake.
The levels of minerals included in this supplement are based on the requirements of a lactating cow at the time when she requires the most nutrients. By using this animal as the base the nutrient content will be adequate for most other classes of stock.
Analysis of Prolix Paddock Supplement Mixtures
The following analysis table outlines the nutrient profiles of commonly supplied blends of Sweet and Sour Prolix liquid supplement.
Nutrient |
Units
(as fed) |
100% Sweet |
30%
Sour |
50%
Sour |
70%
Sour |
100%
Sour |
Total Crude Protein |
% |
16.0 |
21.7 |
25.5 |
29.3 |
35.0 |
Min. Natural Protein |
% |
2.0 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
Min. Equiv. Cr. Protein |
% |
14.0 |
19.7 |
23.5 |
27.3 |
33.0 |
Max Urea |
% |
4.7 |
6.74 |
8.1 |
9.46 |
11.5 |
Energy |
MJ/kg |
6.2 |
5.79 |
5.52 |
5.25 |
4.84 |
Min. Calcium |
% |
0.48 |
0.45 |
0.43 |
0.41 |
0.38 |
Min. Phosphorus |
% |
0.55 |
0.7 |
0.8 |
0.9 |
1.05 |
Max. Salt |
% |
3.2 |
3.22 |
3.24 |
3.26 |
3.28 |
Magnesium |
% |
0.37 |
0.35 |
0.34 |
0.32 |
0.30 |
Sulphur |
% |
0.6 |
0.62 |
0.63 |
0.64 |
0.66 |
Potassium |
% |
3.13 |
2.9 |
2.79 |
2.65 |
2.44 |
Cobalt |
mg/kg |
3.47 |
3.39 |
3.34 |
3.28 |
3.20 |
Copper |
mg/kg |
88.0 |
87.61 |
87.35 |
87.09 |
86.7 |
Iodine |
mg/kg |
5.0 |
5.02 |
5.03 |
5.04 |
5.05 |
Iron |
mg/kg |
158.0 |
148.1 |
141.5 |
134.9 |
125.0 |
Manganese |
mg/kg |
314.0 |
311.0 |
309.0 |
307.0 |
304 |
Selenium |
mg/kg |
0.5 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
Zinc |
mg/kg |
279.0 |
279.0 |
279.0 |
279.0 |
279.0 |
Vitamin A |
KIU/kg |
35.0 |
35.0 |
35.0 |
35.0 |
35.0 |
Vitamin E |
IU/kg |
70.0 |
70.0 |
70.0 |
70.0 |
70.0 |
Flavomycin® |
ppm |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
When Is The Best Time To Start?
The timing of your supplement program will be unique to your property, taking into consideration the class of stock, pasture resources and your overall enterprise goals. It is always advisable to start supplement programs before animals start losing body condition. Once animals start rapidly losing condition, supplements including Prolix, may only minimise the rate at which cattle lose body condition.
Prolix aims to provide a flexible and practical supplement program for your property. Make sure you discuss what you want to achieve by using Prolix with your serviceman so that both parties are aiming towards the same goals.
What Do You Need To Do?
When supplementing with Prolix your cattle will need to have access to clean fresh water and an ample supply of roughage such as pasture, hay or crop stubble.
Keep Your Serviceman Up To Date
It is essential that you keep your serviceman up to date with cattle movements between paddocks that are on Prolix and the correct number of head in each paddock. This allows for accurate calculation of consumption per head per day and ensures that your cattle are on their optimal amount for maximum nutritional and economical benefits.
Where Do We Put The Troughs?
When starting up a Prolix program, the trough will initially placed near either watering points or cattle camps. This ensures that all cattle find the trough in the paddock. Once the program has been going a while, the troughs can be placed in other areas of the paddock to encourage the cattle to graze out more or where they can be more accessible to the delivery truck.
How Many Cattle Per Trough?
The optimum number of head allocated to a 500 litre trough is approximately 40-50 adult head or 50-60 weaners. If higher stocking levels on a trough occur, problems such as bullying / fighting can occur.
How Much Prolix Will Cattle Eat?
The consumption levels provided are a guide only. Consumption levels may vary between paddocks on the same property. Consumption levels are largely governed by the quality and quantity of roughage available; body condition score and the physiological status of animals. For example, lactating and growing cattle have higher nutrient requirements than dry stock.
It may take 3-4 visits (over first three weeks) before the optimal consumption level is achieved. Be aware of the possibility of over consumption by groups of cattle in the early stages of using Prolix, particularly if cattle have been grazing pastures that may be deficient in one or more key nutrients eg. protein or phosphorus.
To view consumption target levels for differing classes of cattle
How Much Urea Is In Prolix?
The amount of urea contained in Prolix varies between different blends of Sweet and Sour. Sweet contains a maximum of 4.7% urea and Sour contains a maximum of 11.6% urea.
To view the nutrient analysis of Prolix
Supplementing Increases Stocking Rate
Supplementing cattle with Prolix will stimulate the appetite of cattle. This will have the same affect as increasing the stocking rate of a paddock. Make sure you take this into consideration when deciding on cattle movements.
How Does Prolix Improve Digestion?
The rate at which digestion occurs is governed by the number and health of the rumen bacteria. Prolix provides a readily degradable nitrogen source (Bonded Urea) for rumen microbes to utilise. In addition to a ready carbohydrate source (molasses), trace minerals, vitamins and Flavomycin® (rumen modifier).
A large healthy population means faster digestion and allows animals to eat more as well as an additional source of protein (microbial protein) for the animal. Prolix stimulates the rumen resulting in increased overall feed intake, improved digestion and a boost to animal production.
What About My QA Records?
Prolix is manufactured by Bundaberg Molasses in Oakey, Queensland. The Oakey plant is ISO 9001 – 2008 and Feedsafe accredited so you can be assured of receiving a product developed and manufactured under a quality controlled environment.
A Stockfeed Acceptability Statement is available by request to complete your own Quality Assurance systems. Please ask your local agent for a copy if required.
Important Notes
- Prolix is a supplement to the feed that you already have available in the paddock not a substitute for it.
- Prolix will not overcome the effects of, or compensate for previous poor, unsound feeding or animal health practices.
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Q How Does Prolix Comply with QA Requirements?
A Prolix is manufactured to the highest quality standards and undergoes rigorous
in-process testing. The plant at which Prolix is manufactured is Quality Assured to ISO 9001-2008 and is Feedsafe Accredited.
Q How Safe is Prolix?
A The unique Bonded Urea process used with Prolix ensures safety for your herd
whilst providing a high level of non protein nitrogen – critical to maximising performance. Monitoring by trained service personnel also ensures consumption remains at a safe level.
Q Can I Be Sure That I Won’t Be Trapped By Rising Supplement
Prices Or Availability Problems?
A Bundaberg Molasses is involved right through from molasses production to Prolix
delivery and is committed to year round supply. Pricing is agreed annually, ensuring availability and protection from price rises. This is particularly important in dry seasons when commodity prices fluctuate.
Q How Does Rain Effect Prolix?
A Rain will sit on top of the product and be consumed by cattle. The Bonded Urea
process minimises toxicity problems normally associated with some other supplements containing urea that have been contaminated by water.
Q How Do You Control Intake?
A Prolix utilises your cattle’s taste buds to control consumption. Two liquids, one
Sweet and the other Sour, are mixed at the trough. If your cattle are over consuming, the proportion of the sour liquid is increased and vice versa for under consumption. This is a highly effective method of controlling consumption which enable you to budget your supplement dollar.
Q Where is Prolix Available?
A Prolix is currently available throughout Central and Southern Queensland,
New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT through our Agent network. Contact Bundaberg Molasses to find out the local agent in your area on Freecall 1800 777 097.
To contact your local agent,
Freecall 1800 777 097 or (07) 4691 3000
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