Abstract

ROSERO NOGUERA, Ricardo; POSADA, Sandra Lucía  and  ORTIZ, Diana María. Linear programming applied to ruminant ration formulation. Ces. Med. Vet. Zootec. [online]. 2011, vol.6, n.2, pp.53-60. ISSN 1900-9607.

Accuracy in ration formulation is important in order to achieve a proper balance of nutrients in the manufacture of food concentrates at the lowest possible cost, with the goal of obtaining good productive and reproductive performance. Currently, there are numerous ration formulation programs, which in some cases are expensive. The tool, SOLVER, from Microsoft Excel® for Windows® is a procedure that is easy and flexible to use, whose main advantage is it's availability on the vast majority of computers using the Windows ® platform. The objective of this work is to present the development of a linear programming model for the formulation of rations using the SOLVER procedure from Microsoft Excel® for Windows®. Using a practical example, the step-by-step procedure for the mathematical model construction and the equations that lead to the ration formulation for dairy cows at minimum cost are described.

Keywords : Algorithm; minimum cost; linear programming.

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