Effect of pasture allowance and level of concentrate feeding on the productivity of dairy cows in late lactation

1985 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 739 ◽  
Author(s):  
CR Stockdale ◽  
TE Trigg
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Fat Yield ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Marginal Returns

This experiment examined the effects of level of concentrate feeding and pasture allowance on the productivity of dairy cows in late lactation. Thirty-two cows in their 8th month of lactation were allocated to eight treatments; these were combinations of two pasture allowances (about 15 and 26 kg DM/cow.day) and four levels of concentrates (0,2,4 kg/cow.day and ad libitum). Milk and protein yields increased linearly with level of supplementation but the response of milk fat yield was curvilinear; peak fat yield occurred at 4 to 5 kg DM/cow.day of concentrates fed. The marginal returns from feeding 1 kg of concentrates were 0.57 kg milk, 0.030 kg fat and 0.022 kg protein from feeding up to 5 kg DM/ cow.day. The different pasture allowances significantly influenced only fat yield; the cows at the higher allowance produced 0.044 kg more fat than did the cows at the lower allowance.

Effects of pasture and supplement quality on the responses of lactating dairy cows to high energy supplements

1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
CR Stockdale ◽  
R Currie ◽  
TE Trigg
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Daily Production ◽  
Dietary Components ◽  
Fat Yield ◽  
Energy Supplements ◽  
Marginal Returns ◽  
Basal Ration

An experiment was conducted in which 30 stall-fed dairy cows were fed a basal ration of either good or poor quality pasture (approx. 7 kg DM) and supplemented with varying amounts of either crushed wheat or a pelleted. high energy supplement (0, 4 kg/clay or ad libitum). The cows were in their third month of lactation and were fed their allotted rations for 5 weeks. Where no supplements were fed, the approximate 9% difference in digestibility between pasture types resulted in differences in daily production of 2.4 kg milk/cow, 0.07 kg milk fat/cow and 0.06 kg milk protein/cow, and a difference of 0.4 units of body condition over a 5-week period. Where supplements were fed, responses depended on the interaction between a supplement and basal ration. With good quality pasture as the basal ration, the type of supplement was not important; marginal returns of milk products to extra feeding were similar for both supplements, for example, 1.0 kg milk/cow.day was produced for each additional kg of concentrate consumed. There was a reduction in milk fat production when more than about 5-6 kg DM of supplement was fed. This was due to a depression in the fat content of the milk which was associated with low dietary fibre (<250 g/kg of dietary neutral detergent fibre). However. when pellets were fed to cows offered poor quality pasture. a reduction in milk fat yield did not occur. When wheat supplemented poor quality pasture, on the other hand, deficiencies other than fibre were implicated. While fibre was the most important limitation to productivity when good quality pasture was supplemented with concentrates, protein was the most likely nutrient to limit productivity first when poor quality pasture formed the basal ration. The potential exists for major imbalances of nutrients to occur unless the composition of dietary components is known.

scholarly journals Betaine Improves Milk Yield in Grazing Dairy Cows Supplemented with Concentrates at High Temperatures

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Dunshea ◽  
Kehinde Oluboyede ◽  
Kristy DiGiacomo ◽  
Brian Leury ◽  
Jeremy Cottrell
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Yield ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Milk Protein ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Fat Yield ◽  
Grazing Dairy Cows ◽  
Daily Milk Yield ◽  
Betaine Supplementation ◽  
Daily Milk

Betaine is an organic osmolyte sourced from sugar beet that accumulates in plant cells undergoing osmotic stress. Since the accumulation of betaine lowers the energy requirements of animals and, therefore, metabolic heat production, the aim of this experiment was to investigate if betaine supplementation improved milk yield in grazing dairy cows in summer. One hundred and eighteen Friesian × Holstein cows were paired on days in milk and, within each pair, randomly allocated to a containing treatment of either 0 or 2 g/kg natural betaine in their concentrate ration for approximately 3 weeks during February/March 2015 (summer in Australia). The mean maximum February temperature was 30 °C. Cows were allocated approximately 14 kg dry matter pasture and 7.5 kg of concentrate pellets (fed in the milking shed) per cow per day and were milked through an automatic milking system three times per day. Betaine supplementation increased average daily milk yield by over 6% (22.0 vs. 23.4 kg/day, p < 0.001) with the response increasing as the study progressed as indicated by the interaction (p < 0.001) between betaine and day. Milk fat % (p = 0.87), milk protein % (p = 0.90), and milk somatic cell count (p = 0.81) were unchanged by dietary betaine. However, betaine supplementation increased milk protein yield (677 vs. 719 g/day, p < 0.001) and fat yield (874 vs. 922 g/day, p < 0.001) with responses again being more pronounced as the study progressed. In conclusion, dietary betaine supplementation increased milk and component yield during summer in grazing dairy cows.

The influence of the fat concentration of the diet on the response by dairy cows to body condition at calving

1992 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. Garnsworthy ◽  
C. D. Huggett
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Beet ◽  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Yield ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Protein Concentration ◽  
Milk Protein ◽  
Sugar Beet Pulp ◽  
Condition Score ◽  
Beet Pulp ◽  
Ad Libitum

AbstractTwenty-four Friesian dairy cows were divided into two groups of 12 between 12 and 18 weeks prior to calving and fed to achieve condition scores at calving of 3·2 (F) or 2·3 (T). For the first 11 weeks of lactation, six cows from each group (H) were given daily 9 kg of a high-fat compound (acid ether extract (AEE) 96 g/kg dry matter (DM)), 3 kg molassed sugar-beet pulp and hay ad libitum. The other six cows in each group (L) were given 10 kg of a low-fat compound (AEE 29 g/kg DM), 2 kg sugar-beet pulp and hay ad libitum. Allowances of compound and sugar-beet pulp were designed to provide equal amounts of energy, neutral-detergent fibre and protein. The fat source used in compound H was a calcium salt of palm acid oil (Megalac®).DM intake was not affected by treatment but fat intake was significantly higher on diet H (P < 0·001). Group TH had higher intakes of digestible energy (DE) than group FH (249 v. 229 MJ/day; P < 0·05), but condition at calving did not affect DE intake with diet L (FL = 230, TL = 233 MJ/day). Milk yield was not significantly affected by treatment, although cows in group TL tended to yield less milk than other groups (28·3, 27·3, 28·0 and 24·3 kg/day for FH, FL, TH and TL respectively). The concentration of milk fat was higher and of milk protein lower with diet H compared with diet L (milk fat 48·1, 42·2, 42·9 and 39·6; milk protein 28·0, 31·0, 28·4 and 30·5 g/kg for FH, FL, TH and TL respectively). Loss of condition score was greater for cows in group F (0·65 units) than for those in group T (0·04 units). Within group F, loss of condition tended to be greater with diet L.It is concluded that the increased intake of fat with diet H tended to decrease loss of condition in cows that were fat at calving but increase milk yield in cows that were thin at calving. It also tended to increase milk fat concentration but decreased milk protein concentration.

Production, composition and manufacturing properties of milk from dairy cows fed hay and silages made from either wilted herbage or formaldehyde-treated herbage

1979 ◽  
Vol 19 (98) ◽  
pp. 290 ◽  
Author(s):  
SC Valentine ◽  
RB Wickes
Keyword(s):  
Lactic Acid ◽  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Protein Production ◽  
Milk Protein ◽  
Heat Stability ◽  
Dairy Farmers ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Production Composition

Hay, normal silage, and silages prepared from herbage either treated with formaldehyde at 0.8% of the dry matter (DM) ('formaldehyde silage') or wilted to 31 % DM ('wilted silage') were all made from grass/clover herbage cut at the same time. Dairy cows were offered the feeds ad libitum together with 4.5 kg of a barley-meatmeal concentrate daily. The chemical composition, digestibility and DM intake of the feeds together with the production, composition and manufacturing properties of the milk were determined. Compared with normal silage, the formaldehyde silage and wilted silage had lower concentrations of total titratable acids, butyric acid and lactic acid. The DM intakes (g day-1kg -0.75 by COWS of normal silage (126.7) and wilted silage (133.7) were higher than those of formaldehyde silage (114.0) and hay (103.6). The yield of milk fat (kg day-1) was greater for the cows offered wilted silage (0.62) and hay (0.62) than for cows offered normal silage (0.58). The yield of milk protein (kg day-1) was greater for the cows offered wilted silage (0.54) and hay (0.54) than for those offered formaldehyde silage (0.50) and normal silage (0.47). The percentages of milk protein and solids not fat, respectively, were greater for the cows offered wilted silage (3.37, 8.83), formaldehyde silage (3.30, 8.83) and hay (3.30, 8.89) than for those offered normal silage (3.1 5, 8.61). No differences were found between treatments in the heat stability characteristics of the milk. However, the milk of cows fed normal silage produced a firmer rennet curd than the milk from cows fed hay, wilted silage or formaldehyde silage. Cows offered normal silage, formaldehyde silage, wilted silage and hay had liveweight gains (kg day-1) of 0.1 6, 0.35, 0.86 and 0.04, respectively. It is concluded that although the milk fat and protein production of cows fed wilted silage and hay were similar, dairy farmers may prefer to feed wilted silage to dairy cows especially in late lactation, because of the ability of the cows to consume more wilted silage and consequently increase liveweight in preparation for the next lactation.

Effect of silage feeding system and concentrate composition on the performance of lactating dairy cows.

1987 ◽  
Vol 1987 ◽  
pp. 31-31
Author(s):  
R.H. Phipps ◽  
J.D. Sutton ◽  
R.F. Weller
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Feeding System ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Grass Silage ◽  
Lactating Dairy Cows ◽  
Major Energy Source ◽  
Frequent Feeding ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Present Trial

The “low milk fat” syndrome and “off feed” problems have long been associated with the use of rations incorporting a high proportion of starch based concentrate. These problems can be ameliorated by frequent feeding of concentrate, the use of out of parlour feeders or complete diets. Another approach has been to examine alternatives to cereal starch as the major energy source for concentrate supplements. Since few comparisons of concentrates containing a mixture of high quality fibre sources have been reported, the present trial was designed to compare concentrates based on cereal starch with those containing a mixture of high quality fibre sources when given with ad libitum grass silage from calving. An additional aim was to compare individual feeding through Calan Broadbent gates with groups fed forage at a self-feed clamp.

Feeding concentrates based on individual cow requirements improves the yield of milk solids in dairy cows grazing restricted pasture

2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 502 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. García ◽  
M. Pedernera ◽  
W. J. Fulkerson ◽  
A. Horadagoda ◽  
K. Nandra
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Milk Protein ◽  
Nutrient Balance ◽  
Maize Silage ◽  
Fixed Rate ◽  
Milk Protein Content ◽  
Holstein Friesian ◽  
Fat Yield ◽  
Milk Solids

A grazing experiment involving 50 lactating Holstein–Friesian dairy cows was conducted to test the hypothesis that feeding concentrates (range 3–7 kg as fed/cow.day; average 5 kg/cow.day) to grazing cows based on individual (I) cow requirements would increase milk solids yield in comparison to fixed rate (F) allocation to the whole herd (average 5 kg/cow.day for all cows). The experiment comprised two sequential periods that differed only in the way maize silage was offered to cows (either 100% on a feed pad at night or 75% on a feed pad at night, with 25% in a paddock in the morning). Intake of individual cows was estimated using the 13C and n-alkanes method. The rumen degradability of the feeds (lucerne pasture, maize silage and commercial dairy pellets) was measured in parallel, using six rumen-fistulated sheep. Compared with cows in the F group, milk yield and milk fat yield for the I cows increased (P < 0.05) by 3.0 and 11.1%, respectively. As neither milk protein content nor milk protein yield was affected (P > 0.05) by treatment, total milk solids yield (milk fat plus milk protein) was 7.0% higher (P < 0.05) for I cows than for F cows. The increase in milk fat yield was presumably associated with an improved diet nutrient balance in the I cows, as indicated by a significant correlation between fibre intake and milk fat yield for cows in the I group but not for cows in the F group. This is also supported by the results of the rumen degradability of the feeds. In this study, higher-producing cows compensated for their higher requirements by increasing intake of maize silage, rather than pasture, as the former was the less restricted feed on offer. This highlights the importance of offering at least one feed to cows in a less restricted way, in order to enable high-producing cows in the herd to compensate for their higher intake requirements. In conclusion, under the conditions of the present study, feeding concentrates to cows based on individual cow requirements increased milk solids yield at no extra cost.

scholarly journals Trans-10, Trans-12 Conjugated Linoleic Acid Does Not Affect Milk Fat Yield but Reduces Δ9-Desaturase Index in Dairy Cows

2006 ◽  
Vol 89 (7) ◽  
pp. 2559-2566 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.W. Perfield ◽  
P. Delmonte ◽  
A.L. Lock ◽  
M.P. Yurawecz ◽  
D.E. Bauman
Keyword(s):  
Linoleic Acid ◽  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Conjugated Linoleic Acid ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Δ9 Desaturase ◽  
Fat Yield

Prediction of the yields of milk constituents in dairy cows offered silage ad libitum and concentrates at a flat rate

1992 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Rook ◽  
J. D. Sutton ◽  
J. France
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Yield ◽  
Protein Concentration ◽  
Protein Yield ◽  
Flat Rate ◽  
Lactose Concentration ◽  
Total Milk ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Fat Yield ◽  
Highly Correlated

AbstractIndividually recorded milk yields, yields and concentrations of milk components, food intakes and live weights of multiparous dairy cows given silage ad libitum and concentrates at a flat rate in weeks 4 to 13 of lactation and data for silage and concentrate composition from experiments conducted at four sites, were used to obtain simple correlations and multiple linear regressions of yields and concentrations of milk constituents on other variables.Simple correlations between yields and concentrations and other variables were low. Yield terms were most highly correlated with intake terms. Milk fat concentration was most highly correlated with silage fibre concentration. Milk protein concentration was most highly correlated with digestible energy intake. The best multiple regression models including time effects accounted proportionately for 0·35 of the variation in fat yield, 0·51 in protein yield, 0·55 in lactose yield, 0·39 in total milk yield, 0·19 in fat concentration, 043 in protein concentration and 0·19 in lactose concentration. Most of these models included terms for silage intake and cow live weight which are not generally available on farms. More practical models including fewer independent variates were therefore produced. These models accounted proportionately for 0·33 of the variation in fat yield, 048 in protein yield, 0·50 in lactose yield, 0·32 in total milk yield, 0·19 in fat concentration, 0·40 in protein concentration and 0·17 in lactose concentration.

Feeding high energy supplements to pasture-fed dairy cows. Effects of stage of lactation and level of supplement

1987 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 927 ◽  
Author(s):  
CR Stockdale ◽  
A Callaghan ◽  
TE Trigg
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Volatile Fatty Acids ◽  
Severe Depression ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Stage Of Lactation ◽  
Fat Yield ◽  
Energy Supplements ◽  
Matter Basis

Five experiments were done in which stall-fed dairy cows were provided with a basal ration of pasture (6-7 kg DM) which was supplemented with varying amounts of a pelleted, high energy supplement (0-10 kg DM). Forty-seven cows at various stages of lactation were fed in this manner for up to 5 weeks. Responses to feeding the supplement depended on the stage of lactation at which the supplement was fed, and the amount of the supplement consumed. Marginal responses in milk production fell from 1.6 to 0.7 kg milk per kg supplement as lactation progressed, and as the level of feeding increased. Although responses in milk fat yield also decreased as lactation advanced, there was also a reduction in milk fat production when more than about 6 kg DM of supplement were fed. This was due to a severe depression in the fat content of the milk, which was found to be associated with intakes of diets with less than 250 g kg DM-1 neutral detergent fibre; diets with less than this level of fibre resulted in ratios of lipogenic to glucogenic volatile fatty acids in the rumen below 4:1. This occurred when the supplement constituted 0.4-0.5 of the diet on a dry matter basis. In addition, rumen ammonia levels were low when large amounts of supplement were fed. With all rumen characteristics, stage of lactation had no influence on values.

Milk permeate as a dietary supplement for lactating dairy cows

1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 807
Author(s):  
RT Cowan ◽  
PC Upton ◽  
A Reid
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Dietary Supplement ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Dry Matter Intake ◽  
Fat Percentage ◽  
Lactating Dairy Cows ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Milk Permeate ◽  
Sorghum Grain

Milk permeate was evaluated as a supplement to replace part of the concentrate or roughage in the diet of lactating dairy cows. The basal d i e t was 6 kg cracked sorghum grain and 6 kg ryegrass dry matter, and permeate was offered ad libitum in place of either 3 kg of sorghum or 3 kg of ryegrass. Intake of permeate stabilised at 30 kg/cow.day (1.7 kg DM) after 6 weeks, with considerable variation among replicate groups. Milk fat percentage was increased from 3.8 to 4.5% (P<0.05) when permeate replaced grain in the diet. Where permeate replaced pasture there was apparently large variation among cows in permeate intake, and this was associated with large variation in the fat and protein contents of the milk. Milk yield (volume) was reduced in proportion to the reduction in total dry matter intake (r = -0.99). With high intakes of permeate, the C18:0 acids in milk fat were reduced and the C16:0 acids increased. It was concluded that permeate could replace about 1.7 kg grain in the diet and that, at this level, there would be advantages in milk fat percentage.

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