Production responses of dairy cows grazing well-managed kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) pastures to energy and protein supplementation

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 763 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Reeves ◽  
WJ Fulkerson ◽  
RC Kellaway
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Milk Protein ◽  
Protein Supplementation ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Plasma Urea ◽  
Pennisetum Clandestinum ◽  
Cereal Grain ◽  
Metabolisable Energy ◽  
Production Response

Three studies were conducted to examine the production response of Friesian cows grazing well-managed lukuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) pasture to supplementation with a cereal grain concentrate, with and without the inclusion of formaldehyde-treated protein meal. Mean (¦ s.e.) levels of nutrients in the pasture (g/kg DM) on offer were: 205 ¦ 3 crude protein; 683 ¦ 7 in vitro organic matter digestibility; 239 ¦ 2 acid detergent fibre; 615 ¦ 8 neutral detergent fibre and 4.47 ¦ 0.16, 2.51 ¦ 0.06, 31.96 ¦ 0.98, 0.39 ¦ 0.03 and 3.18 ¦ 0.09 of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and magnesium, respectively. Study 1 was a 3-farmlet study conducted over 45 days (March-April 1993) involving cows 5-6 months into lactation, which compared 3 levels of concentrate feeding at 0 (R0), 3 (R3) or 6 (R6) kg crushed barley/cow.day. Study 2 was an 18-day extension of study 1 with animals in the seventh month of lactation. The concentrate fed was 72% barley and 24% formaldehyde-treated sunflower meal. Pasture intake of individual cows was determined using an alkane technique. Mean milk yields (L/cow. day) in study 1 were 14.2, 18.3 and 18.0, and in study 2 were 12.5, 18.5 and 17.4 for treatments R0, R3 and R6, respectively. Milk fat (3.77 v. 3.26%), but not milk protein, content of the Ro cows was significantly higher than R6 cows in study 1 only. In study 2, the apparent whole-diet digestibility remained constant as concentrate level rose, indicating a negative effect of concentrate fed on forage digestibility in the absence of buffers. Study 3 was a 3 x 4 factorial design plus a 'control' group (0.5 kg barley/cow.day used as a carrier for minerals) to examine the milk production response to 3 levels of concentrate feeding (3, 6 and 9 kg/cow.day) with 4 levels of formaldehyde-treated canola meal (FTCM; 0, 20, 40 and 60% of concentrate). Rations were iso-energetic within levels of concentrates fed. The control group had significantly lower milk production (17.2 L/cow.day), as well as milk protein (2.90%), plasma urea (PU) (5.90 mmol/L) and P-hydroxybutyrate (G-OHB) (0.525 mmo1L) than other treatment groups. The mean milk production response of 0.6 L milk/kg concentrate fed in study 3 at the 3 kg/day level of feeding was lower than observed in studies 1 and 2 (1.4 and 2.0 L/kg concentrate, respectively). The level of metabolisable energy in the concentrate in study 3 had a significant influence on milk production, milk fat and milk protein levels. Plasma glucose and G-OHB levels significantly increased with the incorporation of FTCM into the concentrate. Nonesterified fatty acid levels dropped significantly below levels of other treatments at the lowest level of inclusion of FTCM. PU levels generally increased in response to increasing metabolisable energy and inclusion of FTCM in the concentrate, with an interaction between them. Milk urea (MU) levels (mmol/L) showed a significant linear (P<0.001; r2 = 0.44) relationship to PU levels (mmol/L) as follows: MU = 0.167 + 0.272PU.

Effect of grain and straw supplementation on marginal milk-production responses and rumen fermentation of cows grazing highly digestible subterranean clover pasture

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 467 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Wales ◽  
P. T. Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Protein Concentration ◽  
Milk Protein ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Ruminal Fluid ◽  
Cereal Grain ◽  
Production Response

The marginal milk-production response to cereal grain supplementation of dairy cows grazing irrigated subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) pasture in spring was investigated. We also determined whether the addition of a perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) straw supplement would improve that response. There were 8�replicated treatments in a factorial design with 2 amounts of cereal grain pellet [0 and 5.0 kg dry matter (DM)/cow.day] and 4 amounts of straw (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 kg DM/cow.day), 48 cows in total. Cows in all treatments grazed subterranean clover at an allowance (measured to ground level) of 19 kg DM/day. The barley and wheat pellet and straw had a neutral detergent fibre (NDF) concentration of 164 g/kg DM and 704 g/kg DM, respectively. Cows from all treatments consumed pasture with an in vitro DM digestibility of 743�g/kg DM and NDF concentration of 313 g/kg DM, compared with the pregrazed pasture on offer of 707 and 360, respectively. Pasture DM intake was not affected (P>0.05) by supplementation with either grain or straw, and averaged 12.7�kg�DM/cow.day. Cows supplemented with grain achieved a marginal milk-production response of 1.0�kg�fat-corrected milk (FCM)/kg DM grain. However, with increasing amounts of straw, responses of 0.0, 0.9 and 0.5 kg FCM/kg DM grain were observed. Fat-corrected milk yields were not different (P>0.05) between straw treatments and averaged 25.8 kg FCM/cow.day. Grain feeding significantly (P<0.05) reduced milk fat concentration and increased (P<0.05) milk protein concentration, although offering increasing amounts of straw had no significant (P>0.05) effect on either milk fat or milk protein concentration. Average ruminal fluid pH was significantly (P<0.05) lower when cows consumed cereal grain pellets than with those treatments without cereal grain (5.82 v. 6.09). There were no differences (P>0.05) in ruminal fluid pH among cows that consumed different amounts of straw. When cows were managed to limit intake of subterranean clover by restricting pasture allowance, supplementation with cereal grain resulted in acceptable marginal milk-production responses of 1.0 kg FCM/kg DM cereal grain. Under these circumstances, providing additional NDF as straw did not improve the milk-production response to cereal grain, with NDF ranging from 290 to 337 g/kg DM when 0–1.7 kg DM straw was consumed.

The efficacy of feeding a live probiotic yeast, Yea-Sacc®, on the performance of lactating dairy cows

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Tristant ◽  
C. A. Moran
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Milk Protein ◽  
Feed Additive ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Target Dose ◽  
Lactating Dairy Cows ◽  
Farm Model ◽  
The Impact

SummaryThe following trial was conducted to evaluate the impact of feeding Yea-Sacc® (YS; Alltech Inc, USA), a zootechnical feed additive based on a live probiotic strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to lactating dairy cows over a 12 week period. Sixty-four primiparous and multiparous Holstein dairy cows, grouped to give similar range of parity, physiological and milk production stages, were selected for the study. Cows were equally allocated to either a control feed group or a diet supplemented with YS (32 cows per treatment). The test diet was formulated to include YS (Yea-Sacc® Farm Pak) incorporated in the total mixed ration (TMR), supplying a target dose of 5 × 107 CFU/kg feed dry matter (DM). This target dose delivered 1 × 109 CFU/cow/day, for a cow consuming 20 kg feed (DM basis) daily. Each cow was considered a replicate unit. Cows were fed a nutritionally adequate total TMR plus hay and a supplementary protein/energy concentrate (calculated according to milk yield) for 12 weeks, supplied once a day after the morning milking. Weigh backs of feed were recorded daily, with refusals being maintained at 3% of the total intake. During the 12 week study period, YS had significant beneficial effects on milk production (+0.8 kg/day; P = 0.003), energy corrected milk production (+1.4 kg/day; P < 0.0001), synthesis of milk protein (+36 g/day; P = 0.001), milk protein content (+0.3 g/kg; P = 0.009), and milk urea content (−0.09 mg/l; P = 0.004). The synthesis of milk fat was similar between treatments but milk fat content was lower for the YS group compared to the control group (−1.1 g/kg; P = 0.0002). Lactose content was always higher (+0.8 g/kg; P < 0.0001) for the YS group, indicating enhanced energy utilisation. In general, the effect of YS was higher during the first study period (one to seven weeks), when cows were in early lactation and the production potential was higher. YS cows produced significantly more milk during the study, and an additional 220 kg milk per cow was sold from this group from the output measured from the beginning of the study to two weeks post-trial. However, the statistical analysis including the post-study period did not show a significant effect. The 305-day simulated milk production was higher for the YS group (+400 kg/cow) but again the difference was not significant. In conclusion, YS at a target dose of 5 × 107 CFU/kg DM improved milk production and milk quality in healthy dairy cows. In addition, when the data were included in a whole-farm model, feeding YS reduced methane emissions by 4%, reduced the number of animals required for the desired milk production by 4% and increased overall farm margins by 1.4%.

Protein supplementation of cows grazing limited amounts of paspalum (Paspalum dilatatum Poir.)-dominant irrigated pasture in mid-lactation

2000 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 923 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Wales ◽  
D. W. Dellow ◽  
P. T. Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Cottonseed Meal ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Rumen Fluid ◽  
Protein Supplementation ◽  
Canola Meal ◽  
Paspalum Dilatatum ◽  
Protein Supplements ◽  
Cereal Grain

Two experiments were undertaken in summer to investigate production responses by dairy cows offered paspalum (Paspalum dilatatum Poir.)-dominant irrigated pasture to the inclusion of protein supplements with different rumen degradable protein characteristics in cereal grain-based concentrates. In experiment 1, cows in mid lactation were offered limited amounts of herbage, at an allowance of 28 kg DM/cow. day together with 8.0 kg DM/cow. day of a pelleted supplement containing: (i) mainly barley and wheat; (ii) barley, wheat and canola meal; or (iii) barley, wheat and cottonseed meal for 35 days. The 3 supplements were formulated to have similar in vitro DM digestibilities. In experiment 2 aspects of rumen function were measured in 9 rumen fistulated lactating cows, individually fed indoors on paspalum-dominant herbage harvested daily with a finger bar mower. Cows were offered the same amount of supplements for 28 days. Pasture intakes were similar to those of the grazing cows in experiment 1. In experiment 1, there were no effects (P>0.05) of dietary treatment on herbage intake (10.2 kg DM/cow. day) or selection of nutrients from herbage. The concentration of crude protein in the total diet consumed was lower (P<0.05) for the barley + wheat treatment (137 g/kg DM), compared with the barley + wheat + canola meal and barley + wheat + cottonseed meal treatments, which were 179 and 183 g/kg DM, respectively. In vitro DM digestibility of the feed consumed by cows was similar across the treatments, and all diets contained greater than 400 g neutral detergent fibre/kg DM, indicating there were no limitations due to dietary fibre. There were no significant effects (P>0.05) of dietary treatments on milk production (21.8 kg/cow. day), milk fat concentration (34.1 g/kg) or milk protein concentration (29.8 g/kg). Urea-N was higher (P<0.01) in the milk of cows fed the barley + wheat + canola meal and the barley + wheat + cottonseed meal treatments compared with the barley + wheat treatment. In experiment 2, rumen fluid pH was higher in cows consuming barley + wheat pellets than in cows consuming barley + wheat + canola meal on most sampling occasions. Rumen ammonia-N concentration was lowest in the barley + wheat treatment and highest in the barley + wheat + canola meal treatment. When cows grazing paspalum-dominant irrigated pasture were supplemented with 8 kg DM of a cereal-based supplement, metabolisable protein was calculated to be present in sufficient quantities to support at least 22 kg milk/cow. day and, hence, was not limiting milk production. It is concluded that protein supplements offered to cows in mid-lactation, grazing irrigated pastures in summer, are unlikely to give a milk production response beyond that achieved with cereal grain.

scholarly journals Production response in dairy cows milked two or three times a day: A meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Isidro Sanchez-Duarte ◽  
Alvaro Garcia ◽  
Karla Rodríguez-Hernández ◽  
David G. Reta-Sánchez ◽  
Homero Salinas-Gonzalez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Milk Protein ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Milk Composition ◽  
Fat Percentage ◽  
Milking Frequency ◽  
Production Response

The objective was to evaluate the effects of two (2×) vs three (3×) times per day milking on milk production and milk composition in dairy cows. Fourteen scientific papers, containing production data from 16 trials, where dairy cows were milked 2× or 3×, were analysed using meta-analysis with fixed and random-effects with the R statistical program. The degree of heterogeneity and publication bias were measured with the I2 statistic and Begg’s test, respectively. In addition, the meta-regression analysis explored other sources of heterogeneity for the response. The estimated effect size of 2× and 3× milkings was calculated for dry matter intake (DMI), milk production, and milk composition. Dry matter intake, milk production, and milk fat and protein yields showed substantial heterogeneity (I2>50%). Whereas milk fat-percentage had moderate heterogeneity (I2<50%), and milk protein had no (I2=0%)heterogeneity. The year of publication, trial duration, and cattle breed did not influence production response parameters to milking frequency. We found no evidence of publication bias for the parameters evaluated (Begg’s test; P>.05). Cows milked 2× produced less milk (2.23 kg/d), less milk fat (0.06kg/d), and less milk protein (0.05 kg/d). In contrast, the fat percentage was lower (0.07 units) in 3×, compared with 2× milking frequency. There was no effect of milking frequency on DMI and milk protein percentage. In conclusion, milk production and milk fat and protein yields improves as milking frequency increase from 2× to 3× daily, without affecting DMI. The implementation of 3× milking frequency must consider dairy cow management, labor, and milking parlour infrastructure, particular to each dairy farm.

Silages harvested at different stages of grass growthv.concentrate foods as energy and protein sources in milk production

1999 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 251-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Rinne ◽  
S. Jaakkola ◽  
K. Kaustell ◽  
T. Heikkilä ◽  
P. Huhtanen
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Milk Yield ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Milk Protein ◽  
Rapeseed Meal ◽  
Protein Supplementation ◽  
Dietary Factors ◽  
Metabolizable Energy ◽  
Meadow Fescue ◽  
D Value

AbstractFour silages were prepared at 1-week intervals from a primary growth of timothy-meadow fescue sward. They were offered to 32 Finnish Ayrshire cows and supplemented with 7 or 10 kg of concentrate containing 0 or 1·15 kg rapeseed meal (RSM). The basal concentrate consisted of barley, oats and molassed sugar-beet pulp (2: 2: 1) and minerals. Diets were arranged 4 × 2 × 2 factorially in a cyclic change-over experiment with four periods of 21 days each.Silages contained 739, 730, 707 and 639 g digestible organic matter (D value) per kg dry matter (DM) for harvests I, II, III and IV, respectively. All dietary factors had marked effects on the performance of the cows but generally interactions between treatments could not be detected. A decrease of 10 g/kg in silage D value decreased energy-corrected milk (ECM) production of the cows by 0·50 kg/day and silage DM intake by 0·162 kg/day. An increment of 1 kg concentrate DM decreased silage DM intake by 0·61 kg and yielded 0·55 kg more ECM per day. Inclusion of RSM into the concentrate increased daily ECM production by 1·7 kg and silage DM intake by 0·60 kg/kg RSM when substituting the basal concentrate. Milk yield and yields of milk constituents decreased curvilinearly with delayed date of harvest the difference being greatest between the last two cuts and thus closely reflected the changes in silage D value. Milk protein concentration increased as apparent digestibility (P < 0.001) and concentrate level in the diet increased (P < 0.001). Milk fat concentration was not affected by the dietary treatments.Marginal ECM production responses to estimated metabolizable energy (ME) intake were higher when intake was manipulated with the date of silage harvest (0·138 kg ECM per MJ additional ME) compared with increased concentrate feeding (0·103); highest response was achieved by RSM feeding (0·244). Additional intake of calculated amino acids absorbed from the small intestine (AAT) manipulated by silage harvest time resulted in the highest marginal response (0·59 g milk protein per g additional AAT), while increased concentrate feeding and inclusion of RSM were equal (0·50 v. 0·49, respectively). Improving silage quality by earlier harvest resulted in higher milk yield, and in greater efficiency in the use of increments of estimated ME and AAT than was seen with increased concentrate feeding. Protein supplementation improved milk production irrespective of silage harvest date.

scholarly journals Effect of Rumen Protected Methionine Supplementation on Early Lactational Responses of Dairy Cows Fed a Grass Silage and Cereals Diet

1999 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Iwańska ◽  
Danuta Strusińska ◽  
Barbara Pysera
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Milk Yield ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Milk Protein ◽  
Production Performance ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Net Energy ◽  
Grass Silage ◽  
Daily Milk Yield ◽  
Daily Milk

To investigate the milk production limiting potential of a diet based on grass silage (40%), hay (15%), dried sugar beet pulp (13%) and grain compound mixture (32%), 28 multiparous cows in early lactation were randomly assigned to two treatment groups: a control group and a group receiving supplementary rumen protected methionine (RPMet) treatment (12 g intestinally available methionine/ cow/day, given 1–120 days postpartum; Smartamine™; RPAN’s technology). The diet was formulated to meet the requirements for protein and net energy. RPMet supplementation had no significant effect on DMI (kg/cow/day), milk dry mass, milk lactose and milk urea contents. Responses for mean daily milk yield, mean milk fat and milk protein yields were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in cows supplied with RPMet than in controls. Mean daily milk yield, milk protein and milk fat yields increased by 2.4 kg, 108 g and 124 g, respectively. The mean daily milk protein and casein contents were increased by 1.8 g and 0.9 g and milk fat content by 1.2 g in 1 kg of milk, respectively. The results suggest that in cows fed grass silage and a grain compound mixture milk production is limited by methionine insufficiency, but milk production performance can be increased significantly by the addition of RPMet to the diet.

scholarly journals Effects of and interactions between the extent of silage fermentation and protein supplementation in lactating dairy cows

1998 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terttu Heikkilä ◽  
Vesa Toivonen ◽  
Pekka Huhtanen
Keyword(s):  
Milk Yield ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Milk Protein ◽  
Protein Supplementation ◽  
Plasma Urea ◽  
Silage Fermentation ◽  
Milk Protein Content ◽  
Fat Yield ◽  
Glucose Plasma ◽  
Dietary Treatments

Twelve Ayrshire cows were used to study the effects of and interactions between extent of silage fermentation and level of protein supplementation on silage intake and milk production. Experimental design was a cyclic change-over with six dietary treatments, with two replicate blocks of six cows and four 3-week periods. Dietary treatments in a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement consisted of two wilted silages treated with either a formic acid-based (FA) 5 l/t or a bacterial inoculant additive (I) and three levels of protein supplementation obtained by fish meal (FM) inclusion (0, 60 and 120 g/kg concentrate). Grass silage was given ad libitum and concentrates were offered at a rate of 10 kg/d. Both silages were well-preserved but I-silage was more extensively fermented than FA-silage. Feeding FA-silage decreased diet organic matter digestibility, particularly that of neutral detergent fibre, compared with I-silage. Inclusion of FM increased the digestibility of all dietary constituents. Dry matter (DM) intake of I-silage was lower than that of FA-silage but milk yield was not significantly affected. Restricting silage fermentation increased milk fat content, fat yield and energy corrected milk yield. FM inclusion increased silage DM intake, milk yield, milk protein content and yield. FM120 inclusion increased milk fat yield more with FA-silage than with I-silage, whereas the response in milk protein yield was greater with I-silage. Plasma glucose, plasma urea and milk urea concentrations were lower and blood β-hydroxybutyrate higher in cows given FA-diets than those given I-diets.

Penatalaksanaan IMD pada Ibu Postpartum Sectio Caesarea Mempengaruhi Status Gizi dan Kecepatan Produksi ASI

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-120
Author(s):  
Nursari Abdul Syukur ◽  
Susi Purwanti
Keyword(s):  
Breast Milk ◽  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Milk Protein ◽  
Sectio Caesarea ◽  
Control Group ◽  
P Value ◽  
Study Results

Many mothers who give birth to Sectio Caesarea (SC) do not Initiate Early Breastfeeding (IMD), which fails exclusive breastfeeding. This study aimed to determine the effect of IMD management in postpartum SC mothers on nutritional status, speed of milk production, and quality of breast milk protein. Method: quantitative research with quasi approach experiment. The research design used was a pre-post-test control non-equivalent control group. A sampling of this study used the Consecutive method sampling with a sample of 20 mothers who gave birth by cesarean section (SC). Hypothesis testing uses the independent t-test and the Mann-Whitney test. The study results showed an influence on the management of IMD in postpartum SC mothers on the speed of ASI production (p-value=0.004) and nutritional status (p-value=0.028). There was no effect of IMD management on postpartum SC mothers on the quality of breast milk protein (p-value = 0.543). This study recommends that the hospital implement an IMD promotion program before the abdominal wall is closed as a form of intervention to increase milk production and maternal nutritional status

scholarly journals Metabolic and Productive Response and Grazing Behavior of Lactating Dairy Cows Supplemented with High Moisture Maize or Cracked Wheat Grazing at Two Herbage Allowances in Spring

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 919
Author(s):  
Verónica M. Merino ◽  
Lorena Leichtle ◽  
Oscar A. Balocchi ◽  
Francisco Lanuza ◽  
Julián Parga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Body Condition Score ◽  
Latin Square ◽  
Ruminal Fermentation ◽  
High Moisture ◽  
Plasma Urea ◽  
Grazing Behavior

The aim was to determine the effect of the herbage allowance (HA) and supplement type (ST) on dry matter intake (DMI), milk production and composition, grazing behavior, rumen function, and blood metabolites of grazing dairy cows in the spring season. Experiment I: 64 Holstein Friesian dairy cows were distributed in a factorial design that tested two levels of daily HA (20 and 30 kg of dry matter (DM) per cow) and two ST (high moisture maize (HMM) and cracked wheat (CW)) distributed in two daily rations (3.5 kg DM/cow/day). Experiment II: four mid-lactation rumen cannulated cows, supplemented with either HMM or CW and managed with the two HAs, were distributed in a Latin square design of 4 × 4, for four 14-d periods to assess ruminal fermentation parameters. HA had no effect on milk production (averaging 23.6 kg/day) or milk fat and protein production (823 g/day and 800 g/day, respectively). Cows supplemented with CW had greater protein concentration (+1.2 g/kg). Herbage DMI averaged 14.17 kg DM/cow.day and total DMI averaged 17.67 kg DM/cow.day and did not differ between treatments. Grazing behavior activities (grazing, rumination, and idling times) and body condition score (BCS) were not affected by HA or ST. Milk and plasma urea concentration increased under the high HA (+0.68 mmol/L and +0.90 mmol/L, respectively). Cows supplemented with HMM had lower milk and plasma urea concentrations (0.72 mmol/L and 0.76 mmol/L less, respectively) and tended (p = 0.054) to have higher plasma β-hydroxybutyrate. Ruminal parameters did not differ between treatments.

Replacing wheat with canola meal and maize grain in the diet of lactating dairy cows: Feed intake, milk production and cow condition responses

2017 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruairi P McDonnell ◽  
Martin vH Staines
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Milk Protein ◽  
Daily Intake ◽  
Canola Meal ◽  
Grass Silage ◽  
Holstein Friesian ◽  
Maize Grain ◽  
The Difference

This research paper describes the effect of partially replacing wheat with maize grain and canola meal on milk production and body condition changes in early lactation Holstein-Friesian dairy cows consuming a grass silage-based diet over an 83-d period. Two groups of 39 cows were stratified for age, parity, historical milk yield and days in milk (DIM), and offered one of two treatment diets. The first treatment (CON) reflected a typical diet used by Western Australian dairy producers in summer and comprised (kg DM/cow per d); 8 kg of annual ryegrass silage, 6 kg of crushed wheat (provided once daily in a mixed ration), 3·6 kg of crushed lupins (provided in the milking parlour in two daily portions) and ad libitum lucerne haylage. The second treatment diet (COMP) was identical except the 6 kg of crushed wheat was replaced by 6 kg of a more complex concentrate mix (27% crushed wheat, 34% maize grain and 37% canola meal). Lucerne haylage was provided independently in the paddock to all cows, and no pasture was available throughout the experiment. The COMP group had a greater mean overall daily intake (22·5vs20·4 kg DM/cow) and a higher energy corrected milk (ECM) yield (29·2vs27·1 kg/cow;P= 0·047) than the CON cows. The difference in overall intake was caused by a higher daily intake of lucerne haylage in COMP cows (4·5vs2·3 kg DM/cow). The CON group had a higher concentration of milk fat (42·1vs39·3 g/kg;P= 0·029) than COMP cows. Milk protein yield was greater in COMP cows (P< 0·021); however, milk fat yield was unaffected by treatment. It is concluded that partially replacing wheat with canola meal and maize grain in a grass silage-based diet increases voluntary DMI of conserved forage and consequently yields of ECM and milk protein.

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