scholarly journals 200 Effects of grain processing and undegradable fiber on rumen pH and fermentation of cattle fed high grain diets

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. 159-160
Author(s):  
Tao Ran ◽  
A M Saleem ◽  
Karen Beauchemin ◽  
G Penner ◽  
Wenzhu Yang

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of processing index (PI, weight after processing/weight before processing × 100) of barley grain and dietary undegradable fiber (uNDF, 240 h of incubation in rumen) concentration on DM intake (DMI), ruminal pH and fermentation characteristics of finishing beef cattle. Six ruminally cannulated beef heifers (BW, 715 ± 29 kg) were used in a 6 × 6 Latin square design with 3 PI (65, 75 and 85%; fine, medium, coarse, respectively) × 2 uNDF concentrations (low and high; 4.6 vs. 5.6% of DM) factorial arrangement. Heifers were fed ad libitum a diet consisting of 10% barley silage (low uNDF), or 5% silage and 5% straw (high uNDF), 87% dry-rolled barley, and 3% vitamin and mineral supplements. An interaction of PI × uNDF was observed (P < 0.01) for DMI, but not for mean or duration of rumen pH < 5.8 or < 5.6 over a 24-h period. The DMI (kg/d) was greater (P < 0.05) for high (12.7) versus low (12.1) uNDF diets with 85% PI, with no difference in DMI (average, 12.1) between low and high uNDF diets with 65 or 75% PI. The duration of pH < 5.8 (14.6 versus 13.3 h) and pH < 5.6 (10.8 versus 8.6 h) reduced (P < 0.05) for high versus low uNDF diets. The PI did not affect total volatile fatty acid (tVFA) concentration or molar proportions of individual VFA, but the tVFA was less (172 and 162 mM; P < 0.01) and acetate proportion was greater (46.0 and 48.2%; P < 0.01) with high versus low uNDF. These results indicate that increasing dietary uNDF concentration is an effective strategy to improve ruminal pH status in finishing cattle, regardless of extent of grain processing, whereas minimizing the extent of grain processing did not reduce the risk of rumen acidosis.

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Ran ◽  
Atef M Saleem ◽  
Karen A Beauchemin ◽  
Gregory B Penner ◽  
Wenzhu Yang

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of processing index (PI) of barley grain and dietary undigested neutral detergent fiber (uNDF) concentration on dry matter (DM) intake, chewing activity, ruminal pH and fermentation characteristics, total tract digestibility, gastrointestinal barrier function, and blood metabolites of finishing beef heifers. The PI was measured as the density after processing expressed as a percentage of the density before processing, and a smaller PI equates to a more extensively processed. Six ruminally cannulated heifers (average body weight, 715 ± 29 kg) were used in a 6 × 6 Latin square design with three PI (65%, 75%, and 85%) × 2 uNDF concentration (low and high; 4.6% vs. 5.6% of DM) factorial arrangement. The heifers were fed ad libitum a total mixed ration consisting of 10% barley silage (low uNDF), or 5% silage and 5% straw (high uNDF), 87% dry-rolled barley grain, and 3% mineral and vitamin supplements. Interactions (P < 0.01) of PI × uNDF were observed for DM intake, ruminating and total chewing time, and DM digestibility in the total digestive tract. Intake of DM, organic matter (OM), starch, and crude protein (CP) did not differ (P > 0.14) between low and high uNDF diets, but intakes of NDF and acid detergent fiber were greater (P = 0.01) for high uNDF diets regardless of barley PI. Heifers fed high uNDF diets had longer (P = 0.05) eating times (min/d or min/kg DM) and tended (P = 0.10) to have longer total chewing times (min/kg DM) than those fed low uNDF diets. Additionally, heifers sorted (P = 0.01) against long particles (>19 mm) for high uNDF diets but not for low uNDF diets. Altering PI of barley grain did not affect (P > 0.12) total volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration, molar percentages of individual VFA, or duration of ruminal pH < 5.8 and <5.6. Total VFA concentration was less (P = 0.01), acetate percentage was greater (P = 0.01), and duration of ruminal pH < 5.8 and <5.6 was less (P = 0.05) for high compared with low uNDF diets. Digestibility of DM, OM, and CP was greater (P = 0.02) for low vs. high uNDF diets with PI of 65% and 75%, with no difference between low and high uNDF diets at PI of 85%. Blood metabolites and gastrointestinal tract barrier function were not affected (P ≥ 0.10) by the treatments. These results suggest that increasing dietary uNDF concentration is an effective strategy to improve ruminal pH status in finishing cattle, regardless of the extent of grain processing, whereas manipulating the extent of barley processing did not reduce the risk of ruminal acidosis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. 219-219
Author(s):  
Tao Ran ◽  
A M Saleem ◽  
Karen Beauchemin ◽  
G Penner ◽  
Wenzhu Yang

Abstract The objective was to investigate the effects of processing index (PI, weight after processing/weight before processing × 100) of barley grain and dietary undegradable fiber (uNDF, 240 h of incubation in rumen) concentration on chewing behavior (3 days, video recording) and feed sorting of finishing beef cattle. Six ruminally cannulated beef heifers (BW=715 kg) were used in a 6 × 6 Latin square design with 3 PI (65, 75 and 85%; fine, medium, coarse, respectively) × 2 uNDF concentrations (low and high; 4.6 vs. 5.6% of DM) factorial arrangement. Heifers were fed ad libitum a TMR consisting of 10% barley silage (low uNDF) or 5% silage and 5% chopped straw (high uNDF), 87% dry-rolled barley grain, and 3% vitamin and mineral supplement. An interaction of PI with uNDF occurred (P < 0.01) for DM intake, ruminating and total chewing time. Intake of DM (kg/d) did not differ (12.1) between low and high uNDF diets with 65 or 75% PI, whereas it was greater (P < 0.05) for high (12.7) than low (12.1) uNDF diets with 85% PI. Eating time (min/d) was not affected by PI but eating time (106 vs. 95 min/d; P = 0.03) and eating index (9.3 vs. 8.0 min/kg DM; P = 0.02) were greater with high than low uNDF diets. Ruminating (305 vs. 258 min/d) and total chewing (406 vs. 357 min/d) times were greater (P < 0.05) with high than low uNDF at 65% PI, with no effect of uNDF at 75 and 85% PI. Moreover, no interaction between PI and uNDF and no effect of PI on sorting index was observed. Heifers fed high vs. low uNDF diets sorted (P < 0.01) against long particles (>19 mm). These results suggest that when cattle are fed finely processed barley, increasing uNDF concentration of the diet may promote chewing and benefit rumen health.


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 476-477
Author(s):  
Murillo C Pereira ◽  
Karen A Beauchemin ◽  
Tim A McAllister ◽  
Wenzhu Yang ◽  
Joyce Van Donkersgoed ◽  
...  

Abstract This study evaluated the effects of silage source, physically effective neutral detergent fiber (peNDF), and undigested neutral detergent fiber (uNDF) concentrations on eating behavior, ruminal pH, and reticular contractions for finishing beef heifers. Six Hereford′Simmental heifers (579±51.2 kg) were used in a replicated 6×6 Latin square (21-d periods) balanced for carry-over effects with 2×2 + 2 factorial treatment arrangement. Barley grain-based diets included barley (BarS) or wheat silage (WhS) at 10% of dietary DM. Silages were harvested at two chop lengths to yield low (LpeNDF) vs. high peNDF (HpeNDF) silage. For both BarS and WhS, chopped wheat straw was included (5% of DM) by replacing an equal proportion of LpeNDF silages to evaluate low vs. high uNDF (7.3 vs. 8.2% dietary DM) concentrations. Heifers fed HpeNDF WhS had greater DMI (silage′peNDF; P < 0.01) than those fed HpeNDF BarS, but DMI did not differ for LpeNDF treatments. Ruminating and eating time increased for heifers fed HpeNDF WhS relative to LpeNDF WhS, but were not different for BarS (silage′peNDF; P ≤ 0.02). Increasing uNDF increased eating and ruminating times for heifers fed WhS, but not BarS (silage′uNDF; P ≤ 0.03). Mean ruminal pH averaged 5.97 and was not affected by silage, peNDF, uNDF, or the interactions (P ≥ 0.12). Feeding BarS increased the duration (384 vs. 256 min/d; P = 0.02) and area (84.5 vs. 43.8 pH×min/d; P = 0.02) that pH was < 5.5 relative to WhS. Increasing peNDF numerically reduced the frequency of reticular contractions when fed BarS but numerically increased them when fed WhS (silage′peNDF; P < 0.01). Reticular contractions were not affected by dietary uNDF concentration (P ≥ 0.13). These data highlight that at a constant inclusion rate, silage source and chop length interact to affect DMI, eating behavior, ruminal pH, and reticular motility indicating the need to account for silage type, peNDF, and uNDF in diet formulation for finishing cattle.


2013 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Z. Yang ◽  
M. Oba ◽  
T. A. McAllister

Yang, W. Z., Oba, M. and McAllister, T. A. 2013. Quality and precision processing of barley grain affected intake and digestibility of dry matter in feedlot steers. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 93: 251–260. A study was conducted to determine the impact of barley quality and precision processing to account for the impact of variable kernel uniformity on ruminal pH and fermentation, and digestibility in the digestive tract of steers. Eight ruminally cannulated steers were used in a replicated 4×4 Latin square experiment. The four diets consisted of light-weight barley (LB) precision-processed with roller setting based on kernel size; heavy-weight barley (HB) precision-processed; LB and HB grain mixed equal parts then processed at a single roller setting (CON); or LB and HB precision-processed and mixed equal parts (PP). The diets consisted of 10% barley silage and 90% concentrate [dry matter (DM) basis]. Dry matter intake by steers fed LB was greater (P=0.04) than by steers fed HB. Intakes of DM and other nutrients were greater (P=0.04) for steers fed PP than for steers fed CON. There were no differences (P>0.14) in ruminal pH and fermentation among treatments. Digestibility of DM in the total digestive tract tended (P=0.06) to be less with LB than with HB. Precision processing increased digestibility of crude proteion (P=0.04) and acid detergent fibre (P=0.06) resulting in a trend (P=0.10) towards increasing organic matter digestibility as compared with CON. The results suggest that screening of blended barley into more uniform fractions and precision processing of each fraction could increase intake of digestible nutrients for feedlot cattle.


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 457-458
Author(s):  
Murillo C Pereira ◽  
Karen A Beauchemin ◽  
Tim A McAllister ◽  
Wenzhu Yang ◽  
Joyce Van Donkersgoed ◽  
...  

Abstract This study evaluated the effects of undigested neutral detergent fiber (uNDF) concentration and forage inclusion (FI) rate on dry matter (DM) intake, ruminal pH, reticular contractions, and gastrointestinal permeability for finishing beef cattle. Five ruminally cannulated Hereford′Simmental heifers (699±69.1 kg) were used in an incomplete 6×6 Latin square (26-d periods) with a 2×3 factorial treatment arrangement. Barley grain-based diets were formulated using barley silage or wheat straw to provide low or high uNDF (7.1 vs. 8.5% DM) with forage proportions of 5, 10, or 15% of dietary DM. Dry matter intake (P ≥ 0.10) and eating time (P ≥ 0.13) were not affected by uNDF, FI, or uNDF′FI. With low uNDF diets, increasing FI numerically (P = 0.02) increased rumination time (min/d); while, with high uNDF diets, rumination time increased with 5 to 10% FI, but not thereafter (P = 0.03). Mean ruminal pH was not affected by uNDF (6.17 vs. 6.19; P = 0.08), but increased with increasing FI (6.04b, 6.23a, and 6.28a; P = 0.02). Duration of ruminal pH < 5.5 was not affected by uNDF but tended (P = 0.07) to be reduced with increasing FI. High uNDF diet tended to increase the frequency of reticular contractions (1.43 vs. 1.51 contractions/min; P = 0.07) but decreased the contraction duration (13.2 vs. 14.1 sec; P = 0.04). Increasing FI increased contraction frequency (1.39b, 1.50a, and 1.53a contractions/min; P = 0.03) and tended to reduce contraction duration as forage increased from 5 to 10 and 15% (14.3, 13.1, and 13.6 sec; P = 0.07). Feeding high uNDF decreased (P = 0.05) permeability of the gastrointestinal tract based on the appearance of Cr-EDTA in urine following an intra-ruminal dose. Increasing FI tended to reduce gastrointestinal tract permeability (P = 0.06). Limited interactions indicate that uNDF and FI act independently suggesting that increasing dietary uNDF, without increasing FI rate, can stimulate frequency of reticulo-ruminal contractions and reduce gastrointestinal permeability for finishing cattle.


2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 220-220
Author(s):  
Cody Ream ◽  
Allison V Stevens ◽  
Gwinyai Chibisa

Abstract This study examined the effects of altering ruminal fermentable carbohydrate (RFC) supply by feeding different amounts of corn and wheat in finishing cattle diets containing 15% corn dried distillers grains [DDGS; dry matter (DM) basis] on ruminal fermentation characteristics and nitrogen (N) utilization. Six ruminally-cannulated crossbred heifers were used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design with 28 d periods. Dietary treatments were either corn (73% of diet DM; CON), 53:20 corn:wheat blend (20W) or 33:40 corn:wheat blend (40W) as the major fermentable carbohydrate source. Diets were isonitrogenous (12% CP; DM basis). Feed intake was measured daily. Indwelling pH logger were used to measure ruminal pH (d 22 to 28) and ruminal fluid was collected from d 26 to 28 to determine fermentation characteristics, as were feces and urine to measure N excretion. Data was analyzed using PROC MIXED in SAS. Dry matter and N intake tended to be lower (P ≤ 0.07) for heifers fed the 40W compared to the CON and 20W diets. There was no diet effect (P = 0.15) on total VFA concentration; however, the duration and area for pH < 5.5 tended to be longer (P = 0.07) and greater (P = 0.096), respectively, for heifers fed the 20W and 40W compared to the CON diet. There was no diet effect (P ≥ 0.44) on ruminal ammonia concentration and total urine N excretion (g and % of N intake). However, urine urea N (UUN) excretion as a percentage of total urine N tended to be lower (P = 0.05) in heifers fed the 20W and 40W compared to the CON diet. In summary, although altering RFC supply by feeding increasing amounts of wheat resulted in a decrease in UUN excretion, it also caused a decrease in ruminal pH that possibly compromised DM intake.


2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-581
Author(s):  
C. Dragomir ◽  
S. Toma ◽  
J. Levic

The effects of two fiber-rich byproducts of the corn grain processing on the postprandial dynamics of rumen pH were studied on three rumen cannulated non-lactating cows, within a 3x3 Latin square experimental design. The two byproducts, dried corn gluten feed (dCGF) and dried corn distillers grains (dCDG) replaced corn grains (C) in high concentrate diets, which suddenly replaced a standard diet (designed to ensure appropriate rumen activity) and were feed once a day. Rumen content was sampled every two hours, two days after the diet changes, during first 14 postprandial hours and pH was measured immediately. Average, pHmin and pHmax as well as duration and intensity of pH decrease were calculated for each series of pH measurements. Diets containing dCGF and dCDG led to higher average pH comparing to the corn-based diet: 6.26 ? 0.03 and 6.12 ? 0.12 versus 6.02 ? 0.2, respectively (P<0.05). Differences were more marked when duration and intensity of pH decrease were considered: corn diet led to a pH decrease below 6.0 of 8.02?2.58 hours, whereas for dCDG and dCGF diets the decreases were of 6.71?3.59 and 3.02?2.17 hours only. Relative differences were even higher when a lower pH threshold (5.8) was considered: observed values were 5.33?4.02, 3.14?3.64 and 0.83?1.24 for C, dCDG and dCGF diets, respectively. Of the two by-products, dCGF was more efficient against pH decrease after the sudden change from a low concentrate to a high concentrate diets. It is concluded that both by-products are feasible solutions to help limiting the pH decrease while allowing formulation of high energy and highly digestible diets for ruminants.


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 163-164
Author(s):  
Maria B Niehues ◽  
Alexandre Perdigão ◽  
Victor Valério de Carvalho ◽  
Tiago S Acedo ◽  
Guilherme S F M Vasconcellos ◽  
...  

Abstract Our objective was to evaluate the effects of feed additives on ruminal pH of finishing cattle fed a 90%-concentrate diet. Twenty four 18-mo Angus-Nellore crossbred bulls (IBW, 456 ± 6,5 kg) were allocated in a completely randomized design to three treatments with eight replicates each, as follows: 1) Control (MON) - Sodium Monensin (26 mg/kg DM, Rumensin, Elanco Animal Health); 2) Crina® RumistarTM (CR) - a blend of essential oils, 90 mg/kg DM + exogenous α-amylase, 560 mg/kg DM) and 3) CR + HyD® (25-hydroxy-vitamin-D3 at 1 mg/animal/d, CRD, DSM Nutritional Products). The ruminal pH and temperature was monitored individually for 98 days, using a wireless bolus, (SmaXtec Animal Care, Austria). Data were analyzed using the Mixed procedure of SAS and means comparison evaluated by Tukey test at P&lt; 0.05. During adaptation period (i.e. first 14 days), bulls fed CR and CRD had increased rumen mean pH (6.40 and 6.36 vs. 6.16; P &lt; 0.01) and minimum pH (5.89 and 5.87 vs. 5.57; P &lt; 0.01) than bulls fed MON. In addition, rumen pH from bulls fed CR spent less time below 6.0 than bulls fed MON (256.07 vs. 452.62 min/d; P = 0.05). Regarding the total period, bulls fed MON had lower mean (6.22 vs. 6.51 and 6.42, P &lt; 0.01) and minimum rumen pH (5.60 vs. 5.92 and 5.85, P &lt; 0.01) than bulls fed CR and CRD. Additionally, feeding MON increased time duration of rumen pH (390.79 min/day, P &lt; 0.01) and had a larger area below 6.0 (81.52 min x pH units/day; P &lt; 0.01). Moreover, the addition of monensin increased pH time duration below 5.8 (161.10 vs. 121.13 and 122.56 min/day; P = 0.02) compared with CR and CRD, and increased ruminal temperature (39.60 vs. 39.51 and 39.5 °C; P &lt; 0.01). We conclude that feeding Crina® RumistarTM and Crina® RumistarTM HyD® increased the rumen pH of bulls.


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 170-171
Author(s):  
Wenzhu Yang

Abstract The uniqueness of wheat-based distiller grain (wDG) with high protein and digestible fibre gives great feeding opportunities for cattle as energy, protein or fiber source. This abstract summarizes recent research findings on the use of wDG in beef cattle diets. For growing beef cattle, steers fed diets (forage:concentrate, 55:45) with increasing replacement of barley grain with wDG from 0, 8, 16, 24 to 32% (DM basis) linearly (P &lt; 0.01) increased average daily gain (ADG) from 1.09 to 1.28 kg/d and DM intake (DMI) from 7.26 to 7.94 kg/d without affecting gain:feed (0.158). By comparing protein source of canola meal and corn DG in diets containing 60% of silage and 40% of barley grain, steers fed wDG diet had similar ADG (1.46 kg/d) with corn DG (1.51 kg/d), and had no differences in gain:feed (0.178) with canola meal (0.183). For finishing beef cattle, with increasing wDG from 10, 20 to 40% in the place of barley grain of finishing diets, the DMI linearly (P &lt; 0.01) increased from 10.2 to 10.9 kg/d, whereas, the gain:feed linearly (P &lt; 0.01) decreased from 0.172 to 0.159 without altering the ADG (1.74 kg/d). The wDG was also suggested to be fed as fiber source to replace roughage in finishing diet. Entirely substitution of wDG for roughage of finishing diet decreased (P &lt; 0.01) ruminal pH from 5.95 to 5.75 of beef heifers; however, the ADG and gain:feed of steers were not affected. The results suggested that although substitution of wDG for roughage in finishing diets may increase the incidence of ruminal acidosis, this outcome does not appear to adversely impact the performance of the cattle. The wDG can be successfully incorporated to substitute a portion of grain or roughage within growing and finishing diets with minimal or no adverse impact on cattle growth performance.


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