Feeding forages with reduced particle size in a total mixed ration improves feed intake, total-tract digestibility, and performance of organic dairy cows

AbstractDuring the winter feeding period in organic dairy production systems in the alpine and pre-alpine regions of Austria and its neighboring countries, maize silage is an energy-rich forage that is regularly included in grass-silage-based diets to improve the energy supply of the cows. Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorumLam.) is also a high-energy fodder grass popular as forage for dairy cows, but it is rarely cultivated in Austrian organic agriculture. The two crops differ in their cultivation demands and characteristics. Italian ryegrass establishes rapidly and may reduce the risk of soil erosion. Italian ryegrass would be a beneficial addition to crop rotation, which is an essential tool in successful organic farming. In a 15-week feeding trial, Italian ryegrass silage and maize silage were fed to 22 lactating Holstein dairy cows. Organically produced Italian ryegrass silage and maize silage were included at a rate of 40% [of dry matter (DM)] in grass-silage-based mixed basal diets. The mixed basal diets were supplemented with modest amounts of additional concentrates (2.7–3.0 kg DM day−1). Owing to the higher energy content of maize silage as compared to Italian ryegrass silage, the maize diet provided more energy [6.3 MJ net energy for lactation (NEL) kg−1DM] than the ryegrass diet (6.15 MJ NEL kg−1DM). The protein supply of the maize diet and the ryegrass diet was intended to be equal, but in fact the protein content of the maize diet was significantly lower (122 g crude protein kg−1DM) than that of the ryegrass diet (141 g kg−1DM). When the maize diet was fed, feed intake, milk yield and milk protein content were significantly higher as compared to the ryegrass diet. Also, intake of crude protein was significantly lower when feeding the maize diet, and in combination with the higher milk protein yield, this enabled an efficiency of gross nitrogen (N) utilization as high as 0.304. This level of N efficiency can be considered as above average and was significantly and considerably higher than the level of 0.259 observed when the ryegrass diet was fed. Therefore, maize silage upholds its reputation as an ideal energy-rich component in grass-silage-based dairy cow diets.

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Effect of varying total mixed ration particle size on rumen digesta and fecal particle size and digestibility in lactating dairy cows

Journal of Dairy Science ◽

10.3168/jds.2010-3718 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 94 (7) ◽

pp. 3527-3536 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

D.D. Maulfair ◽

M. Fustini ◽

A.J. Heinrichs

Keyword(s):

Particle Size ◽

Dairy Cows ◽

Total Mixed Ration ◽

Lactating Dairy Cows

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Effect of Potato By-Product on Production Responses of Dairy Cows and Total Mixed Ration Stability

Dairy ◽

10.3390/dairy2020019 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 218-230

Author(s):

Marcia Franco ◽

Tomasz Stefański ◽

Taina Jalava ◽

Marja Lehto ◽

Minna Kahala ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dairy Cows ◽

Milk Production ◽

Dairy Cow ◽

Feed Intake ◽

Food System ◽

Point Of View ◽

Total Mixed Ration ◽

Aerobic Stability ◽

Chemical Preservatives ◽

Scale Experiment

Vegetable by-products have great potential for use as animal feeds and thus could improve the sustainability of the food system. The objective was to evaluate the milk production potential of potato by-product (PBP) replacing cereal grains in grass silage-based total mixed ration (TMR). Additionally, a laboratory scale experiment was conducted to assess the effect of PBP and chemical preservatives on the aerobic stability of TMRs. A change-over dairy cow feeding experiment was conducted to evaluate the inclusion of 135 g/kg (on a dry matter (DM) basis) of PBP in TMR. Additionally, the aerobic stability of TMR was evaluated by preparing TMRs with increasing levels of PBP and treated with different doses of formic and propionic acid or salt-based preservatives. The inclusion of PBP in dairy cow diets decreased feed intake, but organic matter digestibility was greater in the PBP diet, resulting in only slightly decreased production (milk protein 1435 vs. 1363 g/day, p < 0.05; milk lactose 1716 vs. 1606 g/day, p < 0.05). The aerobic stability of TMR was negatively affected by the inclusion of PBP, but it could to a limited extent be prolonged using chemical preservatives. The inclusion of PBP decreased feed intake and milk production to some extent when included in the diet of high-producing dairy cows. The utilization of PBP may, however, be justified from a sustainability point of view, as it provides a way to circulate the nutrients of a non-human edible feed material back into the food chain.

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Effect of replacing maize grain and soybean meal with a xylose-treated wheat grain on feed intake and performance of dairy cows

Archives of Animal Nutrition ◽

10.1080/1745039x.2017.1312863 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 71 (3) ◽

pp. 246-255 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jens Benninghoff ◽

Gregor Hamann ◽

Herbert Steingaß ◽

Franz-Josef Romberg ◽

Karl Landfried ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dairy Cows ◽

Soybean Meal ◽

Feed Intake ◽

Wheat Grain ◽

Maize Grain ◽

And Performance

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Effects of Grazing on the Behaviour, Oxidative and Immune Status, and Production of Organic Dairy Cows

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani9060371 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 371 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Antonino Di Grigoli ◽

Adriana Di Trana ◽

Marco Alabiso ◽

Giuseppe Maniaci ◽

Daniela Giorgio ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acids ◽

Immune Response ◽

Dairy Cows ◽

Milk Production ◽

Milk Quality ◽

Skin Tests ◽

Reactive Oxygen Metabolites ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Total Mixed Ration ◽

Organic Dairy

This study compared the effects of a short daily grazing time with those of permanent free-stall housing on the behaviour, oxidative status, immune response, and milk production of organically reared cows. During a 63-day period, two homogeneous groups of eight lactating Brown cows were allocated to either housing (H) in a free-stall building for 24 h/day. Feeding was based on a total mixed ration or grazing (G) on barley grass for 5 h/day, and housing in a free-stall structure with feeding was based on the same total mixed ration offered to the H group. With regard to behaviour, H cows spent more time idling, walking, drinking, and self-grooming, whereas G cows showed a greater intent to eat and interact socially. Moreover, G cows exhibited slightly higher reactive oxygen metabolites and similar biological antioxidant potential concentrations than the H group, which indicates that short grazing resulted in an almost negligible increase in oxidative stress and an unchanged antioxidant capacity. Skin tests, performed by injecting phytohemoagglutinin intradermally, indicated that G cows had thicker skin than H cows at the end of the trial, an index of a better cell-mediated immune response. Grazing did not affect milk yield but improved milk quality in terms of an increase in fat and a reduction in urea content, somatic cell count, and total microbial count. Milk from G cows was richer in saturated fatty acids, likely because of the contribution of palmitic acid present in the grazed barley grass, and also showed higher contents of some healthy fatty acids, such as rumenic acid and α-linolenic acid, and a lower omega-6/omega-3 ratio. These results show that including a short grazing time in the diets of organic dairy cows does not have negative consequences for milk production and contributes to improved milk quality as well as to a more efficient immune response in the cows.

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