Organic Acid Treatment of High Dry Matter Corn Silage Fed Lactating Dairy Cows

Influence of corn silage particle length on the performance of lactating dairy cows fed supplemental tallow.

The objective of this study was to determine if the length of chop of processed corn silage influences the impact of supplemental fat on rumen fermentation and performance of dairy cows. We hypothesized that increasing forage particle length may alleviate the interference of fat on rumen fermentation. Sixteen Holstein cows averaging 120 d in milk were used in a replicated 4 x 4 Latin square des...

Effect of yeast culture supplementation of alfalfa silage or alfalfa hay fed to lactating dairy cows

Performance of lactating dairy cows fed alfalfa silage or perennial ryegrass silage.

The nutrient contents of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) are reasonably similar. Despite similarities, the lactation performance of dairy cows fed perennial ryegrass has not been compared with the lactation performance of dairy cows fed alfalfa. The present study was implemented to compare the performance of lactating cows fed alfalfa or perennial ryegras...

Factors Affecting Dry Matter Intake by Lactating Dairy Cows

Feed intake is the single most critical factor of dairy production, and performance of dairy cattle can be enhanced or hindered by environmental factors that affect it. These environmental factors can by divided into physical and climatic conditions. On modern dairies, the physical factors may be of more concern. Modern facilities provide the cow with protection from the natural elements. Howev...

Effect of molasses supplementation on the production of lactating dairy cows fed diets based on alfalfa and corn silage.

Adding sugar to the diet has been reported to improve production in dairy cows. In each of 2 trials, 48 lactating Holsteins (8 with ruminal cannulas) were fed covariate diets for 2 wk, blocked by days in milk into 12 groups of 4, and then randomly assigned to diets based on alfalfa silage containing 4 levels of dried molasses (trial 1) or liquid molasses (trial 2). In both studies, production d...