Defining Effective Fiber and Fiber Recommendations for Dairy Cows

Introduction Current NRC recommendations for dairy cattle provide only minimum recommendations for chemically measured fiber. However, physical characteristics of fiber can influence animal health, ruminal fermentation, animal metabolism, and milk fat production independently of the amount of chemically measured fiber. Using ground fibrous by-product feeds or finely chopped forages in rations that contain adequate amounts of fiber often results in reduced animal performance. This indicates that the effectiveness of fiber in maintaining animal health and productivity varies with its physical form.