Performance of lactating dairy cows fed either alfalfa silage or alfalfa hay as the sole forage.

Performance of lactating dairy cows fed macerated forage conserved as silage and hay

Suwarno, Wittenberg, K. M., Ingalls, J. R. and McCaughey, W. P. 2000. Performance of lactating dairy cows fed macerated forage conserved as silage and hay. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 80: 123–129. The effect of forage maceration at harvest on silage characteristics and its effect on lactation performance of Holstein cows were determined. Either a roller conditioner or a prototype forage macerator manufa...

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

Dried distillers grains plus solubles with corn silage or alfalfa hay as the primary forage source in dairy cow diets.

Nine multiparous (250 +/- 6 d in milk) and 3 primiparous (204 +/- 6 d in milk) Holstein cows were utilized in a 3 x 3 Latin square design to evaluate the lactation performance of cows fed a diet containing dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS) with either corn silage or alfalfa hay as forage. Cows were fed total mixed diets containing corn silage (CS), 50% corn silage and 50% alfalfa hay...

Alfalfa Silage Versus Red Clover Silage or a Mixture of Alfalfa and Red Clover Silage as the Sole Forage for Lactating Dairy Cows

Introduction The large proportion of CP in alfalfa silage (AS) that is present as NPN substantially reduces the efficiency of protein utilization by lactating dairy cows (Nagel and Broderick, 1992). Red clover silage (RCS) typically has a much lower content of NPN than AS (Albrecht and Muck, 1991). In a previous feeding study (Broderick and Sterrenburg, 1996 USDFRC Res. Sum.), we found that DMI...

Corn silage versus corn silage:alfalfa hay mixtures for dairy cows: effects of dietary potassium, calcium, and cation-anion difference.

Corn silage (CS) has replaced alfalfa hay (AH) and haylage as the major forage fed to lactating dairy cows, yet many dairy producers believe that inclusion of small amounts of alfalfa hay or haylage improves feed intake and milk production. Alfalfa contains greater concentrations of K and Ca than corn silage and has an inherently higher dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD). Supplemental dieta...