milk performance (protein and fat content) and milk fatty acids (fa) profile of dairy cows under supplementation with two sources of concentrate, oilseeds (c, cottonseed) at two levels, low (5kg dm/cow/day) and high (7 kg dm/cow/day), and cereal grains (b, barley) at high rate (7 kg dm/cow/day), were studied in three herds (n=36) of spring calving holstein-friesian dairy cows (200 days in milk)...

Intercropping improves land-use efficiency under conditions of limited land and resources, but no information is currently available pertaining to silage quality based on whole-plant utilization. Therefore, a two-year field experiment was conducted with the following conditions: three maize–soybean strip intercropping patterns (SIPs), comprising two maize rows along two, three, or four soybean ...

The effects of storage period and aerobic deterioration on the bacterial community were examined in Italian ryegrass (IR), guinea grass (GG), and whole-crop maize (WM) silages. Direct-cut forages were stored in a laboratory silo for 3, 7, 14, 28, 56, and 120 d without any additives; live counts, content of fermentation products, and characteristics of the bacterial community were determined. 2,...

Phyto-oestrogens are believed to have a range of beneficial effects on predominant Western diseases. A few studies on phyto-oestrogens in milk exist and show that the composition can be affected by feeding. Therefore, the aim was to study how feeding of lucerne and grass/clover silages (GCSs) affects the concentration of phyto-oestrogens in bovine milk. Sixteen Danish Holstein cows were assigne...

This paper describes analysis by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) and demonstrates the capacity of this technology to provide rapid, low cost and accurate estimates of feed composition. The need for an extensive database against which the instruments is calibrated and the importance of good wet chemistry backup to NIRS are emphasised, together with some of the diverse uses for NIRS...

Monitoring of nitrate (NO(3)(-)) and nitrite (NO(2)(-)) content in agricultural products in Slovenia has been carried out since 1996. The results of monitoring over the period 1996-2002 are presented. During this time 924 samples of 14 different agricultural products (potato, lettuce, apples, carrot, silage maize, cabbage, grapes, peaches, string beans, cereals, pears, cucumbers, strawberries a...

The potential to modify the milk fatty acid (FA) composition by changing the cow or goat diets is reviewed. Ruminal biohydrogenation (RBH), combined with mammary lipogenic and D-9 desaturation pathways, considerably modifies the profile of dietary FA and thus milk composition. The pasture has major effects by decreasing saturated FA and increasing FA considered as favorable for human health (c9...

The nutritional image of bovine milk fat has suffered for years because of the association of saturated fatty acids and coronary heart disease. Thus the alteration of fatty acid composition has been a long-term strategy. Forages, even though containing a relatively low level of lipids, are the cheapest and often the major source of beneficial unsaturated fatty acids in ruminant diets. Recent pr...