Two digestion experiments and an in situ nylon bag experiment were conducted to determine the correlations between chemical composition, ruminal in situ degradation kinetics and OMI, and OM and CP digestibilities of diets in wethers fed forages of varying nutritive value without and with protein supplementation. Wethers were fed ground corn crop residues, oat-berseem clover or alfalfa hay in th...

ince the mechanical picker-sheller has come into widespread use for harvesting field corn, farmers generally are confronted with the problem of safe storage of highmoisture shelled corn. The moisture content of field-shelled corn is often too high for direct binning, and storing such grain in regular farm bins without first lowering the moisture level is almost certain to result in spoilage. Mo...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of sowing procedures and the seed sowing rate of kudzu (Pueraria phaseoloides cv. ‘Comum’) in corn on corn plant development, forage dry matter production, weed infestation and soybean plant development and yield. The kudzu seeds were either broadcasted over the terrain or sown in furrows (in the main plots) at rates, in both cases, of 400...

Treponema saccharophilum was isolated in the early decades and described as highly preferred to utilize pectin for growth. Typically, alfalfa hay contains 10–15% pectin as a component of the cell wall matrix, whereas grass or corn stover has pectin content less than 5%. The objective of this study was to develop a set of PCR primers targeting the 16S rRNA gene of T. saccharophilum and to assess...

Six abomasally cannulated Hereford steers (12 mo of age, 300 +/- 10 kg) grazing annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) paddocks were used in a replicated 3 x 3 Latin square design to determine effects of ruminal escape protein (EP) supplementation on forage intake, fiber digestion, and protein flow to the intestine. Steers were fed one of three isoenergetic supplements: high ruminal escape p...

Sorghum is a tropical grass grown primarily in semiarid and drier parts of the world, especially areas too dry for corn. Sorghum production also leaves about 58 million tons of by-products composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The low lignin content of some forage sorghums such as brown midrib makes them more digestible for ethanol production. Successful use of biomass for bi...

A study was conducted to investigate the response to supplemental tallow of lactating cows fed basal diets with different alfalfa silage:corn silage ratios. We postulated that supplemental tallow will have decreasing negative effects on rumen fermentation, dry matter intake (DMI), and milk fat percentage as the dietary ratio of alfalfa silage:corn silage is increased. Eighteen Holstein cows ave...

Current interest in amaranth as a food resource for humans and animals has been stimulated by activities in germplasm collection and testing in the U.S. Fifteen growing, intact male lambs weighing 18.7 kg were assigned randomly to three diets (five lambs/diet) for a 14-d growth trial followed immediately by an 8-d (4-d adjustment, 4-d collection) digestion and N balance trial to determine the u...

Grain feeding often causes a decrease in ruminal pH, and experiments were conducted to define the role of pH in regulating the acetate to propionate ratio and production of CH4. Cows that were fed 90% concentrate had lower ruminal pH values (6.22 vs. 6.86), higher VFA concentrations (85 vs. 68 mM), and lower acetate to propionate ratios (2.24 vs. 4.12) than did cows that were fed forage only. W...

Two experiments were conducted simultaneously to evaluate the effects of supplemental ground flaxseed on site and extent of digestion and growth performance in beef cattle grazing summer native range. Six Angus heifers (initial BW 367 +/- 8.0 kg) fitted with ruminal and duodenal cannulas were used in Exp. 1, and 18 Angus cross steers (initial BW 368 +/- 4.6 kg) were used in Exp. 2. Cattle from ...