I arrived at UC Davis in October 1979, back in the Stone Ages. I can still remember my first UC Davis Dairy Cattle Day presentation (1980) in 194 Chemistry. I presented data from my Ph.D. research on forage quality at Penn State. In my research project the main forage was corn silage along with about three pounds of long alfalfa hay per cow daily. After my talk, a dairy producer came up to intr...

Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of indigestible neutral detergent fiber (iNDF) of ration for estimation of rumen degradability of fiber in sheep. In experiment 1, to determine feed iNDF, four ruminal fistulated Zel ewes were used. Three grams of alfalfa hay, corn silage, barley grain, wheat bran, ration 1 (including alfalfa hay and concentrate), and ration 2 (including ...

The effect of 14 microbial inoculants on the fermentation and nutritive value of alfalfa silages was studied under laboratory conditions. The first cut (477 g of dry matter/kg) and second cut (393 g of dry matter/kg) of a second-year alfalfa stand were ensiled in 2 trials. In both trials alfalfa was harvested with standard field equipment. All inoculants were applied at 1.0 x 10(6) cfu/g of cro...

This study aimed to investigate the impact of storage time on bacterial community and fermentation profile silage prepared with alfalfa, whole-plant corn, their mixture. Fresh alfalfa corn were chopped combined in fresh weight ratios 1:0 (alfalfa, control), 0.8:0.2 (M1), 0.6:0.4 (M2), 0:1 (corn). Three silos each treatment analyzed after 30, 60, 90 d storage. With time, pH, acetic acid, propion...

A 4-yr study was conducted to determine the effects of two grazing methods (GM) at two stocking rates (SR) on alfalfa pasture plant productivity and animal performance and to ascertain the effect of grazing systems on subsequent performance of steers fed a high-concentrate diet. Eight pasture plots (.76 ha) were seeded in 1988 with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. var. WL225) and divided into two bl...

We evaluated the effects of cellulase (from Trichoderma longibrachiatum) application rates on neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentration and fermentation products of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) silages harvested with decreasing dry matter (DM) digestibility. Additionally, the impacts of inoculant (Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus cerevisiae), pe...

Four ruminally cannulated and two intact multiparous Holstein cows were used in a 3 × 3 replicated Latin square design to evaluate digestibility and rumen traits in lactating dairy cows in response to feeding wet corn gluten feed and a novel product containing raw soybean hulls and corn steep liquor. Three dietary treatments were fed in the experiment. The control contained (DM basis) 30% alfal...

the objectives were to investigate the effects of addition of alfalfa hay as an absorbent on fermentationquality and effluent production of corn silage. three levels of corn forage with dry matter (dm) contentsof 18.3, 21.7 and 25.5 percent were supplemented with 0, 5, 10, and 20 percent alfalfa hay, on as fedbasis, and ensiled in three replicates in polyvinyl chloride mini-silos in a completel...

We evaluated the effect of wet corn gluten feed and a novel product containing raw soybean hulls and corn steep liquor on performance in lactating dairy cows. Forty-six multiparous Holstein cows were used in a randomized incomplete block design. Cows were housed in tie stalls for the first 13 weeks of lactation and moved to group pens for the remainder of the study. Cows were blocked by calving...

First-growth orchardgrass and alfalfa were harvested at two stages of maturity, treated with formic acid plus formaldehyde, and ensiled as direct-cut silage during 1978 and 1979. The 1978 silages were fed to eight yearling Holstein heifers (average BW 273 kg), and the 1979 silages were fed to eight yearling Holstein steers (average BW 264 kg) in replicated 4 x 4 Latin square experiments to meas...