| Early lactation feed intake and milk yield responses of dairy cows offered grass silages harvested at early maturity stages. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 22192210 Owner: NLM Status: In-Data-Review |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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The main objective was to evaluate the potential of grass silages of very high quality to support a high milk yield with a low or moderate, or even without concentrate supplementation. Production responses to increased levels of concentrate supplementation with 3 primary growth grass silages differing in digestibility were studied using 66 Norwegian Red dairy cows. Roundbale silage was produced from a timothy-dominated sward at very early (H1), early (H2), and normal (H3) stages of crop maturity. Crops were rapidly wilted (<24h) and a formic acid-based additive was applied. All silages were restrictedly fermented. Silage digestible organic matter in dry matter (DM) values were 747, 708, and 647g/kg of DM for H1, H2, and H3, respectively. Dietary treatments were fed in a 3×3 factorial arrangement of the 3 silages supplemented with 3 concentrate levels (4, 8, and 12kg/d) and, additionally, H1 was offered without concentrates and H3 with 16kg/d, giving a total of 11 diets. Cows, blocked according to parity and calving date, were introduced to the experiment before calving and kept in the experiment until wk 16 of lactation. Silage was offered ad libitum in loose housing and concentrate was available in automatic feed stations. Intake of grass silage when fed as the sole feed was 16.9kg of DM on average for lactation wk 1 to 16. When H1 was supplemented with 4 or 8kg of concentrates, silage DM intake did not change, but total DM intake increased to 20.6 and 23.7kg/d, respectively. Energy-corrected milk (ECM) yield increased from 23.4kg when H1 was offered without concentrate supplement to 29.1 and 32.8kg when supplemented with 4 or 8kg concentrate, respectively. None of the other diets equaled the yield obtained by H1 plus 8kg of concentrate. Feed intake and yield of cows offered H3 plus 4kg of concentrates were strongly constrained by high dietary fiber concentration. They consumed 16.5g of neutral detergent fiber/kg of body weight and spent more time eating silage than cows offered other diets. The highest concentrate level within each silage quality produced similar or lower ECM yield than that with 4kg less concentrates. The obtained milk yield responses suggest that provision of 8.0, 8.4, and 11.5kg of concentrates to H1, H2, and H3, respectively, would maximize ECM yield within each silage type. However, H1 may successfully be used with less concentrates, or even without, if future conditions should limit the amount of concentrates available for ruminant production. |
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Authors:
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A T Randby; M R Weisbjerg; P Nørgaard; B Heringstad |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Journal of dairy science Volume: 95 ISSN: 1525-3198 ISO Abbreviation: J. Dairy Sci. Publication Date: 2012 Jan |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2011-12-23 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 2985126R Medline TA: J Dairy Sci Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 304-17 Citation Subset: IM |
Copyright Information:
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Copyright © 2012 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
Affiliation:
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Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, N-1432 Ås, Norway. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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