Nitrogen balance, microbial protein production, and milk production in dairy cows fed fodder beets and potatoes, or barley.

Fourteen multiparous midlactation dairy cows were used in a change-over experiment with 3 periods and 3 diets to evaluate the effects of fodder beets and potatoes on N metabolism, microbial protein production, and milk production. A basal ration of alfalfa/grass silage offered ad libitum, 1 kg of grass hay and 1 kg of heat-treated rapeseed cake was supplemented with 5 kg DM of either rolled barley/raw potatoes 80:20 (BAP), fodder beets/raw potatoes 80:20 (BEP) or rolled barley (BA). Urine and feces were collected quantitatively from 8 cows and ruminal samplings, and evacuations were performed on 4 cannulated cows. Intake and production did not differ between BAP and BA, but the BEP diet lowered intake of both silage and total ration by 0.9 kg DM. Daily yield of energy-corrected milk (ECM) was decreased by 1.7 and 2.3 kg compared with BAP and BA, respectively. Milk urea concentration was 1 mM lower with the BEP diet. The proportion of feed N recovered in milk was 20 to 21% for all diets. With the BEP diet, urinary N amount and proportion were reduced correspondingly to the lower total N intake. Fecal N amount remained unchanged, and hence nitrogen apparent digestibility decreased by 5 percentage units with the BEP diet. Microbial protein production, assessed by allantoin excretion, tended to be highest with the BAP diet. Acetate proportion of VFA was lowered by the BEP diet, while proportions of propionate and butyrate both tended to increase. Different fermentation patterns, probably related to differences in rumen microbiota, could explain why changes in energetic efficiency and milk composition reported in the literature did not occur in the actual experiment when roots replaced barley. Compared with barley, roots appeared to have a greater negative effect on silage intake in conjunction with a prewilted silage with high intake potential allowed ad libitum and this decreased milk production by a magnitude corresponding to the lower intake of ME.

Effects of feeding intensity during the dry period. 1. Feed intake, body weight, and milk production.

The objective of this experiment was to study dry matter intake (DMI), body condition, milk yield, and milk composition in cows with different body condition at the time of parturition. Twenty four multiparous cows with genetic merit for high or low milk fat content were assigned to one of three diets during the dry period. The treatments consisted of 6, 9, or 14.5 kg dry matter of a total mixed ration providing 71, 106, or 177 MJ/d of metabolizable energy and are referred to as low (L), medium (M), and high (H) dry period rations, respectively. These diets were introduced when the cows were dried off from the previous lactation, at least 8 wk before expected parturition. After parturition all cows were fed another total mixed ration ad libitum. The dietary treatments generated differences between the groups in body weight as well as in body condition score at parturition. There were no differences in DMI in early lactation, but during wk 6 to 12 DMI was lower among H cows, which was linked to a prolonged negative energy balance in this group. The milk yield was 38.5 +/- 0.8 kg of energy-corrected milk the first 4 wk postpartum and did not differ between treatments or selection lines. Body weight loss mainly occurred in lactation wk 1 to 4 and was greatest in H cows. The mobilization of body tissues was reflected in a higher milk fat content of C18:0 for the H cows during wk 1 to 4. There were no marked effects of treatments on milk fat content or milk protein content, which indicates that cows in early lactation have a potential to compensate for low nutrient intake during the dry period if they are offered a high-quality diet. The observed differences between treatments in DMI wk 6 to 12 could not be explained by differences in milk yield or mobilization of body tissues. Milk fat content was 4.7% in cows with genetic merit for high milk fat content and 4.2% in cows with genetic merit for low milk fat content. There was a tendency for higher body weight in cows with genetic merit for low milk fat content throughout the experiment.