Lactational Performance of Early-Lactation Dairy Cows Fed Forages Produced by Two Different Crop Production Programs
Early-lactation high-producing dairy cows require highly digestible forages. Thirty early-lactation (58 days in milk; 38.9 kg/d milk) cows were blocked and randomly assigned to one of two treatments. The treatments were the control (<b>CON</b>), consisting of corn silage and alfalfa hayl...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| author | David P. Casper Jon P. Pretz Cliff Ramsier |
| author_facet | David P. Casper Jon P. Pretz Cliff Ramsier |
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| description | Early-lactation high-producing dairy cows require highly digestible forages. Thirty early-lactation (58 days in milk; 38.9 kg/d milk) cows were blocked and randomly assigned to one of two treatments. The treatments were the control (<b>CON</b>), consisting of corn silage and alfalfa haylage produced via university crop production practices, versus supplementing soil and crop additives (<b>SCA</b>) during crop production. Milk production (32.6 and 36.9 kg/d for CON and SCA, respectively) increased (<i>p</i> < 0.04) when cows were fed SCA forages compared with cows fed CON forages, while the dry matter intakes were similar (<i>p</i> < 0.46). The yields of milk fat were similar (<i>p</i> > 0.26), but the milk protein (0.98 and 1.09 kg/d), lactose (1.62 and 1.88 kg/d), and total solids (3.77 and 4.25 kg/d) contents were greater (<i>p</i> < 0.05) for cows fed SCA compared with cows fed CON. The total-tract apparent neutral detergent fiber (48.5 and 54.7%) and acid detergent fiber (48.3 and 54.4%) digestibility increased (<i>p</i> < 0.03), while the starch digestibility (97.9 and 98.4%) tended (<i>p</i> < 0.06) to increase for cows fed SCA compared with cows fed CON. Feeding highly digestible forages during early lactation improved milk production, milk composition, and fiber digestibility in a high-forage ration. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-aa3dff50e3af4befa9d00b016050f3df |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-aa3dff50e3af4befa9d00b016050f3df2025-08-20T03:50:21ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-06-011513183610.3390/ani15131836Lactational Performance of Early-Lactation Dairy Cows Fed Forages Produced by Two Different Crop Production ProgramsDavid P. Casper0Jon P. Pretz1Cliff Ramsier2Casper’s Calf Ranch, 4890 West Lily Creek Road, Freeport, IL 61032, USAHubbard Feeds, 111 West Cherry St. Suite 500, Mankato, MN 56001, USAAg Spectrum, 428 E 11th St., DeWitt, IA 52742, USAEarly-lactation high-producing dairy cows require highly digestible forages. Thirty early-lactation (58 days in milk; 38.9 kg/d milk) cows were blocked and randomly assigned to one of two treatments. The treatments were the control (<b>CON</b>), consisting of corn silage and alfalfa haylage produced via university crop production practices, versus supplementing soil and crop additives (<b>SCA</b>) during crop production. Milk production (32.6 and 36.9 kg/d for CON and SCA, respectively) increased (<i>p</i> < 0.04) when cows were fed SCA forages compared with cows fed CON forages, while the dry matter intakes were similar (<i>p</i> < 0.46). The yields of milk fat were similar (<i>p</i> > 0.26), but the milk protein (0.98 and 1.09 kg/d), lactose (1.62 and 1.88 kg/d), and total solids (3.77 and 4.25 kg/d) contents were greater (<i>p</i> < 0.05) for cows fed SCA compared with cows fed CON. The total-tract apparent neutral detergent fiber (48.5 and 54.7%) and acid detergent fiber (48.3 and 54.4%) digestibility increased (<i>p</i> < 0.03), while the starch digestibility (97.9 and 98.4%) tended (<i>p</i> < 0.06) to increase for cows fed SCA compared with cows fed CON. Feeding highly digestible forages during early lactation improved milk production, milk composition, and fiber digestibility in a high-forage ration.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/13/1836forage digestibilityforage qualityhigh-forage rationlactating dairy cows |
| spellingShingle | David P. Casper Jon P. Pretz Cliff Ramsier Lactational Performance of Early-Lactation Dairy Cows Fed Forages Produced by Two Different Crop Production Programs Animals forage digestibility forage quality high-forage ration lactating dairy cows |
| title | Lactational Performance of Early-Lactation Dairy Cows Fed Forages Produced by Two Different Crop Production Programs |
| title_full | Lactational Performance of Early-Lactation Dairy Cows Fed Forages Produced by Two Different Crop Production Programs |
| title_fullStr | Lactational Performance of Early-Lactation Dairy Cows Fed Forages Produced by Two Different Crop Production Programs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lactational Performance of Early-Lactation Dairy Cows Fed Forages Produced by Two Different Crop Production Programs |
| title_short | Lactational Performance of Early-Lactation Dairy Cows Fed Forages Produced by Two Different Crop Production Programs |
| title_sort | lactational performance of early lactation dairy cows fed forages produced by two different crop production programs |
| topic | forage digestibility forage quality high-forage ration lactating dairy cows |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/13/1836 |
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