OBJECTIVE To assess the potency of calcium propionate (CAP) used as silage additive, an experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of CAP on the nitrogen transformation, fermentation quality and aerobic stability of alfalfa silages. METHODS Alfalfa was ensiled with four levels of CAP (5, 10, 15, and 20 g/kg of fresh weight [FW]) in laboratory silos for 30 days. After opening, the silag...

Corn hybrids for silage vary in yield and several quality traits that affect farm profitability, which is the prime criterion on which hybrids should be ranked. The partial budget approach is the only way to rank corn hybrids for silage for individual farms according to their effects on farm profits. Partial budgets consider only those costs and returns that change in response to the corn hybri...

From preliminary studies of the feeding value for mediumwool Merino wethers of various samples of sorghum silage, the following points emerge : 1. Mature silage, in addition to being moderately unpalatable, had a low level of digestible protein, a variable digestible crude fibre and a high mineral content. In spite of the latter, most sheep had negative mineral balances. A feature of the ash co...

and Implications Because treatment with calcium oxide (CaO) will increase the digestibility of corn stover, CaO-treated corn stover may be a cost-effective alternative to a portion of corn grain in beef feedlot diets. Single-pass harvested corn stover was ensiled either untreated or treated with 5% CaO on a dry matter (DM) basis. Ground baled stover, untreated stover silage, or CaO-treated stov...

The effects of adding yeast culture (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, 5 x 10(9) live organisms/g of growth medium) at 10 g/steer daily to three diets consisting of 75% alfalfa silage and 25% barley, 96% corn silage and 4.0% soybean meal, or 75% dry-rolled barley and 25% alfalfa hay on performance of growing and finishing steers and carcass characteristics, feed digestibility, and degradability in the ...

1. Two experiments were conducted to study the digestion of nitrogenous constituents in the rumen, small intestine and caecum and colon of sheep given diets of grass silage or grass silage and barley. Three silages were used. One was made from first-harvest grass in the spring and the other from regrowth grass cut in either early autumn or late autumn. All were of perennial ryegrass (Lolium pe...

In order to test the hypothesis that negative feedback signals from abdominal receptors are integrated in an additive manner in the control of voluntary food intake, cows with rumen fistulas were given intraruminal infusions of sodium acetate or sodium propionate, or both, with or without distension of the rumen by balloon. Intakes were monitored during the 3 h experimental period and for 2 h a...

This experiment aimed to quantify the methane emissions and intake, digestibility, performance, and carcass characteristics of finishing beef cattle offered maize (Zea mays) silages harvested at 1 of 4 sequential stages of maturity and to relate these values to those obtained from animals offered an ad libitum concentrate-based diet. Sixty continental crossbred steers with a mean initial BW of ...

Rumen characteristics and digestive kinetics of brown midrib corn silage were evaluated with five late-lactation (221 DIM +/- 20 d) multiparous cows fitted with ruminal and duodenal cannula. Dietary treatments were applied by using a single reversal design with two 21-d periods where either brown midrib (BM3) or isogenic (ISO) corn silage were included in a total mixed ration formulated to be 4...

Crab waste preserved with .2% NaOCl was mixed with wheat straw, liquid molasses, and water (32:32:16:20, wet basis) and ensiled for a minimum of 8 wk with microbial inoculant. A reduction in pH and water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) and a higher concentration of lactic acid (4.9%, DM basis) were achieved. The trimethylamine (TMA) concentration in the silage was 11.2 mg N/100 g. In a digestion tr...