The objectives of this study were to evaluate lauric acid (LA) as a practical ruminal protozoa-suppressing agent and assess effects of protozoal suppression on fermentation patterns and milk production in dairy cows. In a pilot study, 6 lactating Holstein cows fi tted with ruminal cannulae were used in a randomized complete-block design trial. Cows were fed a basal total mixed ration (TMR) cont...

The objectives of this study were to evaluate lauric acid (LA) as a practical ruminal protozoa-suppressing agent and assess effects of protozoal suppression on fermentation patterns and milk production in dairy cows. In a pilot study, 6 lactating Holstein cows fitted with ruminal cannulae were used in a randomized complete-block design trial. Cows were fed a basal total mixed ration (TMR) conta...

One hundred twenty medium-frame crossbred steers (364 kg) were used in a 106-d feedlot trial to compare the feeding value of Condor, a hulless barley (HB), with Leduc, a conventional covered barley (CB). Dietary treatments consisted of a finishing diet containing 77% grain (DM basis) as 1) steam-flaked corn (SFC); 2) dry-rolled HB (DRB-H); 3) steam-flaked HB (SFB-H); 4) dry-rolled CB (DRB-C); a...

The objectives were to determine the optimum inclusion of NaOH necessary to buffer the acidity of dried distillers' grains with solubles (DDGS) and its effects on digestibility, ruminal metabolism, and metabolic acidosis in feedlot steers. Rumen cannulated Angus-crossed steers were blocked by BW (small: 555 ± 42 kg initial BW, = 4; large: 703 ± 85 kg initial BW, = 4) over four 21-d periods in a...

Cobalamin (CBL), the biologically active form of vitamin B12, and its analogs, are produced by bacteria only if cobalt supply is adequate. The analogs differ generally by the nucleotide moiety of the molecule. In CBL, 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole (5,6-DMB) is the base in the nucleotide moiety. The present study aimed to determine if a supplement of 5,6-DMB could increase utilization of dietary cob...

Data from recent research studies were analyzed quantitatively, and the random effect of experiment was assessed to define the physiological responses of dairy cows in early lactation to intake of physically effective neutral detergent fiber (peNDF). All studies were conducted with lactating Holstein cows (84.8 +/- 3.54 days in milk) in Latin square designs, and feeds were offered ad libitum as...

Forages help meet the protein requirements of ruminants by providing degraded CP for microbial protein synthesis plus protein that escapes ruminal degradation. Evidence from numerous feeding studies with lactating dairy cows indicates that excessive ruminal protein degradation may be the most limiting nutritional factor in higher-quality temperature legume forages. Hence, there is interest in i...

The objective of this experiment was to assess ruminal outflow and apparent total-tract digestibility using digesta samples from 3 sites (reticulum, omasum, and abomasum) and 3 marker methods (single marker: indigestible NDF [iNDF; sample without separation]; double marker: iNDF + Co-EDTA [filtered sample]; and triple marker: iNDF + ytterbium [Yb] acetate + Co-EDTA [filtered and centrifuged]) i...

Four ruminally and duodenally cannulated Suffolk wether lambs (34.5 +/- 2.0 kg initial BW) were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square-designed experiment to examine the effects of ruminal protein degradability and supplementation frequency on site and extent of digestion in lambs consuming a low-quality forage diet. Wethers were fed a basal diet of mature crested wheatgrass hay (4.2% CP) for ad libitum ...

The rumen microbial ecosystem is a complex system where rumen fermentation processes involve interactions among microorganisms. There are important relationships between diet and the ruminal bacterial composition. Thus, we investigated the ruminal fermentation characteristics and compared ruminal bacterial communities using tag amplicon pyrosequencing analysis in Yanbian yellow steers, which we...