Forage crops are the staple ingredients of dietary rations fed to ruminant animals. They provide the animal with a large source of dietary fiber, critical for normal functioning of the rumen and its associated microenvironment (Driehuis and Oude Elferink, 2000). The preservation of forage crops into a fermented feedstuff known as silage has been an important practice in agriculture, especially ...

19-33 ABSTRACT The objective of the research was to compare finishing beef steers on high corn (Zea mays L.) silage diets in which the corn was produced under conventional and sustainable systems. The conventional corn forage was produced on a given area for 5 yr, using conventional practices, alternating with 5 yr of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) The sustainable system corn forage was produced ...

The effects of an increasing proportion of crushed linseed (CL) in combination with varying forage type (grass or corn silage) and forage to concentrate ratio (F:C), and their interactions on milk fatty acid (FA) profile of high-producing dairy cows was studied using a 3-factor Box-Behnken design. Sixteen Holstein and 20 Swedish Red cows were blocked according to breed, parity, and milk yield, ...

A study was conducted to investigate the response to supplemental tallow of lactating cows fed basal diets with different alfalfa silage:corn silage ratios. We postulated that supplemental tallow will have decreasing negative effects on rumen fermentation, dry matter intake (DMI), and milk fat percentage as the dietary ratio of alfalfa silage:corn silage is increased. Eighteen Holstein cows ave...

approved: Redacted for Privacy Dr. James 15 Oldfield Chemical and biological evaluations were conducted to provide chemical composition and digestibility information, in addition to yield data, for silage corn varieties produced on poorly drained Dayton soil series. Each variety was subjected to a Kjeldahl nitrogen, acid detergent fiber, acid detergent lignin, cell wall, and residual ash test. ...

Total mixed rations containing conventional forage sorghum, brown midrib (bmr)-6 forage sorghum, bmr-18 forage sorghum, or corn silage were fed to Holstein dairy cows to determine the effect on lactation, ruminal fermentation, and total tract nutrient digestion. Sixteen multiparous cows (4 ruminally fistulated; 124 d in milk) were assigned to 1 of 4 diets in a replicated Latin square design wit...

The amount of manure produced on dairy farms can affect the financial bottom line. Labor, equipment, and facilities are needed to move and store manure, all of which have a cost. Increased output of manure can represent losses in potentially digestible nutrients (increased feed costs). Lastly, the environmental impact of dairy farming is strongly related with the quantity and composition of man...

On 3 consecutive cuttings, alfalfa from a single field was mowed with a John Deere 946 mower-conditioner (4-m cut width; Moline, IL) to leave narrow swaths (NS) ranging from 1.2 to 1.52 m wide (30-37% of cutter bar width) and wide swaths (WS) ranging from 2.44 to 2.74 m wide (62-67% of cutter bar width). Samples were collected from windrows and dry matter (DM) was monitored during wilting until...