Acidifying diets (either by addition of anionic salts or mineral acids) are commonly used in the United States to prevent milk fever in dairy cattle. The ability of different diets to cause acidification of the cow can be explained by dietary cation-anion difference (anion-cation balance, dietary electrolyte balance, strong ion difference). The DCAD of diets can be manipulated with relative eas...

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of balancing dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) levels, via added potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3), diets containing low or high levels L-Lys HCL on growth performance growing-finishing pigs. A total 1,944 pigs (PIC L337 × 1050; initially 77.6 ± 1.88 lb BW) were used in a 120-d study determine crystalline lysine and carcass characteristics f...

Reducing the dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) has been shown to be an effective means of preventing parturient paresis in confinement systems where cows are offered a total mixed ration containing DCAD-reducing mineral compounds (anionic salts). Such a supplementation strategy is not possible in cows being group fed forages precalving, and little is known about the effect of supplementing...

The use of negatively balanced cation-anion rations during the late dry or prepartum period requires excellent monitoring and management. The cows must be separated from the remaining herd and fed a total mixed ration as a group. Lower plasma calcium (Ca) will stimulate the Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and 1-hydroxylase system to increase intestinal absorption of Ca and bone resorption –reduce inc...

The influence of feeds containing varying dietary cation-anion differences (DCADs) with and without supplements of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) on urine pH and excretion of macro minerals was determined in fistulated crossbred steers (mean live weight 315 ± 45 kg). A basal forage diet comprising lucerne hay and wheat chaff was used, to which varying quantities of MgCl(2) or K(2)CO(3) were adde...