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Influence of plane of nutrition and diet composition on rumen fermentation and energy utilization by dairy cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

J. D. Sutton ,
W. H. Broster ,
E. Schuller ,
D. J. Napper ,
Valerie J. Broster  and
J. A. Bines
J. D. Sutton
Affiliation:
National Institute for Research in Dairying, Shinfield, Reading*
W. H. Broster
Affiliation:
National Institute for Research in Dairying, Shinfield, Reading*
E. Schuller
Affiliation:
National Institute for Research in Dairying, Shinfield, Reading*
D. J. Napper
Affiliation:
National Institute for Research in Dairying, Shinfield, Reading*
Valerie J. Broster
Affiliation:
National Institute for Research in Dairying, Shinfield, Reading*
J. A. Bines
Affiliation:
National Institute for Research in Dairying, Shinfield, Reading*
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Summary

Mean digestible energy (DE) intakes of 147 cows of three parities receiving three levels of DE including one ad libitum (about 2·2, 2·6 and 3·3 multiples of maintenance (MM)) drawn from three mixed diets containing hay and 60, 75 or 90% compound were calculated.

Rumen samples were taken from three-quarters of the cows at monthly intervals throughout the experiment. Molar proportions of volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the rumen were not affected by stage of lactation over the 36 weeks of the experiment. The proportion of acetic acid decreased and that of propionic acid increased with greater intakes and with higher proportions of compound in the diet. The proportion of n-butyric acid was little affected by level of intake but decreased with increasing proportions of compound. In young, non-lactating cattle given the same diets but at lower levels of intake, VFA proportions were unaffected by diet composition at intakes of about 0·7 MM but at intakes of about 1·3 MM the proportion of acetate decreased and that of propionate increased when the proportion of compound was increased from 75 to 90%.

The efficiency of milk energy production in relation to DE or metabolizable energy (ME) above maintenance decreased with increasing level of intake but was little affected by the proportion of compound. Partition towards live weight increased with level of intake in early lactation but not in late lactation. It also increased with higher proportions of compound in mid and late lactation but not in early lactation.

Estimates of the ME requirement for live-weight change (LWC) were in reasonable agreement with recently published standards in early lactation when live weight was decreasing, but later in lactation when live-weight gain was occurring, a much higher value was calculated which is difficult to reconcile with these standards.

Rumen VFA proportions were related to dietary fibre concentration and level of intake additively. The relationship to VFA proportions was close for milk fat concentration, but less so for energy partition towards live weight and none was apparent for the efficiency of ME utilization for milk energy production. It is suggested that both the reduction in milk fat concentration and the increase in milk yield in response to reductions in the fibre content of diets may be independently related to the increase in the proportion of propionate in the rumen VFA.

It is concluded that further progress in studies of the dietary factors affecting the efficiency of milk production will require measurements of nutrient uptake from the digestive tract and description of milk production and LWC in terms of their chemical composition rather than energy alone.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 110 , Issue 2 , April 1988 , pp. 261 - 270
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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