Life Sciences Commons^™

Can A “Zero Land Use” Diet Maintain Milk Production Of Dairy Cows?, C. S. Takiya, C. M. Ylioja, A. Bennett, M. Davidson, B. J. Bradford

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Dairy cows can convert feeds unsuitable and unpalatable for humans into milk and play a key role in food security. Feed efficiency is usually calculated as the ratio between nutrients secreted in milk and nutrient intake, but this metric does not address concerns about human/livestock feed competition. This study aimed to evaluate whether cows fed a “zero land use” diet (diet that does not affect land used for production of human food), with or without rumen-protected amino acids, can maintain milk compared to a conventional lactation diet. Twelve second-lactation dairy cows were used in a 3×3 Latin square design experiment …