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Supplementing Fructose-Based Block Supplements To Forage-Fed Cattle Increases Capacity For Lactic Acid Metabolism, K.A. Miller, M.J. Quinn, James S. Drouillard

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Acidosis is one of the more important maladies afflicting cattle fed significant amounts of grain and has enormous economic impact for feedlots, dairies, and producers of seed stock. The highest incidence of acidosis occurs when animals are being transitioned from high-roughage diets to diets containing high levels of concentrates. When grain-based diets are consumed in excess, consumed too quickly, or fed without proper adaptation, digestive end products (organic acids) can accumulate within the rumen, resulting in acidosis. Lactic acid is one of the key organic compounds that accumulates under these conditions. Coupled with the animal's limited ability to metabolize lactate, …