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Full-Text Articles in Dairy Science

Improving Feed Efficiency Through Forage Strategies For Increasing Dairy Profitability And Sustainability, Jon Patrick Pretz Jan 2016

Improving Feed Efficiency Through Forage Strategies For Increasing Dairy Profitability And Sustainability, Jon Patrick Pretz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Three studies were conducted to determine production parameters and study specific hypothesis in regard to improving feed efficiency through various forage utilization strategies with or without the inclusion of various supplemented products. The first study evaluated the supplementation of a cobalt-lactate product and its effects on fiber digestibility and milk production parameters when fed to cows consuming a 70% forage diet. Treatments included: 1) CONTROL diet containing 12.5 mg/cow/d of cobalt (carbonate carbonate) and 2) TEST diet being the same basal diet but including an additional 50 mg/cow/d of cobalt via a 1% Co-lactate product (Co-Max®). In a feeding trial …


Effect Of Direct-Fed Microbials And Enzyme Supplementation In Prepartum Holstein Cows On Colostrum And Calf Immunity, Erin M. Shangraw Jan 2016

Effect Of Direct-Fed Microbials And Enzyme Supplementation In Prepartum Holstein Cows On Colostrum And Calf Immunity, Erin M. Shangraw

Honors Theses and Capstones

In cows, colostrum is composed of several antibodies and nutrients to provide immunity and energy to the calf. Feeding calves high quality colostrum has been shown to improve calf health, leading to reduced mortality in calves and greater milk production in cows. The addition of direct-fed microbials (DFM) to cow diets has been theorized to improve feed efficiency and milk production, with studies showing mixed results. However, few experiments have studied the effect of feeding DFM on colostrum quality. In this experiment two treatments were given, 1) DFM and 2) DFM and enzymes (DFME). Colostrum was …