Dairy Science Commons^™

The Evaluation Of Feed Additives On Reducing Enteric Methane Production From Cattle, Reba L. Colin

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Environmental sustainability can be positively impacted by the inclusion of feed additives to reduce enteric methane production from cattle. Methane production can be affected by feed additives that either alter the rumen environment or act as methanogenesis inhibitors. A reduction in methane from cattle can contribute to meeting carbon neutrality.

A metabolism study was conducted to evaluate Alga 1.0, a product containing bromoform, fed to cattle to evaluate the effects on gas emissions. Treatments were (0, 69, or 103 g/d Alga 1.0) fed in a corn-based diet. Headbox-style indirect calorimeters were used to measure gas emissions. Feeding Alga 1.0 linearly …

Factors Affecting Forage Quality And The Subsequent Response In Production And Energy Metabolism In Lactating Jersey Cows, Kassidy Kate Buse

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Forage quality is the potential of a forage to produce a production response in animals. Because of how essential they are in dairy cattle rations, forages can have major influence on the behavior and production of dairy cattle. In experiment 1, the effect of forage fragility on the rumen environment and digestibility was evaluated. Increasing the inclusion of a less fragile forage led to greater rumen retention time, which resulted in lower rumen pH and greater NDF digestibility. Experiment 2 evaluated the effects of diets high in either corn silage or alfalfa haylage supplemented with either corn- or soybased protein …

Symptoms And Causes Of Foamy Bloat In Cattle, Zachary Christman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The bovine stomach normally produces gases such as ammonia, carbon dioxide and methane. However when these gases become trapped in the bovine stomach because of a thick, frothy or foamy liquid it is called bloat. Cattle bloat is a very old condition and goes by many names but is primarily trapped gas within the bovine stomach. Readily digested feedstuff such as highly processed grain diets or an overabundance of fresh immature alfalfa often leads to a vast amount of small particles and carbohydrates in the rumen; this is the major cause of foamy bloat. Severe bloat causes death by suffocation …

Effect Of Brown Midrib Corn Silage And Dried Distillers Grains Plus Solubles On Lactational Performance And Nitrogen Utilization By Dairy Cows, Hugo A. Ramirez

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Thirty six Holstein cows, four ruminally cannulated, (mean ± SD, 111 ± 35 DIM; 664 ± 76.5 kg BW) were used in replicated 4×4 Latin squares to investigate the effects of brown midrib (bm3) and conventional (DP) corn silages, and the inclusion of dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS) on milk production and N utilization. In each 28 d period cows were assigned to one of four treatments: DP plus 0% DDGS (CON); bm3 plus 0% DDGS (BMR); DP corn silage plus 30% DDGS (DP+DG); and bm3 plus 30% DDGS (BMR+DG). Dry matter intake was greater (P < 0.01) for cows consuming bm3 (25.8 VS 24.4 ± 0.47 kg), likewise for DDGS (24.3 and 25.9 ± 0.47 kg/d for 0 and 30%). Compared to DP hybrid, NDFD was higher (P < 0.01) for bm3 (32.5 VS 38.1 ± 1.79%). There was a hybrid × DDGS interaction (P < 0.01) for total concentration of volatile fatty acids (VFA) and rumen pH as the highly digestible treatment BMR+DG resulted in the highest VFA and the lowest pH. Milk yield was not affected by treatment and averaged 30.6 ± 1.09 kg/d. Milk protein yield (MPY) was greater (P < 0.01) for bm3 and DDGS treatments. There was a hybrid by DDGS interaction (P = 0.02) for milk fat yield (MFY) resulting in 1.03, 1.08, 0.84 and 0.78 ± 0.045 kg/d for DP, BMR, DP+DG and BMR+DG. Fat corrected milk (FCM) was affected by DDGS (P < 0.01) and averaged 30.0 and 26.4 ± 1.0kg/d (0% and 30% inclusions). Urinary N excretion was similar among treatments; however fecal N was lower (P = 0.03) for diets containing bm3 corn silage which caused lower (P = 0.02) manure N. These results indicate that bm3 corn silage and DDGS increase DMI, NDFD and MPY; however high inclusion of corn silage with 30% DDGS reduces FCM. Nitrogen excretion was reduced when cows consumed bm3.