HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Huffman, C. F. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Huffman, C. F.

A Modern Dairy Cattle Feeding Program

High-level Grain Feeding for Dairy Cows

Department of Dairy Michigan State University, East Lansing

ABSTRACT

Our interest in the more liberal grain feeding of good cows was prompted by the field observations of Donald Hillman of the MSU Dairy Department, noting that many inherently high milk producing cows were underfed on energy. This is the case, despite the fact that the revolution in corn production, due to the use of hybrid corn and better fertilizer and cultural practices, has made possible cheaper sources of nutrients than roughages on many farms.

Lassiter (22) has calculated the relative yields and cost of TDN in some common feed stuffs, as shown in Table 1.

A part of the failure to feed sufficient grain was due to insufficient grain consumption in the milking parlor. Also, many dairymen are reluctant to feed high levels of grain because of the belief that such a practice aggravates mastitis and udder edema and tends to produce off-feed. They are also concerned about the possibility of feeding more grain than is profitable, because of the belief in the law of diminishing returns which applies to poor producers.