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Corn Silage with and without Grass Hay for Lactating Dairy Cows^1,2,

Department of Animal Sciences, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, Durham 03824

ABSTRACT

A study with 88 lactations covering 4 harvest yr determined long-term effects of feeding liberal concentrate plus ad libitum corn silage, alone and with grass hay at two rates, on production, forage intake, and herd health in dairy cows. Approximately 30 Holstein cows were assigned to three forage treatments (0, .5, or 1.0 kg hay per 100 kg body weight daily) for the entire trial. Corn silage was fed ad libitum, except during the dry period, and concentrate was offered according to maintenance, growth, and production requirements.

Solids-corrected milk yield was highest for cows receiving hay at .5% of body weight. Milk fat percentage was higher when the diet contained hay than when corn silage was the sole forage. Intake of dry matter from forage was positively related to proportion of hay in the diet, and total intake of dry matter from feed was higher when the ration included hay. Incidence of mastitis and services per conception were lower in cows fed corn silage as the sole forage. Displaced abomasum was not encountered during the experiment.

Heavy feeding of corn silage will support high milk production adequately without endangering herd health under conditions where care is taken to avoid overconditioning in late lactation and during the dry period. However, there is an advantage in forage dry matter intake and milk fat percentage when some haycrop is in the ration.

¹ Published with the approval of the Director of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station as Scientific Contribution 649.

² Research was partially supported by grants from Agway Inc., Syracuse, New York, and Charles H. Hood Dairy Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts. Assistance of H. Reardon, herds man, is gratefully acknowledged.

³ Present address: Department of Dairy Science, University of Maryland, College Park 20742.

⁴ Present address: Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Maine, Orono 04473.