Yield Response of Dairy Cows Fed Different Proportions of Alfalfa Silage and Corn Silage

¹ US Dairy Forage Research Center, USDA, Agricultural Research Service and Department of Dairy Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706

Forty-five multiparous and 29 primiparous cows were used in a complete lactation study to determine milk yield and the potential for improving N utilization by cows fed diets containing different proportions of alfalfa and corn silages. Cows were fed diets with a 50:50 forage to grain ratio. The forage portion of the diet was either all alfalfa silage, two-thirds alfalfa silage and one-third corn silage, or one-third alfalfa silage and two-thirds corn silage (dry matter basis). Treatment diets were fed to 6 ruminally cannulated cows to study dietary effects on ruminal fermentation. Diets were fed as a total mixed ration. Dry matter intake as a percentage of body weight was higher for cows fed the diet containing one-third corn silage. Mean 3.5% fat-corrected milk yield from wk 1 to 36 of lactation was 31.0, 32.9, and 31.8 kg/d for cows fed the alfalfa, one-third corn silage, and two-thirds corn silage treatment diets, respectively. For 305 d of lactation, milk yield for multiparous cows was 9593, 10,170, and 10,024 kg and for primiparous cows was 8124, 8412, and 8168 kg for cows consuming the alfalfa, one-third corn silage, and two-thirds corn silage treatment diets, respectively. Diets containing two-thirds corn silage decreased milk fat content of multiparous cows during early lactation. Ruminal NH₃ concentration was lower and N excretion in the environment was reduced by 6 to 15% with the diets containing corn silage. Results suggested that corn silage should constitute one-third to two-thirds of dietary forage dry matter when fed with alfalfa silage to derive maximal benefit.

Key Words: alfalfa silage • corn silage • rumen • milk

Submitted on April 15, 1996
Accepted on April 8, 1977

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