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Effects of Corn Silage Processing and Amino Acid Supplementation on the Performance of Lactating Dairy Cows¹

Dairy and Swine Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lennoxville, Canada

Corresponding author: D. R. Ouellet; e-mail: ouelletd{at}agr.gc.ca.

This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of crop processing and amino acid supplementation on dairy cow performance. Corn silage processed (PCS) or unprocessed (UCS) was used as the main forage (45% of dry matter, DM) in a total mixed ration (TMR). Each TMR was either supplemented (AA) or not (AAO) with ruminally protected amino acids (lysine, 3 g/d and methionine, 14 g/d). Thirty-two (551 kg) Holstein cows were randomly assigned to four treatments: PCS-AA, PCS-AA0, UCS-AA, and UCS-AA0 in a 2 x 2 factorial structure. Between wk 7 and 17 of lactation, cows were fed ad libitum TMR comprising 45% of corn silage plus 1 kg of grass hay once a day. The UCS presented better fermentation characteristics than PCS. Dry matter intake (DMI) of the TMR was not affected by treatment and averaged 22.7 kg/d. Energy-corrected milk (ECM) production was 9% higher with UCS than with PCS (33.1 vs. 30.1 kg/d). Milk efficiency was therefore 6% higher with UCS than with PCS (1.43 vs. 1.35 kg ECM/kg of DMI). The concentration of major milk constituents (fat, protein, lactose, urea) was not affected by treatments. Apparent digestibility of DM, organic matter, N, starch, acid detergent fiber, and neutral detergent fiber were similar among treatments. The effective ruminal degradability of DM, starch, and protein, however, was greater with PCS than with UCS. Amino acid supplementation had no effect on milk production nor on milk constituents, whether it was used with processed corn silage or with unprocessed corn silage. These data indicate that feeding UCS resulted in a greater milk production compared with PCS. The numerically higher DMI, a potentially greater intestinal digestion of starch or the better conservation of UCS could have contributed to the greater milk production.

Key Words: corn silage • kernel processor • amino acids

Abbreviation key: AAO = no amino acid supplement, PCS = processed corn silage TMR, RPAA = ruminally protected amino acids, UCS = unprocessed corn silage TMR