Feed intake, milk production and feed conversion of dairy cows fed re-ensiled press cake from grass-clover silage compared to unprocessed grass-clover silage.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine the effects of replacing grass-clover silage (GCS) with re-ensiled press cake silage (PCS) in dairy cows' diets on feed intake, milk production, digestibility, and behavior.
Results Summary
Replacing GCS with PCS did not significantly affect energy-corrected milk production or feed conversion but improved crude protein and phosphorus utilization. Milk composition remained similar except for lower urea content in the PCS50 group.
Population
Six Holstein Friesian and nine Simmental cows (average 624 ± 68 kg body weight, 60 ± 20 days in milk).
Effective Dosage
Three TMR diets with varying PCS/GCS proportions: 0% PCS + 50% GCS (CON), 25% PCS + 25% GCS (PCS25), and 50% PCS + 0% GCS (PCS50).
Duration
Three experimental runs, each lasting 35 days (14-day adaptation, 21-day measurement).
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
including re-ensiled press cake silage (PCS) from grass-clover silage (GCS) in dairy cows' diet | increase | dry matter intake | dairy cows | - | was higher | #1 |
including re-ensiled press cake silage (PCS) from grass-clover silage (GCS) in dairy cows' diet | decrease | energy-corrected milk (ECM) production | dairy cows | - | was lowest | #2 |
including re-ensiled press cake silage (PCS) from grass-clover silage (GCS) in dairy cows' diet | no change | energy-corrected milk (ECM) production | dairy cows | - | did not differ significantly | #3 |
including re-ensiled press cake silage (PCS) from grass-clover silage (GCS) in dairy cows' diet | no change | milk composition | dairy cows | - | was similar | #4 |
including re-ensiled press cake silage (PCS) from grass-clover silage (GCS) in dairy cows' diet | decrease | milk urea content | dairy cows | - | was lower | #5 |
rising PCS inclusion in the diet | decrease | apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of crude protein | dairy cows | - | decreased | #6 |
rising PCS inclusion in the diet | decrease | ruminal nitrogen balance | dairy cows | - | decreased | #7 |
rising PCS inclusion in the diet | decrease | phosphorus intake | dairy cows | - | decreased | #8 |
rising PCS inclusion in the diet | decrease | phosphorus effort for production of 1 kg ECM | dairy cows | - | decreased | #9 |
replacing GCS by re-ensiled PCS in TMR-diets | no change | ECM production | dairy cows | - | did not affect | #10 |
replacing GCS by re-ensiled PCS in TMR-diets | no change | feed conversion | dairy cows | - | did not affect | #11 |
replacing GCS by re-ensiled PCS in TMR-diets | increase | utilisation of crude protein | dairy cows | - | increasing | #12 |
replacing GCS by re-ensiled PCS in TMR-diets | increase | utilisation of phosphorus | dairy cows | - | increasing | #13 |
Press cake silage (PCS) is a by-product of biorefining, which can substitute unprocessed grass or grass-clover silage (GCS) in ruminant feeding. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of including re-ensiled PCS from GCS in dairy cows' diet on feed intake, milk production and composition, feed conversion, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) as well as feed sorting and rumination behaviour compared to a control ration. Three total mixed rations (TMR) were tested in this experiment differing in PCS and GCS proportion in forage: 0% PCS and 50% GCS (CON), 25% PCS and 25% GCS (PCS25) and 50% PCS and 0% GCS (PCS50). The study was designed as a cross-over trial with six Holstein Friesian and nine Simmental cows (average 624 ± 68 kg body weight and 60 ± 20 days in milk at the start of the trial). The experiment consisted of three experimental runs, each lasting for 35 days with a 14 days adaptation phase and a 21 days measurement period. Diets were fed as TMR containing 37% grass silage, 26% concentrates and differing proportions of PCS or GCS depending on experimental group (37% GCS in CON, 18.5% PCS and 18.5% GCS in PCS25, 37% PCS in PCS50). Dry matter intake of dairy cows was higher in the PCS25 compared to the PCS50 group with both groups being not different from the CON treatment. Energy-corrected milk (ECM) production was lowest in the PCS50 group but did not differ significantly between treatments. Milk composition was also similar in all three treatments, except for milk urea content, which was lower in the PCS50 group. Moreover, ATTD of crude protein and ruminal nitrogen balance as well as phosphorus intake and the phosphorus effort for production of 1 kg ECM decreased with rising PCS inclusion in the diet. In contrast, no differences between treatments were found for dry matter, crude protein and energy effort for ECM production as well as for feed sorting and rumination behaviour. In conclusion, replacing GCS by re-ensiled PCS in TMR-diets did not affect ECM production and feed conversion of dairy cows while increasing the utilisation of crude protein and phosphorus. Therefore, re-ensiled PCS can substitute GCS in dairy cows' TMR-diets. However, the long-term effects of decreased phosphorus intake and ATTD of crude protein in cows fed PCS-rich diets should be examined in future studies.