Managing the high-producing herd. III. Producing high quality milk

Progress in the dairy industry over the past 30 yr can be defined as a movement toward fewer farms, more cows per farm, fewer total cows, more milk per cow, a gradual decline in total annual milk production from 1950 through 1975 followed by a sharp increase through 1985, a decrease in per capita consumption, and an increase in milk quality

Managing the high-production herd. V. challenges of the 90\u27s

The decade of the 1980s was a transition period for the Dairy Industry in the United States. The decade began with a large milk surplus and low prices and ended with milk shortages and record high prices. The dairy industry experienced drastic governmental action through the milk set-aside and whole herd buy-out programs instituted to reduce the milk surplus and the establishment of the National Dairy Board accompanied by a check-off program to fund advertising and research. The decade ended with a butter surplus and moves by marketing agencies to lower or drop premiums for fat and install premiums for milk protein or solids-not-fat.; Dairy Day, 1990, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 1990; The 1990 Annual KSU Dairy Day is known as Dairy Day, 199

Performance of lactating cows fed procressed grain sorghum and expeller soybean meal

Forty-four Holstein cows were used to measure milk production responses to dryrolled vs processed grain sorghum and expeller vs solvent soybean meal (SBM) in a 2×2 factorial arrangement of four treatments. Processing of grain sorghum decreased feed intake 5%, but increased milk by 3%, protein by 4%, and efficiency by 7%, with fat being unaffected. Replacement of solvent SBM with expeller SBM had little effect on intake, but increased milk by 3%, fat by 5%, and efficiency by 4%, with protein being unaffected. The processing of grain sorghum seems to be a valuable method to improve its nutritive value for lactating cows. Total milk and fat yield, but not protein yield, were increased in response to feeding expeller SBM in the place of solvent SBM

Sorghum grain for lactating dairy cows

The 1990 Annual KSU Dairy Day is known as Dairy Day, 1990Holstein cows in early lactation were utilized to evaluate the effects of supplementing concentrate diets of sorghum grain on milk production, milk composition, somatic cell count, and body condition. At 21 d postpartum, cows were randomly assigned to receive four concentrate diets consisting of 1) corn, 2) sorghum, 3) sorghum plus 1 lb tallow, and 4) sorghum plus wheat in a 70:30 ratio. All concentrates were combined with chopped alfalfa hay in a total mixed diet and fed twice daily. Treatments included a 7-day preliminary period and a 16-week experimental period. Cows fed the sorghum plus tallow diet produced 14% more milk than cows fed either corn or sorghum alone and 10% more than cows fed the 70:30 sorghum plus wheat diet. Milk fat was unaffected by diet, although cows receiving the sorghum plus wheat diet tended to produce milk with less fat (3.3% vs 3.5% for the other diets). Body weight and body condition tended to be higher for cows fed the sorghum plus wheat combination. The addition of tallow or wheat to grain sorghumbased diets appears to improve its value for high-producing cows

The effects of rbST (POSILAC®) on heat stressed, lactating, dairy cows

Two hundred cows located on a commercial dairy in Mesquite, NM were used to evaluate response to rbST (POSILAC®) during heat stress in the summer of 1996. Cows were paired by days in milk (average = 153 d at initiation of experiment), parity, and milk yield (average = 92 lb at start of experiment). Prior to initiation of the experiment, all cows received rbST, then rbST treatment was discontinued for one cow from each pair. Milk production was monitored for 4 months. No interactions were detected between lactation number and treatment. Cows maintained on rbST gained .09 of a score (1 to 5scale) less (P\u3c.05) body condition but produced more (P\u3c.05) milk in June, July, August, and September. The average milk productions for rbST-maintained vs rbST-discontinued cows were 80.7 vs 73.5 lb/d in June, 80.1 vs 74.6 lb/d in July, 72.6 vs 67.1 lb/d in August, and 65.1 vs 59.2 lb/d in September. Although rbST-discontinued cows had greater declines in production discontinued cows had greater declines in production persistency was similar between groups during the final 3 months. Under conditions of heat stress, cows maintained on rbST produced 6.2 lb/d more milk than cows for which treatment with rbST was discontinued.; Dairy Day, 1997, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 1997

Evaluation of water oxygenation on milk production: milk composition and somatic cell concentration in milk

The 1989 Annual KSU Dairy Day is known as Dairy Day, 1989Forty Holstein cows in mid-lactation were utilized to evaluate the effects of water oxygenation on milk production, milk composition, and somatic cell count. Cows were fed a total mixed ration consisting of 25% alfalfa, 25% corn silage, and 50% corn-soy concentrate on a dry matter basis. Treatments included a 7-day preliminary period followed by two 28-day periods in which the treatments were reversed. Water consumption, milk production, milk composition, and somatic cell count were not different between treatments. Cows receiving oxygenated water were more docile and easily managed than control cows. Ozone introduced into water forms hydrogen peroxide, nitrous oxide, and increases the redox potential of the water

Diet digestibility and rumen traits in response to feeding wed corn gluten feed and a pellet consisting of raw soybean hulls and corn steep liquor

Four ruminally cannulated and two intact multiparous Holstein cows were used in a 3 x 3 replicated Latin square design to evaluate digestibility and rumen traits in lactating dairy cows in response to feeding wet corn gluten feed and a novel product containing raw soybean hulls and corn steep liquor. Three dietary treatments were fed in the experiment. The control contained (DM basis) 30% alfalfa hay, 15% corn silage, 32% corn, 9.3% whole cottonseed, 4.4% solvent soybean meal (SBM), 3.3% expeller SBM, 1.3% fish meal, 1% wet molasses, and 3.7% vitamins/ minerals. Wet corn gluten feed replaced 10% alfalfa hay, 5% corn silage, 5% corn grain, and expeller SBM replaced solvent SBM to maintain diet rumen undegradable protein. The novel product replaced 10% alfalfa hay, 5% corn silage, 3% solvent SBM, and 2% corn. Diets were analyzed to have dietary crude protein percentage and energy density values (Mcal/lb, NEL) of 18.7, 0.75; 18.7, 0.77; 18.7, 0.74; for control, wet corn gluten feed, and the novel product, respectively. Experimental periods were 14 days (10 days adaptation and 4 days collection). Acid insoluble ash was used to estimate fecal output. Dry matter intake averaged 37.9 lb/day and total tract digestibilities of dry matter (DM), organic matter, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and crude protein did not differ among diets: 71.7%, 73.2%, 63.1%, 58.5% and 73.0%, respectively. Diets affected liquid dilution rate, ruminal pH, and ruminal concentrations of total volatile fatty acids and ammonia similarly. The molar ratio of acetate to propionate was greater (P\u3c0.05) for control (3.38) than for wet corn gluten feed (2.79) and the novel product (2.89). Inclusion of wet corn gluten feed and the novel product at 20% of dietary DM as a partial replacement for alfalfa hay, corn silage, corn grain, and SBM in diets fed to lactating dairy cattle supported lactational performance similar to the control diet. Additionally, combining wet corn gluten feed or the novel product with corn silage and alfalfa hay maintained milk fat yields and ruminal pH, thereby demonstrating that wet corn gluten feed and the novel product can serve as an effective source of fiber when fed at 20% of dietary DM. These results indicate that wet corn gluten feed and the novel product tested can serve as alternative feedstuffs in lactating dairy cattle diets.; Dairy Day, 2002, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 2002

Performance of mid-lactating dairy cows fed a grain sorghum-soybean silage base diet

Whole-plant silage from intercropped grain sorghum and Williams 82 soybean was compared to corn silage in a mixed diet for mid-lactation dairy cows. Cows fed the grain sorghum-soybean silage yielded 45.13 lb and those fed corn silage yielded 44.05 lb of fat (4%)-corrected milk daily. Milk yield, milk fat, and milk lactose percentages were similar between cows fed the two silages. Protein and solids non-fat percentages for the cows fed the corn silage diet were .09 and .06 units greater than those of cows fed the grain sorghum silage. Cows fed the corn silage tended to gain more (+105.8 lb) than those fed the grain sorghum-soybean silage (+95.2 lb). We conclude that, if the cost for producing intercropped grain sorghum and soybean silage (ton/acre) is at least similar to that of producing corn silage, the intercropped grain sorghum and soybean silage can be substituted for corn silage in a mid-lactation dairy cow diet