Department of Animal Sciences and Industry, Kansas State University, Manhattan 66506.
Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan 66506.
J Dairy Sci. 2018 Jul;101(7):5984-5990. doi: 10.3168/jds.2017-14118. Epub 2018 Apr 19.
Groundwater depletion is one of the most pressing issues facing the dairy industry in arid regions. One strategy to improve the industry's drought resilience involves feeding drought-tolerant forage crops in place of traditional forage crops such as alfalfa and corn silage. The objective of this study was to assess the productivity of lactating dairy cows fed diets with teff hay (Eragrostis tef) as the sole forage. Teff is a warm-season annual grass native to Ethiopia that is well adapted to drought conditions. Nine multiparous Holstein cows (185 ± 31 d in milk; mean ± standard deviation) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 diets in a 3 × 3 Latin square design with 18-d periods (14 d acclimation and 4 d sampling). Diets were either control, where dietary forage consisted of a combination of corn silage, alfalfa hay, and native grass hay, or 1 of 2 teff diets (teff-A and teff-B), where teff hay [13.97 ± 0.32% crude protein, dry matter (DM) basis] was the sole forage. All 3 diets were formulated for similar DM, crude protein, and nonfiber carbohydrate concentrations. Control and teff-A were matched for concentrations of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) from forage (18.2 ± 0.15% of DM), and teff-B included slightly less, providing 16.6% NDF from forage. Dry matter intake, milk and component production, body weight, body condition score, as well as DM and NDF digestibility were monitored and assessed using mixed model analysis, with significance declared at P < 0.05. Treatment had no effect on dry matter intake (28.1 ± 0.75 kg/d). Similarly, treatment had no effect on milk production (40.7 ± 1.8 kg/d). Concentrations of milk fat (3.90 ± 0.16%) and lactose (4.68 ± 0.07%) were also unaffected by treatment. Teff-A and teff-B increased milk protein concentration compared with the control (3.07 vs. 3.16 ± 0.09%). Treatment had no effect on energy-corrected milk yield (43.4 ± 1.3 kg/d), body weight, or body condition score change. Additionally, treatment had no effect on total-tract DM or NDF digestibility. Results from this study indicate that teff hay has potential to replace alfalfa and corn silage in the diets of lactating dairy cattle without loss of productivity.
地下水枯竭是干旱地区奶业面临的最紧迫问题之一。提高奶业抗旱能力的策略之一是用耐旱饲料作物替代传统的饲料作物，如紫花苜蓿和青贮玉米。本研究的目的是评估以埃塞俄比亚特产的一年生暖季草——苔麸干草为唯一饲料时泌乳奶牛的生产性能。苔麸耐旱性强，适应性好。9 头经产荷斯坦奶牛（泌乳 185 ± 31 天；均值 ± 标准差）随机分为 3 种日粮的 3×3 拉丁方设计，试验期 18 天（14 天适应期和 4 天采样期）。日粮分为对照日粮（日粮中的饲料由青贮玉米、紫花苜蓿干草和本地牧草干草组成）和 2 种苔麸日粮（苔麸 A 和苔麸 B）之一，其中苔麸干草[13.97 ± 0.32%粗蛋白，干物质（DM）基础]为唯一饲料。所有 3 种日粮的 DM、粗蛋白和非纤维碳水化合物浓度都相似。对照日粮和苔麸 A 的饲草料中性洗涤纤维（NDF）浓度相当（DM 的 18.2 ± 0.15%），而苔麸 B 的饲草料 NDF 浓度略低，为 16.6%。干物质采食量、产奶量和组成、体重、体况评分以及 DM 和 NDF 消化率采用混合模型分析进行监测和评估，显著水平为 P<0.05。处理对干物质采食量（28.1 ± 0.75kg/d）没有影响。同样，处理对产奶量（40.7 ± 1.8kg/d）也没有影响。乳脂（3.90 ± 0.16%）和乳糖（4.68 ± 0.07%）浓度也不受处理的影响。与对照相比，苔麸 A 和苔麸 B 提高了牛奶蛋白浓度（3.07 比 3.16 ± 0.09%）。处理对校正奶能产量（43.4 ± 1.3kg/d）、体重或体况评分变化没有影响。此外，处理对全肠道 DM 和 NDF 消化率也没有影响。本研究结果表明，苔麸干草有可能在不降低生产性能的情况下替代泌乳奶牛日粮中的紫花苜蓿和青贮玉米。
