SILAGE MANAGEMENT
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Selko | Dairy Performance

SILAGE MANAGEMENT

Preserving the nutritional value of the dairy ration with Selko TMR for dairy cows

Key take aways from this article

  • Microbial growth as a result of heating of a TMR for dairy cattle can reduce both the palatability and the feeding value of a dairy ration
  • Including Selko TMR for dairy cows in a dairy ration resuted in an increase of milk production in dairy cattle of 1.4 kg of milk per day

Adding Selko TMR to the ration increases milk production of dairy cows

Fresh total mixed ration for dairy cows contains yeasts, moulds and bacteria. Growth of these micro-organisms in a TMR for dairy cows leads to heating and fermentation, which reduces both the palatability and the feeding value of a ration for dairy cattle. On a warm summer day, losses of 5% of dry matter in a TMR for cows as a result of heating of cattle silages are not uncommon.

Selko TMR for dairy cattle is a blend of organic acids that reduces the growth of yeasts, moulds and bacteria in dairy feed. As a result of the reduction in growth of micro-organisms in the dairy ration, increases in temperature of TMR are delayed by at least 6 hours. Purpose of the current trial was to test the impact of feeding Selko TMR on milk production of dairy cows.

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Join Dr. E. Kebreab on our next webinar, Friday May 26 2023: "Effective strategies to reduce the carbon footprint of dairy cattle"
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"Cattle feed composition is a promising way to reduce methane gas emissions"

Watch the recordings of Dr. E. Kebreab's webinar and learn how to reduce methane emissions and reduce the carbon footprint of dairy cattle. Learn why he endorses IntelliBond as a methane reducing feed additive.
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Trial with Selko TMR in dairy cattle, material and methods

The cattle study with TMR was carried out on the Kempenshof dairy research centre in the Netherlands. A total of 120 lactating dairy cows were included in the trial. Out of these 120 cows, 8 were fistulated. Cows were blocked based on parity and lactation stage. After an adaptation period of 1 week, both groups of 60 dairy cows each were fed the same diet based on a mixture of grass silage and corn silage, mixed into a TMR. Both groups of dairy cows were fed once a day for a total trial period of 6 weeks. Selko TMR for dairy cattle was added to the TMR of one of the 2 groups at 2 kg per ton of TMR. Compound feed was fed according to a standard lactational curve based on DIM.

Environmental temperature and humidity were monitored. Milk productionof dairy cows including milk solids was recorded weekly and the volatile fatty acid profile of rumen fluid was also measured weekly in the 8 fistulated cows.

Figure 1: Temperature Heat Index measured during a trial with Selko TMR in a herd of dairy cows. The THI oin the dairy herd was above 72 degrees Celcius regularly which suggests dairy cows included in the study were suffering from cow heat stress.

Results, environmental conditions

Heat stress in dairy cattle was present during the study. Average daily temperatures were between 20 and 30 °C during most days of the study. The Temperature Heat Index (THI) during the study is presented in Figure 1. The THI was above 72 regularly, which suggests that the animals included in the study were suffering from heat stress in dairy cattle.

Feed efficiency of dairy cows is a key driver of dairy farm profitability

Feeding IntelliBond trace minerals improves digestibility of fibre in the diet, enabling cows to produce more milk out of the same amount of feed.

Learn more about how Selko IntelliBond helps to improve fibre digestibility to optimize performance
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Increase your milk production by improving fibre digestibility

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Controls Selko TMR Δ P-value
Adaptation 36.2 kg. 36.6 kg. 0.3 kg. 0.52
Week 1 36.0 kg. 36.6 kg. 0.6 kg. 0.29
Week 2 34.7 kg. 34.8 kg. 0.1 kg. 0.88
Week 3 33.5 kg. 34.2 kg. 0.7 kg. 0.39
Week 4 33.4 kg. 34.0 kg. 0.6 kg. 0.48
Week 5 31.9 kg. 33.6 kg. 1.7 kg. 0.07
Week 6 31.0 kg. 32.5 kg. 1.5 kg. 0.20

Table 1: Average daily milk production of dairy cattle fed a dairy ration including Selko TMR for cows compared to control cattle fed the same dairy ration without Selko TMR.

Trial with Selko TMR in dairy cows, results

Feed intake of cows did not differ significantly between the 2 groups of dairy cows at any time during the study. There was a minor but insignificant increase in propionate levels in the rumen of dairy cows included in the study at some time points. Milk production data of cows included in the study are presented in Table 1. At the beginning of the study, there was a small but insignificant difference of 0.3 kg of milk production per day between the 2 groups of dairy cattle. This difference in milk production between the groups of cows increased towards the end of the study, with the cows fed Selko TMR for dairy rumionants producing 1.7 kg more milk compared to the controls. Milk fat yield or milk protein yield of dairy cows did not differ between the two groups of cows.

Trial with Selko TMR in dairy cows, conclusion

Microbial growth in a total mixed ration of dairy cows can have two negative effects. Firstly, microbes use energy for growth, leading to a loss of feeding value of the dairy ration. Secondly, the palatability of a dairy ration can be reduced as a result of production of butyrate and other fermentation products. This can result in a reduced feed intake of dairy cows. Feed intake of cows was not reduced in this study, but dairy cows fed a total mixed ration with Selko TMR included produced more milk compared to the controls. Towards the end of the trial, there was a difference in cow milk production of 1.7 kg per day. This increase of milk production is most likely related to a higher feed value of the total mixed ration treated with Selko TMR for dairy.

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You can access all of our documentation about Selko protocols, sustainable dairy farming and latest research insights.

Selko-TMR is a blend of organic acids reducing growth of yeasts, moulds, Enterobacteriaceae and Salmonella in silage of dairy cows. The reduction in growth of micro-organisms delays increases in temperature of the TMR for at least 6 hours, Silages treated with Selko-TMR maintain their feeding value and palatabilty, resulting in a higher intake of dry matter.

Download the product brochure to learn how Selko-TMR helps to preserve the value of your feed.

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