Effect of chemical drying agents on alfalfa hay and milk production response when fed to dairy cows in early lactation.
Third-cutting alfalfa hay cut at bud stage was treated with a drying agent consisting of potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, and citric acid at the rate of 280.6 L/ha (1 kg/37.47 L water) to alternate swaths 4.27-m wide. Hay samples were taken at cutting and at 4-h intervals during daylight until baling was initiated. Twenty lactating Holstein cows were randomly assigned to untreated and treated alfalfa hay treatments in a switch-back design. Individual feed intakes and milk yields were recorded daily. Milk composition was analyzed once weekly. Drying rates were: .40 and .48% moisture/h for control and Na2-K2CO3-citrate treatments, respectively. There was no significant difference between treatments in feed composition parameters nor in vitro DM digestibility parameters. Cows fed the hay treated with Na2-K2CO3-citrate had a higher mean daily milk yield, adjusted for feed intake, compared with cows fed untreated hay (33.0 versus 32.5 kg/d). There were no significant differences in milk composition between treatments.
Oellermann
S O
SO
Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan 84322-4815.
Arambel
M J
MJ
Walters
J L
JL
D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D002254:Carbonates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002417:Cattle / Q000502:physiology*; D002951:Citrates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019343:Citric Acid; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation / Q000502:physiology*; D000455:Medicago sativa; D011188:Potassium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011247:Pregnancy
D002254:Carbonates; D002951:Citrates; D019343:Citric Acid; C005686:sodium carbonate; C037593:potassium carbonate; D011188:Potassium