Evaluation of the importance of the digestibility of neutral detergent fiber from forage: effects on dry matter intake and milk yield of dairy cows

• Grant number: 15/02435-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2015
• End date: July 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Luis Felipe Prada e Silva
• Grantee: Dannylo Oliveira de Sousa
• Supervisor: Michael S. Allen
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Michigan State University (MSU), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/15751-1 - Effect of altering fiber digestibility by time of harvest and by genotype on performance, intake, rumen kinetics and ecosystem of steers fed sugarcane silage, BP.DR

Abstract

An important management goal for high yielding dairy herds is the maximization of dry matter intake. Cows in early lactation tend to be in negative energy balance, and energy status affects health and reproductive performance as well as milk yield. Physical fill is considered to be one of the factors that regulates feed intake of dairy cows. Fibrous fractions of feeds have a greater effect on ruminal fill than do non-fiber fractions because fiber ferments slowly and is retained in the rumen longer, preventing voluntary feed intake. Enhanced fiber digestibility of forage is speculated to increase dry matter intake when the maximum dry matter intake is limited by ruminal fill. A faster disappearance of the fiber fraction from the rumen, because of an increased rate of digestion or passage, may reduce physical fill in the rumen allowing greater voluntary feed intake. The objectives of this project are to evaluate and quantify the effect of neutral detergent fiber digestibility on dry matter intake and milk yield of dairy cows based on the statistical analysis of treatment means reported in the literature. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ALLEN, M. S.; SOUSA, D. O.; VANDEHAAR, M. J.. Equation to predict feed intake response by lactating cows to factors related to the filling effect of rations. JOURNAL OF DAIRY SCIENCE, v. 102, n. 9, p. 7961-7969, SEP 2019. (15/02435-0)