A preliminary study on milk yield, composition and economic profitability of alfalfa pellets and long ryegrass fibre (Kit N°10) in a total mixed ratio in lactating dairy cows

Abstract

This study was developed to improve the qualitative and quantitative performance of milk production of dairy cows. The aim of this work is to evaluate the impact of feeding Kit N°10 based on alfalfa pellets and long ryegrass fibre produced by "La Romana Farine srl" on the milk yield and milk composition in dairy cows. Kit N°10 was administered thrice daily to six multiparous Holstein-Friesian cows assigned to two treatments including control and staple feed Kit N°10. Feeding the Kit N°10 as basic ration improved animal performance by increasing significantly (p<0.05) the daily milk production (52.31%), the protein content (6.17%) and the lactose content (6.35%). Obtained results suggest that using Kit N°10 could be a valuable cost-effective alternative to improve and balance the protein and energy intake of animals. Further, an economic analysis was carried out to calculate the costs of milk production, gross production value gross margin, absolute profit, and relative profit of dairy cattle farms. A single product budget analysis method was used for calculating production costs. The analysis shows that the cost of feeding without Kit N° 10 was unprofitable; with a loss of 932 TND/Dairy Cow. However, the milk production cost of feeding with Kit N° 10 generates a positive result of around 2434 TND/Dairy Cow. The results showed some evidence to prove a specific effect of Kit N°10 on economic profitability and on animal performance.