Effect of organic grass-clover silage on fiber digestion in dairy cows

Naadland, Sondre Stokke; Steinshamn, Håvard; Krizsan, S.J.; Randby, Å. T.

doi:10.1017/s1751731116002421

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Intercrop silages, such as grass-clover silage, are very common and effective in organic dairy farming from both soil and animal nutrition perspectives, allowing high biomass yields, favorable ensiling properties, and balanced nutritive value, compared with single-crop silage (Alstrup et al, 2016). Intercrop silage has been shown to be effective for maintaining rumen function (Naadland et al, 2017) and production performance (Dewhurst et al, 2003) of dairy cows. Coupled with grass hay, the diet becomes more palatable, and the long particle size contributes to physical effectiveness necessary for normal rumen function (Schulze et al,…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of fecal fermentation profile and bacterial community in organically fed dairy cows consuming forage-rich diets with different particle sizes

Castillo‐Lopez

Haselmann

Petri

et al. 2020

Journal of Dairy Science

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Organic cattle farming encourages the use of foragerich diets, and the reduction of particle size has been suggested as an approach to improve forage utilization and enhance nutrient intake of cows. However, reducing forage particle size increases passage rate, as well as the flow of potentially fermentable nutrients out of the rumen, and the consequences for hindgut fermentation have not been evaluated yet. This study evaluated the effects of decreasing dietary forage particle size on the fecal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) profile and the bacterial community structure of dairy cows fed foragebased rations. Twenty-one organically fed lactating Holstein cows (4 primiparous and 17 multiparous; mean and standard deviation 703 ± 65 kg body weight, 135 ± 104 days in milk) were divided into 2 groups and fed 1 of 2 diets for 34 d. Diets contained 20% concentrate and 80% forage (dry matter basis), and were fed either as a control with a forage geometric mean particle size of 52 mm (CON; 11 cows) or as a diet with the forage particle size reduced to a geometric mean size of 7 mm (RED; 10 cows). Fecal samples were collected at the end of the experiment, and samples were immediately frozen at −20°C. Samples were analyzed for SCFA, and the fecal bacterial community was evaluated using 16S rRNA sequencing. Data showed that the concentration of total SCFA was not affected by treatment, but the proportion of propionate, a key glucogenic precursor in cattle, tended to be greater for RED (13.3 and 13.8 ± 0.1%, respectively). The predominant bacterial phyla, including Firmicutes (58.0 ± 0.7%), Bacteroidetes (26.9 ± 0.4%), and Verrucomicrobia (4.0 ± 0.4%), were not affected by forage particle size. Family Lachnospiraceae increased in relative abundance when the RED diet was fed (12.1 and 13.9 ± 0.5% for CON and RED, respectively), and genera Acetitomaculum (1.1 and 1.8 ± 0.2%), Turicibacter (0.7 and 0.9 ± 0.1%), and Ruminobacter (0.1 and 0.4 ± 0.1%) increased in relative abundance when RED was fed. In addition, relative abundance of some fecal bacterial taxa was correlated with major fecal SCFA and pH. Reducing the particle size of forages, from 52 to 7 mm geometric mean particle size, maintained fecal concentration of total SCFA and tended to enhance propionate concentration, without risk of dysbiosis. Thus, results suggest that reduction of forage particle size represents an effective approach to optimizing forage utilization while maintaining hindgut fermentation and fecal bacterial diversity in dairy cows fed forage-rich diets.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of fecal fermentation profile and bacterial community in organically fed dairy cows consuming forage-rich diets with different particle sizes

Castillo‐Lopez

Haselmann

Petri

et al. 2020

Journal of Dairy Science

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Importance of Feedstock in a Small-Scale Agricultural Biogas Plant

2022

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Although no legal sustainability criteria have been formulated for electricity and heat production from biogas, the sustainability and profitability of large-scale biogas plants which use mainly energy crops is now questioned. Small (farm-size) biogas plants characterized by CHP electrical output in the range between 15 kWel and 99 kWel, operating on agricultural wastes and by-products, seem more suitable; however, the variety of feedstock may be crucial in the proper design and operation of such family biogas plants. This paper aims to present the problems that occurred in small agricultural biogas plants fed with sheep manure (SM), horse manure (HM), and grass-clover silage (GCS). This paper also focuses on analyzing the energy balance and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions related to four technological solutions (Scenarios 1–4) based on various feedstocks, grinding and feeding systems, and wet/dry fermentation. The biogas plant was originally based on dry fermentation with an organic loading rate ~10.4 kgVS·m−3·d−1, a hydraulic retention time of 16 days, and temperature of 45 °C in the fermentation chamber. The material was shredded and mixed in a mixing device, then the mixture of manures and silage was introduced to the horizontal fermentation chamber through a system of screw feeders. The biogas and the digestate were collected in a reinforced concrete tank. The biogas was sent to the CHP unit of an installed electrical power of 37 kWel, used to produce electricity and recover the heat generated in this process. Scenario 1 is based on the design assumptions used for the biogas plant construction and start-up phase. Scenario 2 includes a new feeding and grinding system, in Scenario 3 the feedstock is limited to SM and HM and wet fermentation is introduced. In Scenario 4, a dry fermentation of SM, HM, and maize silage (MS) is assumed. Avoided CO2 emissions through electricity and heat production from biogas were the highest in the case of Scenarios 1 and 4 (262,764 kg CO2·y−1 and 240,992 kg CO2·y−1) due to high biogas production, and were the lowest in Scenario 3 (7,481,977 kg CO2·y−1) because of the low specific methane yield (SMY) of SM and HM. Nevertheless, in all scenarios, except Scenario 3, CO2 emissions from feedstock preparation and biogas plant operation are much lower than that which can be avoided by replacing the fossil fuel energy for the electricity and heat produced from biogas. Our observations show that a small agricultural biogas plant can be an effective energy source, and can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions only if the appropriate technological assumptions are adopted, and the entire installation is designed correctly.

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Effect of organic grass-clover silage on fiber digestion in dairy cows

Cited by 2 publications

References 31 publications

Evaluation of fecal fermentation profile and bacterial community in organically fed dairy cows consuming forage-rich diets with different particle sizes

Evaluation of fecal fermentation profile and bacterial community in organically fed dairy cows consuming forage-rich diets with different particle sizes

Importance of Feedstock in a Small-Scale Agricultural Biogas Plant

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