Effects of a high-protein corn product compared with soy and canola protein sources on nutrient digestibility and production responses in mid-lactation dairy cows

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to assess the effects of a novel and proprietary high-protein corn product [56% crude protein (CP)] relative to other common sources of protein on the lactation performance of dairy cows. Twenty-four Holstein cows (620 ± 47.7 kg of body weight, 111 ± 34 d in milk, 2.28 ± 0.46 lactations; mean ± standard deviation) were randomly assigned to treatment sequence in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design balanced for carryover effects. Cows were individually fed 1 of 4 diets with a different protein concentrate source during each 28-d period, including soybean meal (SBM), high-protein corn product (HPCP), soybean meal with rumen-bypass soy protein (SBMBP), and canola meal with rumen-bypass soy protein (CANBP). Diets were formulated for equal concentrations of CP and balanced to meet predicted lysine and methionine requirements. The SBM diet was formulated to provide 5.7% rumen-undegradable protein (RUP), whereas SBMBP and CANBP diets were formulated for 6.8% RUP to match HPCP. Data were analyzed using mixed models with the fixed effects of treatment, period, square, the interactions of treatment and period and of treatment and square, and the random effect of cow. The CANBP diet increased dry matter intake (DMI) compared with SBM and HPCP. Treatment affected milk yield, as SBMBP and CANBP increased yield compared with SBM, but HPCP decreased milk yield compared with all treatments. The HPCP diet reduced CP intake as a percent of total DMI and increased the CP content of orts, indicative of selection against HPCP. The HPCP diet also decreased apparent total-tract and CP digestibility, leading to less urine nitrogen excretion and greater fecal nitrogen output. The SBMBP and CANBP diets performed similarly in nearly every variable measured, except that SBMBP increased milk urea nitrogen. In conclusion, the HPCP diet reduced yield of milk and milk components, likely because of reduced apparent total-tract dry matter and CP digestibility.

Effects of corn distillers grains with yeast bodies and manipulation of dietary cation and anion difference on production, nutrient digestibility, and gas emissions from manure in lactating cows

“…major difference, estimated DE intake was lower (67 vs. 72 Mcal/d) for the DDG diets than for CON, suggesting that the lower digestibility of OM and NDF led to lower DE, which potentially limited milk yield. Decreases in DM, OM, or NDF digestibility were previously observed for some diets containing DDG (Benchaar et al, 2013;Foth et al, 2015;Morris et al, 2018b;Brown and Bradford, 2020) but not in others (Kelzer et al, 2009;Ramirez-Ramirez et al, 2016). Greater contents of dietary PUFA for the DDG diets versus CON could be a factor explaining the lower digestibility (Beauchemin et al, 2007).…”

“…Decreases in DM, OM, and NDF digestibility were also observed when DDG was included in a ration (Benchaar et al, 2013;Morris et al, 2018b;Brown and Bradford, 2020), which might be another factor causing decreases in milk and milk fat yield. Yeast is commonly fed as a feed additive, and supplemental yeast may improve the ruminal environment such as pH (Marden et al, 2008;Vyas et al, 2014), potentially increasing nutrient digestibility (Ferraretto et al, 2012) and reducing alternative biohydrogenation (Jenkins and Harvatine, 2014).…”

Ensuring a sustainable milk production system with rational use of feed

“…When assessing the effect of feeds with a high degree of protection, an increase in the consumption of dry matter, a reduced excretion of nitrogen with urine and a greater output of nitrogen with feces, and a decrease in nitrogen urea in milk were found [8,9].…”