Inclusion of calcium hydroxide-treated corn stover as a partial forage replacement in diets for lactating dairy cows

Abstract

Chemical treatment may improve the nutritional value of corn crop residues, commonly referred to as corn stover, and the potential use of this feed resource for ruminants, including lactating dairy cows. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of prestorage chopping, hydration, and treatment of corn stover with Ca(OH) on the feeding value for milk production, milk composition, and dry matter intake (DMI). Multiparous mid-lactation Holstein cows (n = 30) were stratified by parity and milk production and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 diets. Corn stover was chopped, hydrated, and treated with 6% Ca(OH) (as-fed basis) and stored in horizontal silo bags. Cows received a control (CON) total mixed ration (TMR) or a TMR in which a mixture of treated corn stover and distillers grains replaced either alfalfa haylage (AHsub) or alfalfa haylage and an additional portion of corn silage (AH+CSsub). Treated corn stover was fed in a TMR at 0, 15, and 30% of the diet DM for the CON, AHsub, and AH+CSsub diets, respectively. Cows were individually fed in tiestalls for 10 wk. Milk production was not altered by treatment. Compared with the CON diet, DMI was reduced when the AHsub diet was fed and tended to be reduced when cows were fed the AH+CSsub diet (25.9, 22.7, and 23.1 ± 0.88 kg/d for CON, AHsub, and AH+CSsub diets, respectively). Energy-corrected milk production per unit of DMI (kg/kg) tended to increase with treated corn stover feeding. Milk composition, energy-corrected milk production, and energy-corrected milk per unit of DMI (kg/kg) were not different among treatments for the 10-wk feeding period. Cows fed the AHsub and AH+CSsub diets had consistent DMI over the 10-wk treatment period, whereas DMI for cows fed the CON diet increased slightly over time. Milk production was not affected by the duration of feeding. These data indicate that corn stover processing, prestorage hydration, and treatment with calcium hydroxide can serve as an alternative to traditional haycrop and corn silage in diets fed to mid-lactation dairy cows.

Alkali addition and roughage inclusion effect on performance and carcass characteristics of feedlot steers fed diets containing 60% dried distillers grains with solubles

“…Aines (1985) observed that pretreating wheat straw with 4% or 8% Ca(OH) 2 and feeding 90% wheat straw diets did not have an effect on solid or liquid passage rates; however, Oliveros et al (1993) similar to present study noted that even though solid passage rate was not affected, liquid passage rate was increased when corn stover in 90% corn stover diets was pretreated with 40 g/kg of Ca(OH) 2 . In addition, Casperson (2017) observed that replacement of a portion of haylage and corn silage with 9.6% of the diet DM as corn stover pretreated with 6.2% Ca(OH) 2 did not affect solid passage rate but increased liquid passage rate in lactating dairy cows. Increased liquid passage rate as a result of alkaline treatment indicates that more soluble nutrients were carried to the small intestine for digestion.…”

Nutritional Interventions Improved Rumen Functions and Promoted Compensatory Growth of Growth-Retarded Yaks as Revealed by Integrated Transcripts and Microbiome Analyses

“…Then samples were pooled, dried at 65°C for 48 h and grounded to pass through a 0.42-mm sieve. The macronutrient levels of the natural pasture were analyzed (Casperson et al, 2018) and showed as follows (air-dry basis): 4.81% crude protein (CP), 2.52% ether extract (EE), 55.01% neutral detergent fiber (NDF), 36.59% acid detergent fiber (ADF), 10.11% ash. Yaks in the GRB, GRBC and GRBY groups were housed in 15 pens according to treatment, with 2 yaks in each pen (3.5 × 8.0 m).…”

The Effects of Oil Palm Fronds Silage Supplemented with Urea-Calcium Hydroxide on Rumen Fermentation and Nutrient Digestibility of Thai Native-Anglo Nubian Goats

“…The chemical treatment of agricultural by-products has been extensively researched to improve the nutrient value of low-quality livestock feeds [22,23]. The disruption of lignin structures in agricultural residues and the rise in cellulose and hemicellulose are crucial for ruminant livestock diets [24]. This study compared the addition of Ca (OH)2 during fermentation and lowered the NDF, ADF, and ADL contents by 18%, 15%, and 27%, respectively, with EOPF (Table 1).…”