The Replacement of Ground Corn with Sugar Beet in the Diet of Pasture-Fed Lactating Dairy Cows and Its Effect on Productive Performance and Rumen Metabolism

Abstract

(1) Background: Sugars have a potential to provide great amounts of fermentable energy in the rumen. Feeding fresh sugar beet (SB) to dairy cattle to replace a portion of the grain in the ration has not received sufficient attention. This study determined dry matter intake (DMI), feeding behavior, rumen fermentation and milk production responses when replacing corn grain with increasing levels of SB in pasture-fed lactating dairy cow diets. (2) Methods: A total of 12 early-lactation cows were used in a replicated (n = 4) 3 × 3 Latin square design. The control diet consisted of 21 kg dry matter (DM) composed of 6.3 kg DM green chopped perennial ryegrass, 7 kg DM grass silage, 2 kg DM of concentrate, 1 kg DM soybean meal and 4.5 kg DM of ground corn. The other treatments replaced 50% or 100% of the ground corn with SB roots. (3) Results: The replacement of ground corn with sugar beet reduced DMI and milk yield (p < 0.05), but it increased milk fat concentration (p = 0.045), reduced feeding costs and increased margin over feed costs (p < 0.01). Urinary nitrogen was linearly reduced with SB supplementation (p = 0.026). (4) Conclusions: Using SB roots as energetic supplement can be a suitable alternative to ground corn in pasture-fed lactating dairy cows.

Effects of Sugar Beet Silage, High-Moisture Corn, and Corn Silage Feed Supplementation on the Performance of Dairy Cows with Restricted Daily Access to Pasture

“…Then, lower DMI of pasture in the SBS treatment could be explained by the greater volume in the rumen of pieces of sugar beet silage used to ruminate in this group of cows; this gave a feeling of satiety in the cows because the rumen was filled; consequently, the cows’ desire to graze was reduced. Keim et al [ 25 ] observed a reduction in DMI with the inclusion of sugar beet in the diet, which was associated with a greater eating time due to the physical structure (difficult to eat) of sugar beet roots. Furthermore, it is known that there is variability with respect to the rate and degree of degradation and end products of carbohydrate fermentation [ 26 ].…”

“…An increased sucrose supply through supplementation with sugar beet has previously been shown to increase milk fat concentration [ 13 , 27 , 28 ]. Recently, Keim et al [ 25 ] observed an increase in milk fat content when sugar beet roots replaced corn in the diets of pasture-fed dairy cows. Schmidt et al [ 15 ] found a lower concentration of milk fat when molasses and barley were replaced with sugar beet silage.…”

Viabilidade Econômica Da Utilização Da Silagem Da Raiz De Mandioca No Suplemento De Vacas Leiteiras

“…Entre as diversas fontes de ingredientes energéticos, os grãos cereais são as principais fontes utilizadas, (Merino et al, 2021). Porém, estes insumos apresentam uma alta variação de preço no decorrer do ano por serem utilizados para diversas finalidades como na produção de alimentos e de biocombustíveis (Keim et al, 2022). Dessa forma, um dos maiores desafios nas propriedades leiteiras é avaliar os alimentos que podem ser utilizados de forma a obter lucratividade com a produção, apesar das variações nos custos de aquisição dos insumos (Heard et al, 2021).…”

Granulated Cane Sugar as a Partial Replacement for Steam-Flaked Corn in Diets for Feedlot Cattle: Ruminal Fermentation and Microbial Protein Synthesis

“…Most studies evaluating the effects of supplemental sugars on ruminal digestion and fermentation involved isoprotein diets (~60:40 concentrate-to-forage ratio) offered to dairy cows [7,8], or the ruminal infusion of sugars to animals receiving the same forage-based diet [10,11]. On the other hand, replacing steam-flaked corn (SFC) with feed ingredients rich in sugars (i.e., sugar beets) increased the MP flow to the duodenum in feedlot cattle [12], and numerically increased (9.8%) the MP synthesis in lactating dairy cows [13]. Replacing corn with sugar beets did not greatly affect the diet composition (similar CP and NDF concentration between corn diets and sugar beet diets) [12].…”