136
Views
4
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Article

Characteristics of dairy farms in the North-Eastern part of Italy: rations, milk yield and nutrients excretion

, , , , &
Pages 295-297 | Published online: 07 Mar 2016
 

Abstract

This survey was aimed to evaluate the characteristics of dairy farms in the North-Eastern part of Po valley in terms of ration composition, milk yield and N and P excretions. Eighty-nine farms, with Italian Holstein Friesian cows, were selected in order to cover different situations in term of farm size and milk yield (MY). MY and quality were obtained from the national database of functional controls. Each farm was visited in order to collect information about ingredients and chemical composition of rations used. Farms were classified in four groups differing for dietary crude protein density (Lcp<15.3% DM; Hcp>15.3% DM) and for MY (Lmy>30 kg/d; Hmy<30 kg/d). N and P excretions were quantified by following a mass balance approach. Dietary crude protein content (CP) was not correlated to milk yield (MY) and quality. The estimated amounts of N excreted, discounted for 28% of N losses in atmosphere, were 78.5, 78.2, 87.2 and 89.1 kg/cow/year, and P excreted were 20.2, 18.6, 18.7 and 19.8 kg/cow/year for the LcpLmy, LcpHmy, HcpLmy, HcpHmy groups, respectively. On corn silage and cereals based rations, a dietary CP of 14.3% DM can support 31 kg MY/cow/day.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.