Effect of corn shredlage on feed intake, rumen fermentation, and lactation performance of dairy cows fed a low-fibre diet

Figures & data

Table 1. Chemical composition (g/kg of dry matter unless otherwise stated) and physical characteristics of corn silage and corn shredlage fed to dairy cows.

Item	Corn silage	Corn shredlage
Dry matter, g/kg as fed	349	354
Crude protein	74	74
Ether extract	34	29
NDF	328	346
ADF	160	171
Starch	398	385
NFC^a	528	517
Ash	36	34
pH	3.94	4.04
Lactic acid, g/kg DM	40.1	46.0
Ammonia-N, g/kg DM	0.57	0.54
Penn State separator sieve, % retained (as fed)
19 mm	3.2	17.8
8 mm	66.7	54.1
4 mm	18.4	16.7
Bottom pan	11.7	11.4

^aNFC (non-fibre carbohydrates) = 1000 − NDF (g/kg DM) − crude protein (g/kg DM) − ether extract (g/kg DM) − ash (g/kg DM).

NDF: neutral detergent fibre; ADF: acid detergent fibre.

Table 2. Ingredients and chemical composition (g/kg of DM unless otherwise stated) of experimental diets.

	Diet^a
Item	CON	SHR
Ingredients, g/kg DM
Forage and high moisture feed
Corn silage	250
Corn shredlage		250
Alfalafa silage	197	197
High moisture corn silage	122	122
Brewers grain	41	41
Concentrate mixture
Wheat	125	125
Canola meal	70	70
Soybean meal	49	49
MOLAfeed - KMG^b	41	41
Barley	39	39
Vitamin and mineral premix^c	29	29
C16^d	19	19
ProMel^e	14	14
Sodium bicarbonate	6	6
Chemical composition, g/kg DM
Dry matter, g/kg as fed	491	494
Crude protein	175	175
Ether extract	49	48
Starch	310	307
NDF	251	256
ADF	153	156
NFC^f	452	449
Ash	72	72

^aDiet: CON, 25% conventionally processed corn silage (on DM basis); SHR, 25% corn shredlage (on DM basis).

^bMOLAFeed - KMG (beet molasses, crude glycerol, distillers solubles, and corn starch; ED&F Man Liquid Products, Děčín, Czech Republic).

^cVitamin and mineral mix, declared contents (per kg): 155 g of Ca, 40 g of P, 35 g of Na, 40 g of Mg, 403,100 IU of vitamin A, 73,494 IU of vitamin D, 1,200 mg of vitamin E, 4,700 mg of Niacinamide, 3,160 mg of Zn, 4,855 mg of Mn, 630 mg of Cu, 52.5 mg of I, 21 mg of Co, 18.4 mg of Se, 5 × 10¹⁰ CFU of Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCYC Sc 47 (VVS Verměřovice, s. r. o., Verměřovice, Czech Republic).

^dC16 (palmitic acid, purity >98%; VVS Verměřovice, s. r. o., Verměřovice, Czech Republic).

^eProMel (a blend of liquid protein concentrate and homogenised beet molasses in a 1:1 ratio; VVS Verměřovice, s. r. o., Verměřovice, Czech Republic).

^fNFC (non-fibre carbohydrates) = 1000 – NDF (g/kg DM) – crude protein (g/kg DM) – ether extract (g/kg DM) – ash (g/kg DM).

Table 3. Feed intake, rumination, and milk production of cows fed control (CON) or shredlage (SHR) diet.

	Diet^a		SEM	p Value
Item	CON	SHR
DMI (kg/d)	21.1	21.7	0.36	0.002
Body weight (kg)	702	707	10.4	0.004
Rumination (min/d)	413	422	11.1	0.276
Rumination (min/kg of DMI)	19.7	19.6	0.55	0.805
Yield
Milk (kg/d)	41.7	42.2	1.03	0.181
4% FCM^b (kg/d)	41.6	43.2	1.26	0.060
ECM^c (kg/d)	41.6	42.9	1.15	0.055
Feed efficiency
Milk/DMI	1.97	1.94	0.065	0.024
ECM/DMI	1.97	1.96	0.040	0.871
Milk component
Fat (%)	4.01	4.17	0.140	0.139
Fat (kg/d)	1.66	1.75	0.065	0.073
Protein (%)	3.12	3.10	0.043	0.339
Protein (kg/d)	1.29	1.30	0.024	0.588
Lactose (%)	5.04	5.05	0.042	0.664
Lactose (kg/d)	2.10	2.14	0.055	0.129
MUN^d (mg/dL)	18.8	19.0	0.49	0.336

^aDiet: CON, 25% conventionally processed corn silage (on DM basis); SHR, 25% corn shredlage (on DM basis).

^bFat-corrected milk (containing 4% fat) yield calculated as follows: 4% FCM (kg/d) = 0.4 × milk yield (kg/d) + 15 × fat yield (kg/d) (NRC 2001).

^cEnergy-corrected milk yield calculated as follows: ECM (kg/d) = milk yield (kg/d) × (383 × fat [%] + 242 × protein [%] + 165.4 × lactose [%] + 20.7)/3,140 (Sjaunja et al. 1991).

^dMilk urea nitrogen.

DMI: dry matter intake.

Table 4. Rumen fermentation parameters of cows fed control (CON) or shredlage (SHR) diet.

	Diet^a		SEM	p Value
Item	CON	SHR
pH	6.45	6.49	0.059	0.607
Total VFA (mmol/L)	125.4	126.1	3.54	0.882
Acetate (mmol/L)	80.3	80.1	1.75	0.939
Propionate (mmol/L)	25.0	25.8	1.07	0.622
Butyrate (mmol/L)	18.7	18.9	0.88	0.847
Valerate (mmol/L)	0.66	0.63	0.031	0.482
Lactate (mmol/L)	0.77	0.74	0.046	0.709
Acetate:propionate	3.3	3.2	0.08	0.366
Ammonia-N (mg/dL)	12.3	11.7	0.28	0.147

^aDiet: CON, 25% conventionally processed corn silage (on DM basis); SHR, 25% corn shredlage (on DM basis).

NRC 2001. Nutrient requirements of dairy cattle. 7th ed. Washington (DC): National Academy of Sciences.

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Sjaunja LO, Baevre L, Junkkarinen L, Pedersen J, Setälä J. 1991. A Nordic proposal for an energy corrected milk (ECM) formula. Proc. 27th Session of International Committee for Recording Productivity of Milk Animals (ICRPMA), p. 156–157.

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Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Joch M., upon reasonable request.