With water scarcity becoming a pressing concern, the dairy industry is looking for ways to reduce its dependence on water-intensive forages like alfalfa and exploring methods to conserve this vital resource.
A recent research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln suggests that replacing alfalfa hay with a mixture of dried distillers grains and solubles (DDGS) and straw can be used to support milk production.
The research involved 12 lactating Jersey cows, which were assigned to one of four diets: a control diet containing 18.2% of alfalfa hay and diets with 8.1%, 16.3% and 24.3% of the coproduct mixture. The results showed no differences in daily dry matter intake or milk yield, while methane production decreased. Substituting alfalfa hay with DDGS and straw also reduced free water intake. The substitution also seemed to preserve effective fibre when included up to 12.1% of the diet, while beyond that, cows tended to avoid some long forage particles.
The study, Energy utilization in lactating Jersey cows consuming a mixture of DDGS and straw replacing alfalfa hay, appeared online in September in the Journal of Dairy Science.
