The plane of nutrition in relation to milk production
by Joseph C Shaw
A THESIS Submitted to the Graduate Committee in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Degree of Master of Science in Animal Husbandry
Montana State University
© Copyright by Joseph C Shaw (1933)
Abstract:
A pertinent problem in dairy cattle nutrition in the Western states is the selection or formulating of a
practical method of feeding dairy cows whereby they may be fed more closely to theoretical
requirements. The nutrients required can be estimated with a fair degree of accuracy by referring to the
feeding standards which have been prepared by various investigators. These standards agree rather
closely, and for all practical purposes they may be relied upon.
The usual method of apportioning grain is to feed each cow 1 pound of grain to each 3 or 4 pounds of
milk produced, depending upon the richness, regardless of the quantity or quality of roughage
consumed. This method of feeding is at fault, especially under Western conditions, because cows will
get enough nutrients from good roughage alone to provide for the maintenance of their bodies as well
as for the production of a certain amount of milk, and because 1 pound of grain does not provide
enough nutrients for as much as 3 pounds of milk.
Western dairy husbandmen have attempted to work out a method of feeding that would be more
satisfactory under their conditions. Since alfalfa hay Is usually the cheapest dairy cattle feed that can be
produced in large quantities in many Western states, the methods suggested have been based upon the
assumption that the majority of dairymen feed alfalfa hay In large quantities as the sole roughage. In
making up these feeding rules an attempt Is made to determine the amount of nutrients In the faom of
alfalfa hay that dairy cows will consume, In excess of their maintenance requirements. Acting upon the
accepted principle that the nutrients consumed by dairy cows in excess of their maintenance
requirements are converted Into milk, providing the cow does not make more than a slight gain In body
weight, the number of pounds of milk that can be produced on this excess of nutrients Is determined.
Concentrates are then fed in sufficient amounts to provide the nutrients required, according to a certain
feeding standard, for each pound of milk produced above this amount.
The object of this thesis, "The Plane of nutrition in Relation to Milk Production", is to give a summary
of the present available information which may be of value, In working out a more satisfactory method
of apportioning concentrates to dairy cows in Montana, or in the revisal of the present method. A brief
review is given of certain phases of dairy nutrition which deals more or less indirectly with the subject.
A more detailed review Ie given of the literature more directly applied to the subject, together with a
discussion of an experiment conducted bytthe author under the direction of tha Animal Husbandry
Department of the Montana Experiment Station.
For the convenience of the reader, this thesis Is divided Into five parts; Part I gives In condensed form a
review of the Important daily cattle feeding stuff* in Montana.
Part II presents a review of the literature in regard to feeding methods, and experimental work dealing
with the important problems involved in the feeding of alfalfa hay to dairy cows as the sole roughage.
Part III reviews very briefly the more important findings regarding the protein, energy, and vitamin
requirements of dairy cows.
Part IT presents in detail the methods of procedure and the results of an experiment which the author
conducted under the direction of the Staff of the Animal Husbandry Department of the Montana
Experiment Station.
Part T presents the general conclusions of the review of the literature and the results of the experiment.
IHiS T U lT ii OF itUTRITION EI RiSLATIOJ? TO I-iILK PRODUCTION
by
JOSEPH C. SHAW
A THESIS
S u I n ltte d to th e G raduate C o ra ttto e In p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t
o f th e re q u ire m e n tB f o r th e decree o f M aster
o f S clonce in A nlnal iluabondry
a t Montono J t a t e C ollege
ndhn In in n :^xarnlning u o r a l t t e e
Dozaiont Montano
Ju n e , 1933
COSTKNfS
Page
P a r t I - Feeds A v a ila b le fo r D airy C a t t l e F eeding i n Montana . .
Roughages ................................................................................................
D ried Legume R o u g h a g e s ................................................
D rie d Non-Legume Roughages .........................................................
C o n c e n tra te s ........................................................................................
N itro g en o u s C o n c e n tra te s ..............................................................
Ol efl M »-*►■» M
I n tr o d u c tio n ............................................................................................................. v
P a r t I I - Methods o f F eed in g -D airy C a ttle K xperim ents w ith
A lf a lf a Hay............................... ...............................................................7
Methods o f F eeding A dvocated by Prom inent Dairymen . . .
7
Woodward’ s Method v e rs u s th e U sual Method ........................... 10
Amount o f A lf a lf a Hay t h a t D a iry Cows w ill Consume. . . 21
E f f e c t o f G rain i n R a tio n on E f f ic ie n c y o f P ro d u c tio n . 25
P a r t I l l - N u t r i t i v e R equiram ents o f D airy C o w s-N u tritiv e E nergyV itam ins and M i n e r a l s ....................................................................28
P r o te in R e q u i r e m e n t s ......................................................................28
The Supplem entary R e la tio n s Among th e P r o te in s o f
F e e d s ...................................................................................................... 33
Energy R e q u ire m e n ts .......................................
35
M ineral and V itam in R e q u i r e m e n t s ........................................... . 4 0
P a r t IV- R e s u lts o f Experim ent a t Montana S t a t i o n . . . . . . .
47
A Comparison o f Tm Methods o f A p p o rtio n in g G rain to
Cows i n M i l k .......................................................................................... 47
O b je c ts o f th e Experim ent ................................................................ 49
Methods of E x p e r i m e n t a t i o n ............................................................ 50
A verage P ro d u c tio n o f th e TwoG r o u p s ........................................ 56
Comparison o f t h e two Groups w ith R esp ect to th e
N u trie n ts Consumed and th e N u tr ie n ts R equired . . . . . 56
Comparison o f th e Gain or Loss i n w eight o f th e two
G r o u p s .................................................................................................... 62
Comparison o f th e two Groups w ith R espect to D e clin e
in M ilk Y i e l d .........................................................................................62
A verage D a ily Consumption o f A l f a l f a H a y ........................... . . 6 5
C o n c lu s io n s ............................................................................................ 66
P a r t V-
G eneral C onclusions ..........................................
44551
68
iv
Page
Aeknovledgements
............................................................................... ....
70
L i te r a tu r e C i t e d ...................... .................................................................... ....
71
T
THS PLANS OP NUTRITION IN USLATION TO MILK PRODUCTION
In tr o d u c tio n
A p e r t i n e n t problem in d a iry c e t t l o n u t r i t i o n i n th e W estern
s t a t e s is th e s e l e c t i o n o r fo rm u la tin g o f a p r a c t i c a l method o f fe e d in g
d a iry cows whereby th e y may be fe d more c lo s e ly to t h e o r e t i c a l r e q u ir e ­
m en ts.
The n u t r i e n t s r e q u ir e d can be e stim a te d w ith a f a i r d eg ree o f
a c c u ra c y by r e f e r r i n g to th e fe e d in g sta n d a rd s which have been p re p a re d
by v a rio u s i n v e s t i g a t o r s .
These s ta n d a rd s a g re e r a th e r c lo s e ly , and
f o r a l l p r a c t i c a l p u rp o se s they may b e r e l i e d upon.
The u su al method o f a p p o rtio n in g g r a in i s to fe e d each cow I
pound o f g r a in to each 3 o r 4 pounds o f m ilk produced, d epending upon
th e r ic h n e s s , re g a r d le s s o f th e q u a n tity o r q u a lity o f roughage consumed.
T his method o f fe e d in g i s a t f a u l t , e s p e c ia ll y under W estern c o n d itio n s ,
b ecau se cows w ill g e t enough n u t r i e n t s from good roughage a lo n e to
p ro v id e fo r th e m aintenance o f t h e i r b o d ie s a s w e ll a s fo r th e p ro d u c tio n
o f a c e r t a i n amount o f m ilk , and b e c a u se I pound o f g r a in d o es n o t
p ro v id e enough n u tr i e n ts f o r as much a s 3 pounds o f m ilk .
W estern d a ir y husbandmen have a tte m p te d to work o u t a method o f
fe e d in g th a t would be more s a t i s f a c t o r y under t h e i r c o n d itio n s .
Simoe
a l f a l f a hay i s u s u a lly t h e c h e a p e st d a ir y c a t t l e feed t h a t can be p ro ­
duced in la r g e q u a n t i t i e s in many W estern s t a t e s , th e methods su g g ested
have been b ased upon th e assum ption t h a t t h e m a jo rity o f dairym en feed
Ti
a l f a l f a hay in la r g e q u a n t i t i e s a s * ie s o le r o o f a g e .
In making up
th e s e fe e d in g r u l e s an a tte m p t i s made to d eterm in e th e amount o f
n u t r i e n t s in th e facm o f a l f a l f a hay t h a t d a ir y cows w i l l consume,
in e x ce ss o f t h e i r m aintenance re q u ire m e n ts.
A cting upon th e a c c e p t­
ed p r i n c i p l e t h a t th e n u t r i e n t s consumed by d a iry cows i n ex cess o f
t h e i r m aintenance re q u ire m e n ts a re c o n v e rte d in to m ilk , p ro v id in g th e
cow does n o t make more th a n a s l i g h t g a in i n body w e ig h t, t h e number
o f pounds o f m ilk th a t can be produced on t h i s excess o f n u t r i e n t s
i s d e te rm in e d .
C o n c e n tra te s a r e th en fe d in s u f f i c i e n t amounts to
p ro v id e th e n u t r i e n t s r e q u ir e d , a c c o rd in g to a c e r t a i n fe e d in g s ta n d a rd ,
f o r each pound o f m ilk produced above t h i s am ount.
The o b je c t o f t h i s t h e s i s , ’T h e P la n e o f N u tr itio n i n R e la tio n
to M ilk P ro d u c tio n " , is to g iv e a summary o f th e p re s e n t a v a il a b le
in fo rm a tio n which may be o f v a lu e , in w orking out a more s a t i s f a c t o r y
method o f a p p o rtio n in g c o n c e n tra te s to d a iry cows i n M ontana, o r i n t h e
r e v is e I o f th e p re s e n t m ethod.
A b r i e f review i s g iv en o f c e r t a i n phases
o f d a iry n u t r i t i o n which d e a ls more o r l e s s i n d i r e c t l y w ith th e s u b je c t.
A more d e ta i le d review i s g iv e n o f th e l i t e r a t u r e more d i r e c t l y a p p lie d
to th e s u b je c t, to g e th e r w ith a d is c u s s io n o f a n experim ent conducted
by th e a u th o r u n d er t h e d ir e c tio n o f th a Animal Husbandry D epartm ent o f
th e Montana E xperim ent S t a t i o n .
For th e convenience o f th e r e a d e r , t h i s t h e s i s i s d iv id e d i n t o
f iv e p a r t s I
P a r t I g iv e s in condensed form a review o f th e im p o rtan t d a ir y c a t t l e
fe e d in g s t u f f s i n M ontana.
▼ ii
P a r t I t p r e s e n ts a review o f th e l i t e r a t u r e in re g a rd t o fe e d in g m ethods,
and e x p e rim e n ta l work d e a lin g w ith th e im p o rta n t problem s in v o lv e d
in th e fe e d in g of a l f a l f a hay to d a iry cows a s th e s o le roughage.
P a r t I I I review s v e ry b r i e f l y th e more in p o r ta n t fin d in g s re g a rd in g th e
p r o te in , m e rg y , and v ita m in re q u ire m e n ts o f d a iry cow s.
P a r t IT p r e s e n ts in d e t a i l th e methods o f p ro c e d u re an d th e r e s u l t s o f
an experim ent which th e a u th o r co n d u cted under th e d i r e c t i o n o f
t h e S t a f f o f th e Animal Husbandry D epartm ent o f th e Montana
E xperim ent S t a t i o n .
P a r t T p r e s e n ts th e g e n e r a l c o n c lu s io n s o f th e review o f th e l i t e r a t u r e
and th e r e s u l t s o f th e ex p erim en t.
PART I
FEEDS AVAILABLE POR DAIRY CATTLE PEHDItC IW MOMTAIft
Roughagea
Roughages a re th e c o a r s e r feed in g s t u f f s , which a r e h ig h in f i b e r
and su p p ly a low p e rc e n ta g e o f d i g e s t i b l e m a tte r .
They may b e d iv id e d
in to two c la s s e s depending upon th e amount o f p r o t e i n th e y c o n ta in . N itr o ­
genous roughages a r e h ig h i n p r o t e i n and in c lu d e hay and fo ra g e from th e
legum es.
The carbonaceous roughages a r e low i n n itr o g e n and in c lu d e th e
non-legum e h a y s, g r a in h a y s, and s tra w s from c e r e a l g r a i n s .
Roughages may
be f u r th e r d iv id e d in to d ry roughages and g re e n ro u g h a g e s«
I n d a ir y c a t t l e fe e d in g th e roughages u s u a lly f u r n is h from h a l f
to a l l o f th e n u t r i e n t s .
Throughout th e W est, d a iry c a t t l e a r e fe d much
la r g e r q u a n t i t i e s o f roughages th a n i s th e c a s e f a r th e r E a s t.
While under
W estern c o n d itio n s i t i s a common p r a c t i c e to feed a l f a l f a hay as th e
e x c lu s iv e r a t i o n , th is p r a c t i c e is p r a c t i c a l l y unheard o f i n th e m iddle
W estern and E a s te rn s t a t e s where g ra in fe e d in g i s u n iv e r s a lly p r a c tic e d .
D ried Legume Roughages.
P ro p e rly c u re d a l f a l f a hay e a s i l y ran k s
f i r s t among hays fo r d a iry c a t t l e .
I t i s v e ry p a l a t a b l e , la x a t i v e in
c h a r a c te r , and i s h ig h i n p r o te in , c o n ta in in g th r e e t Ines a s much as
tim o th y , and i s th e h ig h e s t o f a l l common fe e d s i n c a lc iu m .
D airy c a t t l e
i n th e W estern s t a t e s a r e a b le to consume la r g e q u a n t i t i e s o f a l f a l f a due
t o t h e i r ruggedness and a ls o due to th e f a c t t h a t m ost o f them a re fed
-2 -
la r g e q u a n t i t i e s o f i t from th e tim e th e y a r e a few weeks o ld u n t i l th e y
a r e m a tu re .
A legume hay IiaTing ad v an tag es s im ila r t o a l f a l f a i s re d c lo v e r ,
b u t i t i s n o t q u ite a s p a l a t a b l e , nor so abundant in p r o te in and m in e ra ls .
Sweet c lo v e r p ro p e rly c u re d has a fe e d in g v a lu e about th e same a s t h a t o f
re d c lo v e r , a lth o u g h i t i s n o t q u ite a s p a l a t a b l e .
A c o n s id e ra b le pro­
p o r ti o n o f th e stem s i s u s u a lly re f u s e d by th e cow.
I t has b een found
t h a t sw eet c lo v e r hay may c au se d e ath i n c a t t l e due to th e f a i l u r e o f th e
b lo o d to c l o t n o rm a lly .
d e a th .
A s l i g h t cu t may allo w th e anim al to b le e d to
F or t h i s re a so n sw eet c lo v e r can n o t be c o n sid e re d us b e in g e n t i r e l y
safe.
W hile not grown so ab u n d an tly fo r hay a s i s a l f a l f a ard th e c lo v e r s ,
o a t and p ea hay when c u t a t a n e a r ly s ta g e i s p a la ta b le and n u t r i t i o u s . The
p r o t e i n c o n te n t i s about th r e e - f o u r th s th a t o f a l f a l f a , w h ile th e t o t a l
d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s a r e about e q u a l.
7)ried Non-Legume Roughages.
A ltiiough tim o th y Iiay i n th e Rocky
M ountain S ta te s is a l i t t l e h ig h e r in p r o t e i n th a n th e tim o th y hay i n o th e r
s t a t e s , i t i s n o t a very s a t i s f a c t o r y fe e d fo r d a iry cows.
I t i s n o t o n ly
low i n p r o t e i n , b u t i s th e lo w e st i n m in e ra le o f a l l common f e e d s .
When I t
i s u sed a s t h e roughage, i t i s n e c e ssa ry to add c o n s id e ra b le amounts of
h ig h p r o t e i n feed s to th e r a t i o n .
B lue j o i n t ranks above tim o th y as a hay
fo r d a iry c a t t l e , b ein g more p a la t a b le and h ig h e r in m in e r a ls , p r o te in and
to ta l d ig e s tib le n u trie n ts .
One o f th e b e s t non-legum e hays i s o a t h ay , c u t f o r hay when i n th e
s ta g e .
I t is q u ite p a la t a b le and h as about th e same f e e d in r v a lu e fo r
-3 —
d a iry cows as b lu e j o i n t .
A nother c e r e a l hay som etim es ueed fo r d a iry
c a t t l e fe e d in g i s ry e h a y .
p a l a t a b l e th a n tim o th y .
However, t h i s hay i s low i n p r o t e i n and l e s s
Oat stra w is a l s o som etim es fed to d a iry c a t t l e ,
b u t i s v e ry u n s a ti s f a c to r y fe e d , b e in g low in p r o t e i n and t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e
n u t r i e n t s and la c k in g p a ! s t a b i l i t y .
W heat, ry e , and b a r le y stra w can b e
c o u n ted on a s fe e d s , b u t make good bedding m a te r ia l.
Corn fo d d e r i s u sed to
M ontana.
a tta c h e d .
sorb
e x te n t f o r d a iry c a t t l e fe e d in g in
As i s commonly known, c o rn fo d d e r i s th e s to c k w ith th e e a r
I t s c h ie f v a lu e i s i n th e e a r c o m .
A side from th e g r a in in ­
c lu d e d , i t is ab o u t e q u al to tim o th y hay i n t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s ,
b u t is l e s s p a la t a b le .
S ila g e made from th e c o rn p la n t c u t w h ile s t i l l
in th e g reen s ta g e is one o f th e h e a t d a ir y c a t t l e ro u g h a g e s, heing very
p a la t a b le and s u c c u le n t.
However, t h e r e i s v ery l i t t l e c o rn p u t up
in
th e form o f s i l a g e i n M ontana.
C o n c e n tra te s . C o n c e n tra te s a re fe e d in g s t u f f s in condensed n a tu re ,
which a re low i n f ib e r and hence f u r n is h a la r g e amount o f d i g e s t i b l e
m a tte r .
W hile c o n c e n tra te s do n o t su p p ly a very la rg e p o r ti o n of th e t o t a l
d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s fe d to d a iry cows i n M ontana, th e y a r e n e v e r th e le s s
very v a lu a b le in supplem enting th e ro u g h a g e s.
I t is g e n e r a lly c o n sid e re d
t h a t h a l f o f th e c o n c e n tra te r a t i o n sh o u ld he made up o f r e l a t i v e l y b u lk y
foeds such a s ground o a t s , b ra n and wheat s c re e n in g s .
Corn forms a p a r t o f th e g r a i n r a t i o n on some Montana d a iry farm s,
in th o s e s e c tio n s where th is g ra in i s grown.
and a s p le n d id feed f o r th e cow in m ilk .
over h a l f o f th e r a t i o n .
I t i s n u t r i t i o u s and p a la t a b le
However, i t sh o u ld n o t make up
Corn and cob meal was r e p o r te d by M cCandlish (37)
o f th e Iowa S ta tio n to be v a lu a b le fo r d a ir y cows in j u s t th e p ro p o r tio n
o f corn g r a i n i t c o n ta in e d .
One hundred pounds o f crack ed co rn was eq u al
to 125 pounds o f c o rn and cob m e al.
B arley and w heat compare v ery fa v o r­
a b ly w ith c o rn a s a d a iry c a t t l e feed and a re much more common in Montana
th a n i s c o rn .
o u te r c o v e rin g .
The b a r le y sh o u ld b e ground oar cru sh ed b e ca u se o f th e to u g h
Wheat has more p r o t e i n th a n c o m and i s s l i g h t l y s u p e r io r
a s a so u rc e o f m in e ra ls .
I t may s a f e ly make up h a lf o f th e r a t i o n (4 3 ).
hye h as a co m p o sitio n n o t g r e a t l y d i f f e r e n t from c o rn b u t ran k s below i t ,
b e in g r a t h e r u n p a la ta b le .
I f m ixed w ith o th e r feed s i t may b e fed in
amounts up to th r e e pounds p e r day.
When fe d in la r g e q u a n t i t i e s i t te n d s
to produce b u t t e r w ith a h a rd body.
Of th e more bulky c o n c e n tra te s b ra n i s one o f th e m ost v a lu a b le
fo r d a iry c a t t l e fee d in g becau se i t i s p a la t a b le and b u lk y , has a d e s ir a b le
la x a t iv e e f f e c t , and i s one o f th e b e s t s o u rc e s o f p h o sp h o ru s.
O ats,
how ever, a r e f u l l y a s v a lu a b le a s b ran and may be s u b s t i t u t e d fo r b ran in
th e r a t i o n pound fo r pound.
q u a n t i t i e s in t h i s s t a t e .
S c re e n in g s from w heat a r e a v a i l a b l e in la r g e
T h is p ro d u c t c o n s is ts m ainly o f b roken and
shrunken w heat k e rn e ls and a v a r ie ty o f weed s e e d s .
High g ra d e s c re e n in g s
have a fe e d in g v a lu e o f ab o u t te n p e r c e n t below th a t o f o a ts a c c o rd in g
to iitekles ( 8 ) .
S c re e n in g s have a r a th e r b i t t e r t a s t e and a r e f o r th is
re a s o n s onewhat u n p a la ta b le .
C a t t l e ta k e them r e a d i l y , how ever, when
mixed w ith o th e r ground fe e d .
Most o f th e b e e t p u lp fed i n th e s t a t e i s fed a s w et p u lp ,
e s p e c ia ll y in th e v i c i n i t y o f th e f a c t o r i e s .
dairym en b o th in th e wet and d ry s t a t e .
a b ly w ith c o rn a s a c o n c e n tr a te .
I t i s h ig h ly v a lu e d by
The d rie d pulp compares fa v o r­
I t is e s p e c ia ll y flavored fo r t e s t cow
f e e d in g .
The d is a d v a n ta g e o f wet p u lp Is t h a t I t s p o ils r a p id ly on
ex p o su re to th e a i r .
I t i s n e c e s sa ry t o s t o r e i t i n l a r g e ta n k - l i k e s i l o s
stra w s i l o s o r w e ll d ra in e d tr e n c h a l i o s .
The pulp is low i n m in e ra ls a a i
p r o te in and m ust be fed w ith fe e d s h ig h i n th e s e two c o n s t i t u e n t s .
B eet m olasses i s a v a lu a b le carbonaceous feed t h a t i s fe d t o some
e x te n t i n Montana#
I t has about th e same fe e d in g v a lu e a s co rn when not
fe d i n to o la r g e am ounts.
what b i t t e r .
Compared to b la c k e tr a p m olasses i t i s aone-
D airy cows sh o u ld n o t r e c e iv e more th a n t h r e e pounds p e r
d a y b ecause o f i t s la x a t iv e e f f e c t .
M olaeses i s u s e fu l ae an i p p e t i s e r
fo r cows r e c e iv in g a heavy r a t i o n and i s used e x te n s iv e ly i n t e s t cow
fe e d in g .
N itrogenous C o n c e n tra te s .
The m ost common m is ta k e i n fe e d in g
d a iry cows i s th e f a i l u r e to g iv e enough fe e d to make u se o f th e m ilk p ro d u cin g a b i l i t y o f th e a n im a l.
Next to th e f a i l u r e t o feed l i b e r a l l y
enough is th e f a i l u r e to g iv e enough p r o t o i n .
I f a cow, having enough
o th e r m a te ria l to produce 50 pounds o f m ilk , g iv e s only 20 on a cc o u n t o f
a s h o rta g e o f p r o t e i n , i t is u s e le s s t o in c r e a s e th e r a t i o n f u r t h e r .
The
a d d itio n o f a sm all amount o f c o n c e n tr a te , high i n p r o te in , would allo w
th e cow t o make f h l l use o f a l l th e r a t i o n .
Where l i b e r a l q u a n t i t i e s o f good q u a lity a l f a l f a hay i s fe d , as
is o fte n th e c a s e i n M ontana, th e a d d itio n o f h ig h p r o te in c o n c e n tra te s
sh ould n o t be n e ce ssa ry *
Vhon th e roughage c o n s is ts o f a non—legume
hay o r a legume hay o f p o o r q u a l i t y , i t i s u s u a lly n e c e ssa ry t o add a
h ig h p r o t e i n c o n c e n tra te to th e r a t i o n .
The two most im p o rta n t p u rchased
p r o te in e u p p la n c n ts used i n Montana a r e c o tto n s e e d meal and l in s e e d m eal.
-6 '
B ran ia somewhat h ig h e r i n p r o te in c o n te n t th a n a r e th e c e r e a l g r a i n s , tout
i t must n o t toe looked upon a s a so u rc e o f p r o te in to b a la n c e home grown
ra tio n s .
L in seed meal i s one o f th e b e s t p r o te in feed s f o r d a iry c a t t l e ,
toeing p a l a t a b l e and la x a t iv e and has a w onderfh I e f f e c t upon a l l k in d s o f
anim als t o which i t is f e d .
While c o tto n s e e d meal c o n ta in s th e h ig h e st
amount o f p r o t e i n o f any fe e d o r d i n a r i l y fed to c a t t l e , i t i s n o t q u ite
a s p o p u la r among dairym en a s is lin s e e d m e al.
When fe d i n to o la r g e amounts
i t has a c o n s tip a tin g e f f e c t and when making a la r g e p o r t i o n o f a r a tio n
la c k in g v a r ie ty i t may have a to x ic e f f e c t .
R e s u lts o f E x p erim ents toy
Woodward, Shepherd and Graves (61} show t h a t la r g e q u a n titie s o f c o tto n s e e d
meal may toe fed t o d a ir y cows w ith o u t any a p p a re n t i l l e f f e c t s , i f good
ro ughage, such a s p a s tu r e g r a s s , g reen fo r a g e , o r n ic e ly c u re d hay is fed
w ith i t
7PART
II
METHODS OP FEEDING - DAIRY CATTLl: EXEKRIMIBITS (TITH AlFALPA HfcT
Methoda o f Feeding by Prom inent Dairyman
Roughages u s u a lly form th e m ajor p o r tio n o f d a iry c a t t l e r a t i o n s .
The d a ir y cow i s v ery w e ll a d a p te d to th e c o n v e rsio n o f la r g e q u a n titie s
o f roughage in to e d ib le food fo r man.
With a few p o s s ib le e x c e p tio n s t h e
c h e a p e st and m ost econom ical fe e d fo r d a iry cows is good q u a lity roughage
and I t may w ell make up from h a l f to a l l o f th e n u t r i e n t s r e q u ir e d .
C o n c e n tra te s th e n c o n s t i t u t e th e b a lan c e o f th e r a t i o n .
A lthough i t is u s u a ll y c o n sid e re d t h a t th e m ost econom ical p ro ­
d u c tio n o f m ilk can be se c u re d by fe e d in g la r g e amounts o f roughages and
c o m p a ra tiv e ly sm all amounts o f c o n c e n tr a te s , th e r e a r e tim e s when th e
d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s s u p p lie d by means o f roughages a r e h ig h e r in p r ic e
th a n th e same amount o f n u t r i e n t s s u p p lie d by means o f c o n c e i t r a t e s .
In
t h i s c a s e i t would be more econom ical to fe e d la r g e q u a n t i t i e s o f g r a in
and a minimum amount o f ro u g h a g e s.
Feeding r u le s o r methods a r e u s u a lly
b ased on th e f a c t t h a t i t i s u s u a lly more econom ical to fe e d la r g e
q u a n t i t i e s o f roughage and make up th e a d d itio n a l re q u ire m e n ts by means
o f c o n c e n tr a te s .
The o b je c t o f feed in g r u le s i s to f d r n is h a p r a c t i c a l method o f
fe e d in g d a iry cows so as to e n ab le th e fe e d e r to su p p ly th e p ro p e r
amounts o f th e s e v e r a l n u t r i e n t s n e c e s sa ry fo r m ain ten an ce, g ro w th , d ev elo p ­
ment o f th e f e tu s and p ro d u c tio n o f m ilk , a s shown by an a c c e p te d fe e d in g
—8 —
s ta n d a rd .
I t ie g e n e r a lly c o n sid e re d th a t f o r th e m ost econom ical p roduc­
t i o n o f m ilk , d a i r y cows sh o u ld he fe d in d iv id u a lly and a s c lo s e as
p o s s ib le t o t h e i r re q u ire m e n ts as shown by one o f th e s e a c c e p te d s ta n d a r d s .
A method o f fe e d in g r e c e n tly p u b lis h e d in b u l l e t i n form by Keadlqy
(S i) o f t h e Nevada S t a t i o n i s t o fe e d d a i r y cows a l l th e a l f a l f a hay th e y
w ill e a t ; a id t o H o ls te i n s , g r a in i n th e p ro p o r tio n o f I pound to every
pounds o f m ilk th e y p roduce i n excess o f 30 pounds; and t o J e r s q y e , I pound
o f g ra in t o every 3 pounds o f m ilk they p ro d u ce i n excess o f 35 pounds.
A nother m ethod, somewhat s im ila r to t h i s . I s t o feed d a ir y cows a l l
t h e a l f a l f a hay th e y w ill e a t, and g r a i n to low t e s t i n g cows i n th e p ro p o r­
t i o n o f I pound t o every 3 l / s pounds o f m ilk produced i n e x cess o f 16 to
30 pounds, and to h ig h t e s t i n g cows, I pound o f g r a in t o every 2 pounds of
m ilk they g iv e i n ex cess of 10 to 14 pounds.
S ta tio n is th e a u th o r o f th is m ethod.
T re tsv e n (52) o f th e Montana
When co n n ected w ith t h e C a lif o r n ia
S ta tio n , Woll (58) p roposed a fe e d in g ru le f o r W estern dairym en in which
d a iry cows, r e c e iv in g a l l th e a l f a l f a hay th e y would e a t , w ere to re c e iv e
I pound of g r a in to e v e ry 4 o r 5 pounds of m ilk produced, when t h e cows
p ro d u c tio n o f b u t t e r f a t exceeded I pound p e r d ay .
The fo llo w in g is a method su g g e ste d by Eckles (8)» "Feed a l l th e
roughage a cow w i l l e a t .
bay.
T his sh o u ld in c lu d e a s u c c u le n t feed and a legume
I n a d d itio n , fe e d a J e r s e y o r G uernsey I pound o f g r a i n t o each 2 l / 2
to 3 pounds o f m ilk , and a H o ls te in , Brown S w iss, o r S h o rth o rn , I pound o f
g r a in f o r each 3 to 3 l / 2 pounds of m ilk .
When s ila g e i e not a v a il a b le ,
feed t h e same g r a i n m ix tu re b u t in somewhat la r g e r amount a " .
A method d i f f e r i n g v ery l i t t l e from th a t su g g ested by K ckles was
-9
advocated ty Weavei (67) o f t h e Iowa S t a t i o n ,
^ e e d a l l th e legrano hay » co r w ill e a t.
w eav o r'e method was to i
I f lerrane hay Im th e only
roughage fe d . th e cow w ill e a t n e a r ly 2 pounds o f i t d a l l y f o r each 100
pounds o f l i r e w e ig h t.
I f used a lo n e w ith o i l age, aha w ill e a t about
I pound p e r 100 pounds o f l i v e w eig h t a rd 3 pounds o f s i l a g e p er 100
pounds o f l i v e w e ig h t.
W ith legume hay and s i l a g e , feed J e r s e y s and
G uernseys I pound o f g r a i n fo r every 3 pounds o f m ilk and a H o ls te in ,
A ry e h ire o r Brown Sw iss I pound fo r every 3 l / a pounds o f m ilk produced’*.
A method which has giv en v e ry eetieO B cto ry r e s u l t s u n d er e x p e ri­
m en tal c o n d itio n s a t t h e Government S ta tio n a t B e l t s v l l l e , M aryland,
i s th e fo llo w in g a s s t a t e d by Woodward (6 1 ): “When cows a r e g iv e n 3 pounds
o f ollafTo a day fo r each 100 pounds o f l i v e w eight and a l l th e Ho. Si or
Ho. 3 a l f a l f a thqy w ill e a t , g iv e g r a in to J e r s e y cows a t th e r a t e o f 0 .6
pound f o r e ac h pound o f m ilk produced above 10 pounds, and t o H o lu tein s
g iv e 0 .4 pound o f g ra in fo r each pound o f m ilk above 16 pounds.'*
From th e rev iew o f m ethods o f feed in g o f f e r e d by prom inent dairym en
i t l a e v id e n t t h a t two methods o f fe e d in g a r e commonly ad v o ca te d : ( I ) The
method su g g este d by H ckles and w eaver, b ased on a p r a c t i c e o f fe e d in g a
c e r t a i n amount o f g ra in fo r ev ery pound o f m ilk produced! (2 ) The method
which I s advocated by Woodward, T ro tsv e n and Headley based on a p r a c t i c e
o f feed in g a c e r t a i n amount o f g r a in f o r every pound o f m ilk produced in
excess o f t h a t p ro v id e d fo r by th e ro u g h ag e.
The amount o f { r a in fed f o r
each pound o f m ilk t s j u s t enough to produce th a t pound o f m ilk .
I t is
assumed th a t th e roughage in a d d itio n to* p ro v id in g fo r m ain ten an ce w ill
a ls o p ro v id e n u t r i e n t s fo r a c e r t a i n amount o f m ilk .
Woll proposed a
method th a t a tte m p ts t o in c lu d e b o th methods o u tlin e d , w ith th e r e s u l t
t h a t i t i s p ro b a b ly n o t as a c c u ra te a s e i t h e r on e.
The method worked o u t
-1 0 -
t y Woodward Ie th e o n ly one t h a t tak e* i n t o c o n s id e r a tio n th e q u a lity o f
th e h ay .
The second m ethod can he v a rie d so a s to in c lu d e b o th W estern
and W estern c o n d itio n s .
The p la n su g g e ste d by Woodward a p p lie s only to
E a s te rn and M id-W estern c o n d itio n s , and th e p la n su g g ested by T retsv c n
and B eadley a p p lie s only to W estern c o n d itio n s .
same p r i n c i p l e , how ever.
Both a r e based on th e
I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to n o te t h a t a lth o u g h t h e i r
fe e d in g r u le s a r e b ased upon th e same p r i n c i p l e , Headley and T re tsv e n
d is a g r e e as to th e p o in t w here g r a i n fe e d in g should b e g in .
Woodward (61) s t a t e s t h a t th e o rd in a ry method of a p p o rtio n in g
g r a i n la to g iv e each cow I pound o f g r a i n to each 3 o r 4 pounds o f m ilk
p ro d u c e d , depending upon th e ric h n e s s o f th e m ilk .
T his method i s in ­
a c c u ra te fo r two re a so n s: ( I ) B ecause cows w i l l g e t enough n u t r i e n t s from
good roughage a lo n e to p ro v id e fo r th e m aintenance o f t h e i r b o d ie s , as
w e ll a s fo r th e p ro d u c tio n o f a c e r t a i n amount o f s i l k , and (2 ) because
I pound o f g r a in does n o t c o n ta in s u f f i c i e n t n u t r i e n t s fo r a s much a s
3 pounds o f m ilk .
In th e review o f e x p e rim e n ta l work i n which one o r th e o th e r of
th e two system s of fe e d in g were u se d , th e f i r s t method w i l l he r e f e r r e d
to a s " th e u s u a l m ethod", and th e second w i l l b e r e f e r r e d t o as
"Woodward’s M ethod".
Woodward’ s Method V ersus th e U su al Method.
I n a l l th e l i t e r a t u r e
review ed th e r e was no work re p o rte d in w hich an ex p erim en t was conducted
to compare th e e f f ic ie n c y o f th e d i f f e r e n t methods o f fe e d in g .
However,
-1 1 -
i n moat o f th e d a iry fe e d in g t r i a l s r e p o r te d , a d e f i n i t e r u l e fo r fe e d iig
was fo llo w e d .
I t sh o u ld "be p o s s ib le , th a n , by making a rev iew o f t h i s
work to g le a n some in fo rm a tio n t h a t may b e o f v a lu e in com paring th e
method worked o u t by Woodward and th e one su g g este d by Weaver and o th e r s .
The work which sh o u ld be more a p p lic a b le t o Montana c o n d itio n s is t h a t i n
w hich a l f a l f a hay i s fed a s a p a r t o r a l l o f th e roughage.
I n th r e e fe e d in g t r i a l s o f from f i v e to s i x weeks e a c h , V o ll (59)
and a s s o c ia te * o f th e C a lif o r n ia S t a t i o n found t h a t th e method o f fe e d in g
g r a i n to d a iry cows a t th e r a t i o o f I pound f o r ev ery 5 pounds o f m ilk
y ie ld e d w ith in 5 p e r c e n t as good r e s u l t s , on th e a v e ra g e , as a r a t i o o f
I pound o f g r a i n to every 3 pounds o f m ilk .
o f equal p a r t s o f co rn s i l a g e and a l f a l f a .
The roughage fe d c o n s is te d
The " f u l l g r a in " trroup a v erag ­
ed 2 2 .8 pounds o f m ilk p e r day c o n ta in in g .894 pound o f b u t t e r f a t and t h e
same group on th e " lim ite d g ra in " r a t i o n a v erag e d 2 1 .8 pounds o f m ilk and
.869 pound o f b u t t e r f a t p e r d a y .
I t i s th e r e f o r e q u ite e v id e n t t h a t th e s e
ex p erim en ts were conducted w ith cows o f v ery a v e ra g e p ro d u c tio n .
S in c e
g r a in a lo n e i n th e p ro p o r tio n of e i t h e r I to 3 or I to 5 does n o t p ro v id e
enough n u t r i e n t s to produce I pound o f m ilk , i t i s e v id e n t t h a t th e
roughage fu r n is h e s p a r t o f th e n u t r i e n t s fo r m ilk p ro d u c tio n a s w e ll a s
m a in te n an c e .
In a l l , d u rin g a p e rio d o f 214 cow d a y s, t h e heavy g r a i n group
consumed an a v e ra g e d a ily r a t i o n o f 22 pounds o f s i l a g e , 22 pounds o f
a l f a l f a hay, 5 pounds o f b e e t s , 1 .8 pounds o f b e e t p u lp , and 7 .6 pounds
o f g ra in .
The lim ite d g r a i n group in a p e rio d o f 214 cow days consumed
-I ii-
an a v e ra g e d a ily r a t i o n o f 2% pounds o f s i l a g e , 2 1 .3 pounds o f a l f a l f a
hajrt 5 .£ pounds o f b e e ts , 1 .9 pounds o f b e e t p u lp and 4 .2 pounds o f g r a in .
T able I g iv e s th e a v erag e p ro d u c tio n o f m ilk and a comparl son o f th e
n u t r i e n t s consumed w ith th e n u t r i e n t s r e q u ir e d .
T able I - Heavy V ersus L ig h t C ra in F eed in g
M ilk T e st Average Wt. TotaT D ig estib Y e N u trle irE s ^ n o re a se Tn
Tiequired Consumed D iffe re n c e P ro d u c tio n
Heavy grain 2 2 .8 3 .9
1157
1 6 .4 ?
2 2 .8 4
vO T
6^
L ight g ra in 2 K 8 _ S .£ _ _1JL58____ 20^.00___________v3^78
Group
Tro c o n c lu s io n s may be a r r iv e d a t from th e d a ta i n t h i s t a b l e : ( I )
B oth groups w ere fed i n e x cess o f re q u ire m e n ts, when fe d i n th e p r o p o r tio n
o f I to 3 and I to 5 , and (2) th e r e was an In c re a s e i n p ro d u c tio n when an
a lr e a d y l i b e r a l r a t i o n was made more l i b e r a l .
At th e H untley F ie ld S t a t i o n , M oseley, S t u a r t , and G raves (46) fe d
a group o f 10 H o ls te in cows on a r a t i o n o f a l f a l f a , b e e t s i l a g e , and b e e t
p u lp ; th e n e x t y e a r th e group was fed th e same roughages and ^ r a i n in th e
p r o p o r tio n o f I pound to each 6 pounds o f m ilk ; th e t h i r d y e a r th e g » up
re c e iv e d th e same roughages and in a d d itio n , I pound o f g r a in to each 3
pounds o f m ilk .
Ten cows i n a l l com pleted a 365-day t e s t on each o f tb s
th r e e r a t i o n s .
S in c e th e y w ere on p a s tu r e i n th e summer th e com parisons
were made o f th e th r e e groups d u rin g th e w in te r fe e d in g p e rio d o f 201 d y y s.
The group fe d g r a i n a t th e r a t e o f I pound t o 6 pounds o f m ilk
consumed very c lo s e to t h e i r t h e o r e t i c a l re q u ire m e n ts, a c c o rd in g to th e
Meigs and C onverse s ta n d a rd (3 9 ) , t h e i r a v erag e consum ption o f t o t a l
d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s b e in g 2 .4 p e r c e n t In e x c e ss o f t h e i r re q u ire m e n ts.
They a l s o produced 19.2 p e r c e n t more b u t t e r f a t th a n th e group fe d
roughages e x c lu s iv e ly , and g a in ed a n av erag e o f 87 pounds i n l i v e w e ig h t.
13-
The group fe d roughages e x c lu s iv e ly f a i l e d by 4 .6 p e r c e n t to
consume enough n u t r i e n t s a c c o rd in g to th e Meigs and C onverse t a b l e s , and
l o s t a n a v e ra g e o f 23 pounds o f l i v e w eight d u rin g th e 201 d a y s.
The t h i r d g ro u p , o r th e group re c e iv in g I pound o f g r a i n f o r each
pound o f m ilk , produced o n ly 6 .7 p e r c e n t more b u t t e r f a t th a n th e group
fe d a t t h e r a t e o f I pound o f g r a i n to each 6 pounds o f m ilk .
This group
consumed 2 9 .2 p e r c e n t more n u t r i e n t s th a n were re q u ire d and g a in e d an
a v erag e o f 106 pounds in l i v e w eig h t d u rin g th e w in te r fe e d in g p e r io d .
A ll o f th e cows in t h i s eo p erim en t were h ig h p ro d u c e rs and th e r e
was b u t very l i t t l e v a r i a t i o n i n t h e i r p ro d u c tio n d u rin g th e y e a r . D uring
th e y e a r th e y re c e iv e d g r a in a t th e r a t e o f I pound t o 6 pounds o f m ilk ,
th e s e 10 cows produced a n a v erag e o f 676.46 pounds o f b u t t e r f a t , v a ry in g
in p ro d u c tio n from 471.88 to 627.08 pounds o f b u t t e r f a t i n t h e i r 365-day
p e r Io d.
S in c e a l l o f th e s e cows produced a t ab o u t th e same l e v e l , i t i s
v ery p ro b ab le t h a t i n th is c a s e th e p r o p o r tio n o f I pound o f g r a i n to
6 pounds o f m ilk was about t h e c o r r e c t p r o p o r tio n fo r cows p ro d u cin g
t h a t q u a n tity o f m ilk and b u t t e r f a t .
Three d i f f e r e n t r a t e s o f fe e d l%
w ere t r i e d on th e same group and one proved t o b e about r i g h t fo r t h a t
g ro u p .
However, would t h i s experim ent have proved so s a t i s f a c t o r y i f th e
cows had v a r ie d w id ely in p ro d u c tio n a s i s more o fte n th e c a s e ?
Due
to th e f a c t t h a t th e roughages fu rn is h e d such a la r g e p r o p o r tio n o f th e
n u t r i e n t s and th e cows were such h ig h p ro d u c e rs , th e d a ta may b e l n t e r i r e te d a s in d ic a tin g t h a t low p ro d u c e rs would r e c e iv e a s u f f i c i e n t
amount o f n u t r i e n t s from th e roughage a lo n e .
The f a c t t h a t th o s e high
—1 4 —
p ro d u c e rs , when fe d n o th in g h u t ro u g h ag e, consumed alm o st enough n u t r i e n t s
t o su p p ly t h e i r re q u ire m e n ts a ls o I n d ic a te s t h a t such Is th e c a s e .
The
consum ption o f su c h la r g e amounts o f n u t r i e n t s In th e form o f roughage was
p ro b a b ly due to th e g r e a t v a r ie ty o f roughages fe d .
D airy c a t t l e fe e d in g t r i a l s were conducted by P o s te r and L a tta (16)
o f th e lew Mexico S t a t i o n , In which s t r i c t l y a l f a l f a hay fe e d in g was com­
p a re d w ith a l f a l f a hay and g r a i n fe e d in g , by u se o f th e r e v e r s a l method.
The a l f a l f a was fe d ad lib itu m to b o th groups and th e g r a i n 'fas fed in
th e p r o p o r tio n o f I pound o f g ra in to each 3 pounds o f m ilk p ro d u ced .
The
g r a in fe d gro u p produced 10 p e r c e n t more b u t t e r f a t th a n th e s t r i c t l y
a l f a l f a group*
The cowe used i n th e s e ex p erim en ts were m ostly g ra d e J e r s e y s w ith
a few p u re b re d J e r s e y s , G uernseys and I I o ls te in s .
The g r a in fe d c o n s is te d
o f eq u al p a r ts o f c o rn and b ra n , c o n ta in in g 73*3 p e r c e n t t o t a l d ig e s t ib le
n u t r i e n t s a c c o rd in g to th e Henry and M o rriso n ’s t a b l e s .
The cows fed
a l f a l f a and g r a in over a p e r io d o f fo u r months av erag ed 1 4 .7 pounds o f
4 .8 p e r c e n t m ilk on 2 5 .6 pounds o f a l f a l f a and 6.66 pounds o f g r a i n , and
g a in e d 26 pounds in l i v e w eight p e r m onth.
S in c e t h e i r a v e ra g e w eight was
a b o u t 1 ,100 pounds, t h e i r re q u ire m e n ts fo r t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u tr i e n ts
a c c o rd in g to th e Meigs and C onverse ta b le s was 14.23 pounds p e r day;
w hereas th e y re c e iv e d 4 8 .0 8 pounds o f t o t a l d i g e s t ib le n u t r i e n t s por d ay .
The cows fed a l f a l f a a lo n e av erag ed 13.1 pounds o f 4 .8 p e r c e n t
m ilk on 31.25 pounds o f good a l f a l f a h ay , and g a in e d 2 pounds p e r month
in l i v e w e ig h t.
C o n sid e rin g th e w eight a g a in a t 1,100 pounds, th e r e ­
q u irem ents o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s would be 1 3 .6 pounds p e r d ^ ;
-
15 -
w hereaa th e y a p p a r e n tly re c e iv e d 16.1 pounds p e r d a y .
T hia experim ent fu rn is h e d a good exam ple o f one o f th e camion
f a u l t s o f fe e d in g a c e r t a i n amount o f g r a in fo r every pound o f m ilk produc­
ed.
The a l f a l f a a lo n e p ro v id e d s u f f i c i e n t n u tr i e n ts fo r th e s e low produc­
ing c owe.
The f a c t t h a t th e y gained 2 pounds p e r month on a l f a l f a a lo n e
in d ic a te s t h a t th e y were re c e iv in g a b o u t th e p ro p e r amount o f n u t r i e n t s .
The groups re c e iv in g g r a i n consumed about th e p ro p e r amount o f n u t r i e n t s .
The groups r e c e iv in g g r a in consumed c o n s id e ra b le more t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e :
n u t r i e n t s th a n was r e q u ir e d and g a in e d 29 pounds p e r month i n l i v e w e ig h t.
The in c r e a s e i n p ro d u c tio n by th e g r a i n fe d group may have been due to a
co m b in atio n o f f a c t o r s , nam ely: th e supernorm al p la n e o f n u t r i t i o n , and thV%
in c re a s e d v a r ie ty and p a l a t a b l l l t y o f th e r a t i o n .
The fe e d in g o f a l f a l f a hay as th e e x c lu s iv e r a t i o n f o r d a iry cows
was compared w ith th e fe e d in g o f b a r le y and a l f a l f a hay by T ru e, Woll and
V oorhies (53) d u rin g two s u c c e s s iv e w in te r fe e d in g p e r io d s .
F o u rte e n cows
were fe d in th e f i r s t t r i a l and 18 w ere fed in th e second t r i a l .
t r i a l s th e r e v e r s a l method was u s e d .
I n b o th
The r a t i o n c o n s is te d o f a l f a l f a
h ay , g r e e n a l f a l f a and b a r le y , in th e c a s e of t h e cows on th e grtd n r a t i o n .
The group on roughage e x c lu s iv e ly re c e iv e d g reen a l f a l f a and a l f a l f a hay .
In b o th t r i a l s th e a d d itio n o f b a r le y t o th e r a t i o n in c re a s e d th e p ro d u c tio n
o f m ilk 13 p e r c e n t .
The cows in t h i s ex p erim en t w ould b e c o n sid e re d a s lew p roducers
s in c e t h e i r a v e ra g e d a ily p ro d u c tio n of b u t t e r f a t was o n ly 0 .6 pounds.
B arley was fed a t th e r a t e o f I pound t o each 6 pounds o f m ilk p ro d u ced .
-1 6 -
S ln e a t h e In fo rm a tio n w»s a v a il a b le on th e a v erag e l i v e w eig h t o f th e cow,
P r o d a c tIon o f m ilk , p e r c e n t o f b u t t e r f a t , and a v e ra g e d a i l y fe e d eoneun&pt l o n , i t wae a o a s lb le to oonpare th e amount o f to ta l d i g e s t i b l e n u tr i e n ts
e a te n by the h arlq y fed groups w ith th e t h e o r e t i c a l re q u ire m e n ts o f th e s e
cows a c c o rd in g to t h e H elgs and C onverse s ta n d a rd .
The r e s u l t s show t h a t In th e f i r s t t r i a l s th e cows re c e iv e d enough
n u t r i e n t s t o produce 36 pounds o f m ilk and g a in s l i g h t l y In w e ig h t.
e v e r , t h i s group averaged o nly KB pounds p e r d a y .
How­
In th e seco n d t r i a l s
th e cows re c e iv e d enough n u t r i e n t s to p ro v id e f o r 36 pounds o f m ilk b u t
produced o n ly 1 9 .2 pounds.
H ere, a g a in , low p ro d u c e rs were fed I n e x c e ss o f t h e i r re q u ire m e n ts
when a llo w ed a c e r t a i n amount o f g r a in f o r every pound o f m ilk p ro d u ced .
Woll (6 0 ) fed one group o f h e i f e r s e x c lu s iv e ly on a l f a l f a and
a n o th e r group a l f a l f a , u lla g e and co n sen t r a t e s .
b e fo re fre s h e n in g and c o n tin u e d th ro u g h t »
The fe e d in g began one y e a r
l a c t a t i o n p e r io d s .
The ex­
c lu s i v e a l f a l f a r a t i o n c o n s is te d o f t s o - f i f t h s g re e n a l f a l f a and t h r a e f lf th s a lf a lf a hay.
The m ixed r a t i o n s wore made up o f c l fa If h b a y , g re e n
a l f a l f a , s i l a g e and concent r a t e s .
The c o n c e n tra te r a t i o n c o n s is te d o f b ra n ,
b a r le y , d r ie d b e e t p a lp and coconu t n a i l .
The method o f fe e d in g th e g ro in
wae n o t g iv e n .
The r e s u l t s shor t h a t th e group on t h e mixed r a t i o n g a in e d 20 p ar
c e n t more I n w eig h t and showed a ten d en cy tow ards a s l i g h t l y g r e a t e r body
developm ent, as shown by th e m easurem ents o f th e h e ig h t o f sh o u ld e rs and
h i p s , w id th between h i p s , le n g th from Hip bone to p in bona, le n g th from
s h o u ld e r to p in bones and h e a r t g i r t h .
•17-
B urlng th e f i r s t l a c t a t i o n p e rio d th e group on th e mixed r a t i o n s
produced 40 p e r c e n t more b u tte r f a t th a n th e a l f a l f a fed g ro u p , and i n th e
second l a c t a t i o n p e rio d produced 25 p er c e n t more.
Except fo r some
tr o u b l e in th e second y e a r w ith one cow i n t h e mixed r a t i o n g ro u p , which
c u t h e r p ro d u c tio n in Iia lf , t h i s group would have shown ab o u t th e same
in c r e a s e i n p ro d u c tio n o v e r th e a l f a l f a fed group a s i t d id th e p re v io u s
y ear.
Here a g a in a l l th e f ig u r e s a r e a v a il a b le to compare th e two groups
on th e b a s i s o f n u t r i e n t s re q u ire d and n u t r i e n t s re c e iv e d by th e u se o f
th e 'Je ig s and Converse s ta n d a r d .
The a l f a l f a fe d group re c e iv e d enough
t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s above m aintenance f o r th e p ro d u c tio n o f 2 1 .E
pounds o f m ilk ; w hereas t h e i r a v e ra g e p ro d u c tio n was 17 pounds o f m ilk .
The mixed r a t i o n group re c e iv e d enough n u t r i e n t s above m aintenance to
p ro v id e f o r 54 pounds o f m ilk , w hereas t h e i r p ro d u c tio n was o n ly 2 4 .E
pounds o f m ilk .
A p p aren tly th e mixed r a t i o n Had a ten d en cy t o in c r e a s e th e p ro ­
d u c tio n .
However, s in c e th e group on mixed r a tio n s were fed c o n s id e r­
a b ly in e x ce ss o f t h e i r re q u ire m e n ts, some o f t h i s in c re a s e may have
been due to th e su p er-n o rm al p la n e o f n u t r i t i o n .
Vernon (66) o f th e Hew Mexico S t a t i o n fe d one group o f cows a l l
th e a l f a l f a th e y would e a t and e ig h t pounds o f b ra n and a n o th e r group
a l f a l f a e x c lu s iv e ly , u s in g t h e r e v e r s a l m ethod, d u rin g two p e rio d s o f
s ix weeks each.
The groups on a l f a l f a and b ra n produced 1 6 .5 p e r c e n t more m ilk ,
b u t a t a low er e f f ic ie n c y o f 8 p e r c e n t due to an excess o f n u tr i e n ts
—1 8 —
above re q u ire m e n ts .
The cows i n t h i s g ro u p consumed 3 3.3 pounds o f
a l f a l f a p e r day» o r 22 pounds o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s and produced
1 6 .6 pounds o f m ilk p e r d ay .
The groups on a l f a l f a e x c lu s iv e ly consumed an av erag e o f 3 3 .Q
pounds o f a l f a l f a p e r day o r 1 7.44 pounds o f to ta l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s
and produced 1 3 .7 pounds o f m ilk p e r d ay .
S in c e th e cows used were m o stly g ra d e J e r s e y s , i t is e v id e n t t h a t
th e p ro d u c tio n and m ain ten an ce was w e ll p ro v id e d fo r by th e 33 pounds o f
a l f a l f a consumed.
o f re q u ire m e n ts .
The e ig h t pounds o f b ra n fe d was a p p a re n tly in excess
In sum m arising t h i s work th e n i t i s a p p a re n t th a t th e
in c r e a s e in p ro d u c tio n fo llo w in g th e a d d itio n o f b ra n may have been due
n o t o n ly to th e in c re a s e d v a r ie ty and p a l a t l b i l l t y , b u t a l s o to an excess
o f n u trie n ts .
A fte r c o n d u ctin g c o n tin u o u s fe e d in g t r i a l s c o v erin g fo u r y e a r s ,
H eadley (28) o f th e Nevada S t a t i o n concluded t h a t when a pound o f t o t a l
d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s in th e form o f a l f a l f h hay i s c h ea p e r th a n a pound
o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s i n th e form o f g r a in , th e amount o f g ra in
fed sh o u ld c o rre sp o n d to th e m ilk and f a t p ro d u c e d , and i t s u se sh o u ld be
d is c o n tin u e d when p ro d u c tio n d e c lin e s to th e p o in t * e re roughage a lo n e
w i l l su p p ly th e n u t r i e n t s .
The in c r e a s e i n b u t t e r f a t from fe e d in g g ra in
amounted to .2 pound d a ily fo r 260 days fo r fo u r cows consuming an average
o f 8 pounds o f g r a in p e r day.
The r e s u l t s o f an ex p erim en t w ith 71 H o ls te in s and J e r s e y s over a
p e rio d o f th r e e w in te rs w ere r e p o r te d by Woodward, Shepherd and Graves ( 6 1 ) )
d u rin g which tim e th e cows w ere fe d a c c o rd in g to Woodward’s method which
■19-
was p r e rlo u e ljr e x p la in e d in t h e t e x t o f t h i s t heel a.
From e x p erim en tB i n which cows had been g iv o i a l l t h e roughage
th e v would e a t , th e y d e term in e d th e amount o f a l f a l f a hay la r g e cows and
sm all cows would e a t when i t was fe d i n a d d itio n to a d e f i n i t e q u a n tity
o f s ila g e .
Thqy found a s e x p ec te d , th a t th e la r g e cows consumed more
roughage th a n t h e sm all cows and t h a t Jo re ey a and H o le te in e o f th e same
s i t e a t e about th e same q u a n tity o f ro u g h ag e.
When cows w ere fed 3 pounds
o f s i l a g e a day per 100 pounds o f l i v e w eight and a l l t h e good a l f a l f a
h ty th e y would e a t , t h e sm all cows a t e ab o u t 8 pounds o f a l f a l f a p e r day
above th e amount r e q u ir e d f o r m ain ten an ce, and th e la r g e cows a te a b o u t
10 pounds of a l f a l f a p e r day above m aintenance re q u ire m e n ts, or enough
t o produce 10 and 16 pounds o f J e rs e y end H o ls te in m ilk r e s p e c t i v e l y .
J e rs e y s producing o v e r 10 pounds o f m ilk p e r day were fe d .6 pound o f
g r a in f o r each pound o f m ilk over th a t amount and H o ls te in s were fed .4
pound o f g r a i n f o r each pound o f m ilk over s ix te e n pounds.
They s t a t e t h a t :
"For com parison o f t h i s new method o f fe e d in g
g r a in t o d a ir y cows w ith th e u su al method o f feed in g I pound o f g r a in f o r
each 3 or 4 pounds o f m ilk produced , i t would have been d e s ir a b le to have
had s im ila r d a ta on t h e p ro d u c tio n , d e c lin e i n m ilk y i e l d , and g a in or lo s s
in body w eight o f cows fe d by th e U sual M ethod,
However, i f th e n u tr i e n ts
p ro v id e d by each o f th e s e two methods o f fe e d Irg a re compared w ith th o se
p ro v id e d by th e Haecker and Savage s ta n d a r d s , i t w ill b e f o u n d ^
^
r u l e , t h i s new method more n e a r ly s u p p lie s th e n u t r i e n t s i n th e amounts
p r e s c r ib e d by th e s ta n d a r d s th a n th e one in common u s e .
F u r th e m o re , th e
r e s u l t s o f e x p erim en tal fe e d in g h e re r e p o r te d show t h a t t h e n u t r i e n t s were
-ZOa c t u a l l y s u p p lie d i n vezy n e a r ly th e c o r r e c t am ounts".
"T his method does n o t a p p ly w ith acc u ra cy t o th e I r r i g a t e d s e c tio n s
o f th e West where hay o f e x c e lle n t q u a lity i s grow n, n o r w i l l i t ap p ly
to th o s e s e c tio n s where a poor roughage is u sed , a s s tra w , co rn s to v e r ,
c o tto n s e e d h u l l s , or c o a r s e or w eather damaged hay .
In th e form er c ase
th e e x c e lle n t roughage a lo n e w ill s u p p o rt a p ro d u c tio n much i n ex cess o f
10 pounds fo r J e r s e y s and 16 for H o ls te ln s t in th e l a t t e r c a s e th e poor
rougxage w i l l n o t p ro v id e fo r t h e n u t r i e n t s fo r 10 to 16 pounds
r e s p e c t i v e l y ."
E xperim ental work conducted a t th e Havre S ta tio n , under th e d ir e c tio n
o f Vinke (66) shows t h a t 40 p re g n a n t b u t d ry m ilk in g s h o rth o rn cows made an
a v e ra g e d a ily g a in o f ,3 7 pound, on 1 8.3 pounds o f a l f a l f a hay, d u rin g
p e rio d of 111 d a y s .
a
S in ce they av erag ed 1,082 pounds i n body w eig h t th e y
a p p a r e n tly consumed o nly 1 .1 pounds o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s in ex­
cess o f m aintenance re q u ire m e n ts , a c c o rd in g to th e Meigs and Converse
s ta n d a rd .
Moat o f th e s e cows c a lv e d s h o r tly a f t e r th e c o m p letio n o f th e
ex p erim en t so i t I s e v id e n t t h a t , a lth o u g h they made an a c tu a l g a in o f .3 7
pound per day in body w e ig h t, t h i s would r e p r e s e n t a lo s e i n f le s h in g o f
a p p ro x im a te ly .6 pound per day, due to th e f a c t t h a t th e .3 7 pound per day
would not a cc o u n t fo r th e t o t a l I n c r e a s ii^ w eight o f th e f e t u s .
From th is
w ork, i t is a p p a re n t t h a t a l f a l f a hay fed n o t to exceed re q u ire m e n ts,
a c c o rd in g to th e Meigs and C onverse s ta n d a rd , would v ery n e a r ly p ro v id e
fo r th e m aintenance o f a cow.
ConeI u s l one. I . In a l l th e exp erim en ts rev iew ed , ex cep t t h e H untley
-2 1 -
work, th e cows were c o m p a ra tiv e ly low p ro d u c e rs .
The m a jo rity of them
were fed by th e u s u a l method and th e r a t i o o f pounds o f g r a in to pounds o f
m ilk was I to 3, I t o 4 , o r I to 5 .
A ccording to th e Meigs and Converse
t a b l e s , th e low p ro d u c in g cows in a l l c a s e s re c e iv e d an excess o f n u t r i e n t s
ra n g in g from a few pounds to alm ost d ouble t h e i r re q u ire m e n t.
2.
The h ig h p ro d u cin g cows a t H untley re c e iv e d s u f f i c i e n t n u tr i e n ts
from a g r e a t v a r ie ty o f ro u g h a g e s, and g r a i n fed a t th e r a t e o f I pound
to 6 pounds o f m ilk .
we must co n clu d e, th e r e f o r e , t h a t th e roughage p ro ­
v id ed th e n u t r i e n t s fo r th e m ajor p o r tio n o f th e m ilk and t h a t low produc­
e rs fed t h a t same v a r ie ty o f roughages would not need g r a in .
S. In a l l e x p e rim e n ta l work r e p o rte d in which a l f a l f a was fed ad
lib itu m to d a ir y cows a s th e only ro u g h ag e, b o th low and h ig h t e s t i n g cows
consumed enough a l f a l f a to ta k e c a re o f m ain ten an ce and a t l e a s t 20 pounds
o f mi lie p e r day.
4 . When s u f f i c i e n t n u t r i e n t s were b e in g p ro v id e d a c c o rd in g t o th e Meigs
and C onserse t a b l e s , th e a d d itio n o f c o n c e n tra te s to th e r a t i o n in c re a s e d
th e p ro d u c tio n from 10 to 4 3 p e r c e n t.
5. P ro d u c tio n wqs in c re a s e d by a supernorm al p la n e o f n u t r i t i o n , but
n o t i n p r o p o r tio n to th e n u t r i e n t s s u p p lie d .
6 . F eeding t r i a l s a t B a l t s v i l l e , M aryland, showed t h a t th e method
o f fe e d in g su g g este d by Woodward more n e a r ly s u p p lie s th e n u t r i e n t s in
th e amounts p re s c rib e d by th e a c c e p te d fe e d in g s ta n d a rd s th a n t h e one in
common u s e .
Amount o f A lf a lf a Hay t h a t D airy Cows w i l l Consume.
The ms thod o f
fe e d in g s u g g e ste d by Woodward, Shepherd and Graves (61) r e q u ir e s t h a t th e
a v erag e consum ption o f roughage by t h e v a rio u s b reed s o f d a ily c a t t l e
must b e known.
They determ ined what th e a v e ra g e consum ption o f a l f a l f a
hay o f good q u a lity would be when th e cows were fed s ila g e i n th e pro­
p o r tio n o f 3 pounds p e r day f o r each 100 pounds o f l i v e w e ig h t.
In
o rd e r to fo rm u la te a method f o r W estern c o n d itio n s by u sin g t h i s same
p la n , i t i s d e s ir a b le to d e te rm in e how much a l f a l f a th e cows o f th e
v a rio u s b re e d s w i l l consume when c o n c e n tra te s a r e in c lu d e d i n th e r a t i o n .
From th e r e s u l t s o f s e v e r a l ex p erim en ts w ith a l f a l f a hay fe e d in g ,
Headley (28) co n clu d es t h a t th e c a p a c ity o f th e a v erag e cow fo r hay is
lim ite d t o ab o u t 30 pounds p e r day f o r a 1 ,000 pound cow o r 36 pounds f o r
a 1,300 pound cow.
T a b le I I g iv e s th e a v e ra g e consum ption o f a l f a l f a hay by d a iry cows
a t th e Nevada S ta tio n d u rin g 1931 in a n ex p erim en t co n d u cted by Headley (2 9 ).
These cows d id n o t r e c e iv e any o th e r fe e d th a n a l f a l f a hay from th e tim e
th e y dropped t h e i r f i r s t c a l f .
Numbers I and 2 dropped t h e i r f i r s t c a lv e s
i n 1928 and did n o t r e c e iv e any o th e r fe e d th a n a l f a l f a u n t i l 1932.
Cow
Number
T "
2
3
4
5
T ab le I I D aily Consumption o f A lf a lf a
Hay liaten P e r Pay
Average m ilk
H ig h est fo r
Average for
p ro d u c tio n p e r
Average W eight
any one month Y arr 1931
day fo r y e a r 1931
o f Cow
#
Lbs.
Lbs.
3879"
----------- 2076----------- " " 1430----------4 4 .2
36.0
18.6
4 1 .8
1336
24 .0
38.9
1160
4 3 .2
17.6
30.6
33.1
966
36.9
1 6.7
1035
31.0
H eadley (30) s t a t e d t h a t he had o bserved th a t cows e a t th e most
a l f a l f a haor d u rin g p e rio d s o f high p ro d u c tio n and l e a s t when th ey were d ry .
He a l s o s ta t e d t h a t th e amount o f hey v a r ie s w ith th e amount o f m ilk
-2 9 -
produced a s w e ll a s w ith th e w eight o f th e cow.
In fe e d in g t r i a l s conducted a t th e Now Mexico S ta tio n by P o s te r and
Heidks 117) Where d a iry cows were fed a l f a l f a ad lib itu m , 16 cows a v erag ­
in g 1 ,057 pounds i n w e ig h t, a t e 35 pounds o f a l f a l f a hay and 5 .8 pounds
o f g r a i n p e r day d u rin g a p e rio d o f 50 d a y s.
G rain was fe d i n th e p ro ­
p o r tio n o f I pound to every 5 pounds o f m ilk produced.
Cows a t t h e Hunt le y S t a t i o n (work n o t y e t p u b lish e d ) have consumed
a s much a s 50 pounds o f a l f a l f a p e r day when a l f a l f a hay c o n s ti tu te d
th e o n ly fe e d .
I f legume hay i s th e o n ly rouglmge fe d , th e cow w ill e a t n e a r ly 2
pounds o f i t fo r each 100 pounds o f l i v e w eight a c c o rd in g to Weaver (5 7 ).
I n an experim ent conducted by P o s te r and L a tta (1 6 ) , two groups o f
g ra d e J e r s e y s and a few p u re b re d J e r s e y s , Guernseys and H o ls te in s were
fe d on e x c lu s iv e a l f a l f a h ay r a t i o n v e rs u s a n a l f a l f a hay and c o n c e n tra te
r a t i o n , d u rin g a p e rio d o f fo u r m onths,
fh e body w eig h ts w ere n o t g iv e n .
The group on th e a l l hay r a t i o n a t e 33 pounds o f good q u a lity a l f a l f a hay
p e r d ay .
The group on t h e hay and g r a i n r a t i o n a t e 2 5 .6 pounds o f good
q u a lity a l f a l f a hay and 6.66 pounds o f c o n c e n tra te s p er d a y .
Each pound
o f g r a in d e c re a se d th e consum ption o f a l f a l f a 0 .9 pound.
The r e p o r t o f V ernon’s experim ent (65) shows t h a t th e group on th e
a l f a l f a hgjr r a t i o n a t e 3 3 .8 pounds o f a l f a l f a hay p a r Asy , w hile th e
same group on a l f a l f a hay and b ra n a te 3 3 .3 pounds o f a l f a l f a p e r day and
8 pounds o f b ra n .
hay .15 pound.
One pound o f b ran low ered th e consum ption o f a l f a l f a
-2 4 -
ITeadl^y (28) r e p o r ts t h a t d u rin g a two y e a r fe e d in g p e rio d each pound o f
g r a in i n th e r a t i o n d e c re a se d th e consum ption o f a lf a l fa Iiay o n e - h a lf
pound p e r d ay .
However, th e e f f e c t was n o t c o n s i s t e n t .
?he f i r s t y e a r
th e s a v in g was on ly o n e -te n th pound o f hay f o r each pound of g r a in fe d .
The second y e a r th e sa v in g was one pound o f hay p e r pound o f g r a in fed#
D ata from t h e e x p erim en t by T ru e, W oll, and V oorhies (53) show
t h a t when th e two groups w ere re c e iv in g 30 pounds o f g re e n a l f a l f a and
a l f a l f a hay a t w i l l , each pound o f b a r le y fed d ecrea se d th e consum ption
o f hay 0 .3 pound.
The cows were e a ti n g a b o u t 20 pounds o f a l f a l f a h ay .
An experim ent conducted by Woodward, Shepherd and G raves (61)
t o t a l l i n g sev en m onths. T ab le I I I , shows t h a t th e b e t t e r g ra d e s o f
a l f a l f a hay a r e e a te n i n la r g e r q u a n t i t i e s th a n a re th e p o o re r g ra d e s .
A lso th e b e t t e r g rad es o f a l f a l f a were th e most e f f e c t iv e i n m a in ta in ­
in g th e m ilk flo w .
T ab le I I I
E f f e c t o f th e q u a lity o f a l f a l f a hay upon th e amounts o f hay
e a te n and d e c lin e i n m ilk y i e l d . (Average f o r 10 c o w s).
Average q u a n tity o f hay Average d e m in e in
Kind o f hay fe d
e a te n d a ily p e r cow
M ilk y ie ld
A lf a lf a
Pounds
P er cent
Ho. I
1 4 .4
No d e c lin e
Ho. I
1 4.8
2 .6
Ho. 2
13.0
5 .0
Ho1 3
___
_______
___ 1 2.8
_
___ 3 .6
S ila g e was fe d a t th e r a t e o f 3 pou n d s*
d a ily p e r 100 pounds o f l i v e w e ig h t.
I n Hie c a se o f Hols t e i n s , g r a in was
fed a t a n av erag e r a t e o f 0 .4 pound o f g r a in fo r each pound o f m ilk p ro ­
duced above 16 poundsj and i n t h e c a s e o f J e r s q r s , 0 .6 pound o f g r a in f o r
each pound o f m ilk produced above 10 pounds, ad ju stm en t b e in g made th e
f i r s t o f each m onth.
C o n clu sio n s. I . D airy cows w i l l consume Detwoan 25 and 35 pounds o f
good q u a lity a l f a l f a Iiay p e r day whan i t i s fe d ad lib itu m w ith g r a in .
2 . O ther f a c to r s b e in g c o n s ta n t th e amount o f a l f a l f a hay e ate n
v a r ie s a c c o rd in g to th e w eig h t o f th a cow.
3 . Oood q u a lity a l & l f a hay i s e a te n i n la r g e r q u a n t i t i e s than is
poor q u a lity a l f a l f a h a y .
4 . Good q u a lity a l f a l f a hay is more e f f e c t i v e i n m a in ta in in g th e
m ilk flow th a n i s p o o r q u a lity a l f a l f a h ay .
5 . C o n c e n tra te s added to th e r a t i o n o f a cow in m ilk w i l l not de­
c re a s e th e consum ption o f a l f a l f a more th a n one pound f o r e ac h pound o f
c o n c e n tra te s added.
E f fe c t o f G rain i n R a tio n on E f fic ie n c y o f P ro d u c tio n .
The e f f e c t
o f g r a i n in th e r a t i o n upon th e e f f i c i e n c y o f p ro d u c tio n was d eterm in ed by
means o f th e Meigs and Converse s ta n d a rd from t h e d a ta in a lo n g tim e ex­
perim ent r e p o rte d i n th e 1929 r e p o r t o f th e H untley Experim ent S t a t i o n . 14 5 ).
The cows on th e roughage r a t i o n r e q u ir e d 1 5 .2 pounds o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e
n u t r i e n t s p e r pound o f b u tte r f a t p ro d u ced .
The roughage group was fe d 4 .6
p e r c e n t under re q u ire m e n ts w h ile th e lim ite d g r a in group was fe d 2 .4 p e r
c e n t over th e re q u ire m e n ts.
Thus th e a d d itio n o f g r a in a p p a r e n tly made no
d if f e r e n c e i n th e e f f i c i e n c y o f p ro d u c tio n when th e cows were fed so as
n o t t o m a te r ia lly exceed re q u ire m e n ts .
However, th e t h i r d group was fe d
2 9 .2 p e r c e n t i n excess o f re q u ire m e n ts, and consumed 1 9 .3 pounds o f t o t a l
d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s p e r pound o f b u t t e r f a t p ro d u ced .
-2 6 -
Re s u i t s o f a n experim ent eenducted tyr Headley (28) ah owe t> » t th e
a v e ra g e re q u ire m e n t o f g r a i n fed cows waa 1 9 .6 pound a o f t o t a l d ig e s t ib le
n u t r i e n t s p e r pound o f b u t t e r f a t produced a M t h a t th e a v e ra g e re q u ire ­
ments fo r th e cows fed e x c lu s iv e ly on a l f a l f a waa 18 .7 pounds o f t o t a l
d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s p e r pound o f b u t t e r f a t p ro d u ced .
H eadley concludes
t h a t , "Each pound o f d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s fe d t o cows e i t h e r i n th e form
o f g r a in o r o f a l f a l f a hay r e tu r n s eq u al amounts o f b u t t e r f a t t o th e
dairym an p ro v id in g 11) th e r a t i o n c o n ta in s s u f f i c i e n t p r o t e i n , (2) th e
r a t i o n i s p a l a t a b l e , (3 ) th e cows re c e iv e a l l th e hay th e y w i l l c le a n up,
and (4 ) g r a i n i s n o t fe d i n e x cess o f t h e o r e tic a l n u t r i e n t re q u ire m e n ts" .
Working w ith cow t e s t i n g a s s o c ia tio n re c o rd s from 18 h e rd s in
w e ste rn M ontana, Johnson, Sherman, T re ts v e n , E z e k ie l and W ells (34) r e ­
p o rte d a r a t h e r d e f i n i t e r e l a tio n s h ip betw een th e p e r c e n t o f g r a in In
th e r a t i o n and th e e f f ic ie n c y o f p ro d u c tio n .
T h e ir r e s u l t s show an in ­
c re a s e i n e f f ic ie n c y o f 2 .8 p e r c en t when 10 p e r c e n t o f th e t o t a l
d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s a r e i n th e form o f g r a i n , 8.4 p e r c e n t when 20 p e r
c e n t o f th e t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s a r e fu rn ish e d by g r a i n and 14 p er
c e n t th e n 30 p e r c e n t o f th e t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s a r e fu rn is h e d
by g r a i n .
ConeI u s io n s . I . The o nly c o n tr o lle d experim ent found in th e l i t e r ­
a t u r e , on th e e f f e c t on th e e f f ic ie n c y o f b u t t e r f a t p ro d u c tio n by th e
a d d itio n o f g ra in to an a l f a l f a r a t i o n , was t h a t r e p o rte d by Headley (2 8 ) .
Hls c o n c lu s io n s a re t h a t g r a in in th e r a t i o n does not a f f e c t th e
e f f ic ie n c y o f p ro d u c tio n when the g r a in i s p a la ta b le and th e cows re c e iv e
a l l th e hay th e y w ill c le a n up*
2« Due to th e la c k o f c o n c lu s iv e d a ta , no d e f i n i t e c o n c lu s io n s
c a n be made a t t h i s t i n e re g a rd in g th e p o s s i b i l i t y o f in c r e a s in g th e
e f f ic ie n c y o f p ro d u c tio n o f b u t t e r f a t by t h e a d d itio n o f g r a in to th e
d a ir y c a t t l e r a t i o n .
■28-
PAR? I l l
MUTR If^ 1 7 3 BEQUIRmSNTS OF DAIRY CO^S— PROTaiW— TJOTtPITIVK ISKI.’RGY— VITAMINS
*d%Lt(AL&
A d a ir y cow uaea feud f o r r ia in ta in in g th e body, t o su p p ly m a te r ia l
fo r m ilk , f o r developm ent o f th e f e t u s , f o r grow th in c a s e th e aniraal is
imrnature and a t tim es t o produce g a in in w e ig h t.
The g e n e ra l c la s s e s o f
food m a te r ia l f o r th e s e p u rp o se s a r e p r o t e i n , c a rb o h y d ra te s and f a t , and
m in e ra l m a tte r and v ita m in s .
P r o te in R equirem ents.
most com plex.
Of a l l th e food n u t r i e n t s , p r o t e i n i s th e
I t s d i s t i n c t i v e f e a tu r e i s t h a t i t c o n ta in s n itr o g e n a lo n g
w ith many o th e r chem ical e le m e n ts .
f u n c tio n s t o p e rfo rm .
P r o te in s have some v ery im p o rtan t
They f u r n is h th e e s s e n t i a l c e l l u l a r m a te r ia l fo r
b u ild in g m uscular and o th e r body t i s s u e .
f o r grow ing a n im a ls.
They a re c o n se q u e n tly n e c e s sa ry
P r o te in s a re a ls o r e q u ir e d by m ature anim als for
th e r e b u ild in g o f worn out t i s s u e s t h a t a r e b e in g c o n s ta n tly to r n down.
P reg n an t anim als demand p r o te in f o r th e p ro p e r developm ent o f th e f e t u s .
The cu rd o f th e m ilk i s l a r g e l y p r o te in .
P r o te in i s a ls o u sed fo r th e
e la b o r a tio n o f th e flat and su g ar o f m ilk .
I t is g e n e r a lly u n d e rsto o d t h a t a s lo n g a s a l f a l f a hay c o n s t i t u t e s
f i f t y p er c e n t o f th e roughage fed, th e p r o t e i n re q u ire m e n ts w ill be
f u l l y met w ith o u t th e a d d itio n o f h ig h p r o t e i n feed s (31) and when
a l f a l f a c o n s t i t u t e s th e o n ly roughage, p r o t e i n i s s u p p lie d c o n sid e ra b ly
in excess o f re q u ire m e n ts .
R ecent work h as shown t h a t t h e r e i s good
-2 9 -
re a so n t o b e lie v e t h a t th e p r o t e i n re q u ire m e n ts o f e x is t in g fe e d in g s ta n d ­
a rd s a r e to o high*
Z f t h i s is th e c a s e , th e W estern dairym an must be
c o n sid e re d a s b e in g even more fa v o ra b ly c irc u m stan c ed a s concerns th e
problem o f su p p ly in g s u f f i c i e n t p r o t e i n .
I t w ould be w e ll th e n to r e ­
view , in b r i e f , th e developm ents i n e x p e rim e n ta l re s e a rc h on p r o te in
re q u ire m e n ts o f d a ir y cows.
J o rd a n (35) was o f th e o p in io n th a t a n e x cess o f p r o te in has a
B tim ais tin g e f f e c t on t h e mammary g la n d .
H aecksr (21) fe d cows on le s s p r o t e i n th a n was p re s c rib e d by
e a r lie r in v e s tig a to rs .
H is p r o t e i n re q u ire m e n t fo r m ilk p ro d u c tio n in
i t s f i n a l form was o b ta in e d by o b se rv in g th e consum ption o f feed
by the cows i n th e h e rd a t th e U n iv e r s ity o f M in n eso ta.
p r o te in
A fte r d e d u c tin g
a l i b e r a l m aintenance re q u ire m e n t, th e rem ain in g feed p r o te in was found
t o be ap p ro x im a te ly 1.38 tim es th e o b serv ed p r o t e i n c o n te n t o f th e m ilk .
B e lie v in g t h a t h is cows were h an d led under more fa v o ra b le c o n d itio n s th a n
th e a v e ra g e , H aecker a r b i t r a r i l y in c re a s e d th e observed f a c to r 1 .3 8 to
1 .7 6 a s th e p ro p e r r e l a t i o n betw een fedd p r o t e i n and m ilk p r o t e i n , in
e s tim a tin g th e amount o f feed p r o t e i n n e c e ssa ry t o produce m ilk o f
d i f f e r e n t g ra d e s under a v erag e c o n d itio n s .
A fte r a s e r i e s o f experim ents w ith r a tio n s o f d i f f e r e n t p r o te in
c o n te n t, L indsey (86) n o te d t h a t w h ile an excess o f p r o te in seemed to
in c r e a s e th e p ro d u c tio n o f m ilk , th e r e was l i t t l e b e n e f it d e riv e d in
fe e d in g more th a n f i f t y p e r c e n t in e x cess o f t h a t re q u ire d f o r m ainten­
ance and p r o t e i n i n m ilk .
The s ta n d a rd d e riv e d by Savage (49) i n a s im ila r m anner, from
—
30 “
p r a c t i c a l o b s e rv a tio n s c o v e rin g only th e w in te r fee d in g p e r io d i n th e
C o rn e ll U n iv e rs ity h e rd , c a l l s f o r a p p ro x im a te ly 36 p e r c e n t more p r o te in
th a n th e H aecker s ta n d a rd o r s l i g h t l y more th an d o uble th e p r o te in con­
te n t o f m ilk .
Armsby ( I ) was o f th e o p in io n t h a t 1.6 0 t i r e s th e p r o te in in th e
m ilk pluo m aintenance wae s u f f i c i e n t .
I n a d d itio n to m ain ten an ce, L to rrie o n 's (32) s ta n d a rd fo r m ilk
p ro d u c tio n e a ts K aeck er’ e fig u r e s as th e low er l i m i t and Savage’s
f ig u r e s a s th e upper l i m i t o f d i g e s t i b l e crude p r o t e i n .
Very e x te n s iv e ex p erim en ts on p r o t e i n re q u ire m e n ts o f d a ir y cows
were conducted by H ille (23) and a s s o c ia te s o f th e Vermont S ta tio n .
They fe d v ery low, low , medium, and high p r o t e i n r a t i o n s t o 106 d i f f e r e n t
cows d u rin g 450 y e a rs o f cow l i f e , e x te n d in g over a p e rio d o f 10 y e a r s .
Ju d g in g by th e r e s u l t s o f t h i s e x te n s iv e work th e r e la ev ery in d ic a tio n
t o b e lie v e t h a t th e p r e s e n t s ta n d a rd s a r e to o h ig h i n t h e i r p r o te in r e ­
q u ire m e n ts, b o th f o r o ain ten azice and fo r m ilk p ro d u c tio n .
The p r o te in
re q u ire m e n ts fo r m ilk p ro d u c tio n w ere only v e ry s l i g h t l y above t h a t w hich
i s i n th e m ilk .
The work o f Buschmami (6 ) and a s s o c ia te s , aa review ed by P o rk in a (47)
have shown in t h e i r s h o r t tim e ex perim ents t h a t feed p r o te in e q u al in
amount to th e m ilk p r o t e i n produced .is a d e q u a te to meet th e p ro d u c tio n
requirem ent*
I n Buachmann’s s ta n d a r d , a n allo w an ce o f tw e n ty -fiv e p e r
c e n t above t h i s amount la in c lu d e d .
P e rk in a (47) o f th e Ohio S ta tio n conducted e x te n s iv e e x p erim en ts,
i n w hich th e amount o f d i g e s t i b l e cru d e p r o te in fed i n th e r a t i o n s v a rie d
v e ry much th e same a s in th e r a tio n s fe d by
H llle (3 3 ) .
The r e s u l t s o f
-3 1 -
t h i s work a g ro e s v ery w a ll w ith th e r e s u l t s o f H ills * w ork.
P e rk in s
s t a t e s t h a t , "These r e s u l t s su p p o rt th e c o n te n tio n o f Buaolmann and
a s s o c ia te s th a t th e o ld e r s ta n d a rd s c a l l fo r u n n e c e s s a rily h i^ h amounts
o f p r o t e i n , th a t th e a c tu a l m aintenance re q n ire ro sn t is l e s s th a n
p r e s c r ib e d i n th e s e s ta n d a r d s , and t h a t above t h i s m ain ten an ce r e q u ir e ­
ment a n amount o f d i g e s t i b l e p r o te in o n ly s l i g h t l y g r e a t e r th a n th e
p r o te in c o n te n t o f m ilk a p p e a rs t o b e a d e q u a te ."
In t h i s w ork, th e
p ro d u c tio n seemed t o follow t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s r a t h e r than
d i g e s t i b l e cru d e p r o te in c o n te n t.
The cows in t h i s experim ent re c e iv e d
a good v a r ie ty o f fe e d s and P e rk in s a t t r i b u t e s a good d e a l o f th e r e s u l t s
to t h i s .
T his work su g g e s ts th a t much o f th e d if f e r e n c e i n | r o d u c tiv e -
n e ss o f r a tio n s , which i n th e p a s t has been a t t r i b u t e d to v a r i a t i o n
i n d i g e s t i b l e cru d e p r o te in c o n te n t, may b e a t t r i b u t e d to t o t a l food
consumed due t o p a l a t a b i l i t y .
Jixperim ental work t o d eterm in e th e minimum p r o te in re q u ire m e n ts
o f d a iry cows was co n d u cted by Savage (SO) o f C o rn e ll, who su p e rv ise d
experim ents w ith th r e e groups o f d a ir y cows o f tw elve cows each , o v er a
p e rio d o f t h r e e y e a r s .
The th r e e p la n e s o f d i g e s t i b l e cru d e p r o te in in ­
ta k e was 12.69 p e r c e n t, 16.34 p e r c e n t, and 19.60 p a r c e n t .
The amount
o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s fed was th e mama fo r a l l t h r e e g ro u p s.
Tne low p r o t e i n r a t i o n was j u s t as e f f e c t i v e a s th e h ig h p r o t e i n r a tio n s
i n p ro d u c in g m ilk .
When 7 pounds o f d i g e s t i b l e crude p r o t e i n p e r 1,000
pounds o f l i v e w eight was s u b tr a c te d fo r m ain ten an ce, th e p e r c e n t o f
d i g e s t i b l e c ru d e p r o t e i n consumed t o th e p r o t e i n produced i n th e m ilk
th e f i r s t two y e a rs was 1 2 7 .8 for tn e low p r o t e i n r a t i o n .
-3 2 -
A t e n t a t i v e fe e d in g s ta n d a rd was worked out by F orbes and K ris s (15)
i n w hich two d i f f e r e n t p la n e s o f p r o te in in ta k e a r e su g g e s te d .
The low er
s ta n d a rd is fo r m oderate p ro d u c tio n ,under th e b e s t c o n d itio n s and th e
d i g e s t i b l e cru d e p r o t e i n su g g este d is equal t o 1 .2 5 tim e s th e p r o te in in
th e m ilk .
The h ig h e r s ta n d a rd i s fo r maximum p ro d u c tio n u n d er a v erag e con­
d i t i o n s and r e q u ir e s d i g e s t i b l e c ru d e p r o te in e q u iv a le n t to 1 .7 5 tim es th e
m ilk p r o t e i n .
They su g g est .600 pound d i g e s t i b l e crude p r o te in f o r th e
m aintenance of a 1 ,000 pound cow and s t a t e t h a t i t i s a l i b e r a l e s tim a te
l i k e l y to be din,ins b e d .
F orbes s t a t e s t h a t , "The p r o t e i n req u irem en t
fo r m ilk p ro d u c tio n in a d d itio n to th e re q u ire m e n t fo r m ain ten an ce, i s
th e p r o te in c o n te n t o f m ilk p lu s th e lo s s o f ab so rb ed p r o te in i n u t i l i z a ­
tio n .
Thie must vary w ith th e makeup and th e b io l o g i c a l v a lu e o f th e
p r o te in o f th e r a t i o n . "
The f a c t t h a t n itr o g e n b a la n c e s have b een sec u re d , when feed in g cows
on r a t i o n s h aving a low er p r o te in c o n te n t th a n o rd in a ry fe e d in g s ta n d a rd s
c a l l f o r , i s s i g n i f i c a n t i n t h a t i t shows th e p o s s i b i l i t y o f lo w erin g
th e p r o t e i n re q u ire m e n ts.
P o s itiv e n itr o g e n b a la n c e s were o b ta in e d w ith cows on a p r o te in i n ­
ta k e o f 24.5 p e r c e n t l e s s th a n t h a t which th e M orrison s ta n d a rd c a l l s f o r
by F r ie s and a s s o c ia te s ( 1 8 ) .
The r a t i o n c o n s is te d o f a l f a l f a , cornm eal,
lin s e e d o i l m eal, p e an u t m eal, o a t s tra w and c o r n s t a r c h .
These w orkers
conclude t h a t 1.25 tim es th e p r o te in i n th e m ilk is s u f f i c i e n t to feed
above m aintenance to e s t a b l i s h a n itro g en , b a la n c e .
F o r ty - f iv e n itr o g e n b a la n c e s were ru n on d a iry cows by F orbes and
-3 3 -
S w ift (1 2 ), t h i r t y - t w o o f which showed p o s i t i v e on r a t i o n s c o n ta in in g a
low er p r o t e i n th a n th e M orrison s ta n d a rd c a l l e d f o r .
Haag e t a l (19) r e p o rte d t h a t in some c a se s cows were found to he
in n e g a tiv e n itr o g e n b a la n c e w hile on a r a t i o n o f a l f a l f a h a y .
The Supplem entary R e la tio n s Among th e P r o te in s o f F e e d s,
The im­
p o rta n c e o f th e supplem entary r e l a t i o n s among p r o te in s has been a p tly
p o in te d o u t by M itc h e ll (4 2 ).
When two fe e d s a r e fe d to g e th e r , i t w ill
fr e q u e n tly be found t h a t th e b io lo g ic a l v a lu e o f th e m ix tu re o f p r o te in s
i s g r e a t e r th a n th e mean b io lo g ic a l v alu e o f th e c o n s ti tu e n t p r o te in s ,
and o c c a s io n a lly i t w ill p ro v e to b e much g re a te r *
I f th e amino a c id
lim it in g th e u t i l i s a t i o n o f th e p r o te in s o f one feed i s n o t th e lim itin g
f a c to r fo r th e p r o te in s o f a n o th e r fe e d , i t i s e v id e n t t h a t when mixed
th e b io lo g ic a l v a lu e o f the m ix tu re w i l l b e g r e a t e r th a n th e mean b io ­
l o g i c a l v a lu e . No supplem entary r e l a t i o n w ill e x i s t when th e li m i t i n g
amino a c id is a b s e n t o r low i n b o th fe e d s .
A lso th e b io lo g ic a l v alu e
may be only s l i g h t l y enchanced, becau se th e u t i l i s a t i o n o f th e m ix tu re may
be s e r io u s ly lim ite d by th e r e l a t i v e d e fic ie n c y in each fe e d o f some
common in d is p e n s a b le amino a c i d .
The m ost e x te n s iv e e a r ly in v e s tig a tio n s w ere conducted by H art and
Humphrey (2 3 , 24, 2 5, 26) o f th e W isconsin s ta tio n *
They found t h a t when
c o rn s to v e r and c o rn s i l a g e were used as a roughage, th e e f f ic ie n c y o f
h ig h p r o te in supplem ents added to th e b a s a l r a tio n v a r ie d c o n s id e ra b ly ;
w hereas, when c lo v e r or a l f a l f a hay and co rn a lle g e were fe d a s th e
roughage th e r e was very l i t t l e v a r ia tio n i n th e r e l a t i v e e f f ic ie n c y o f th e
same supplem ents*
They-found t h a t i t was p o s s ib le , when fe e d in g equal
-3 4 -
tout lim ite d amounts o f p r o t e i n , t o m a in ta in n itr o g e n e q u ilib riu m and hlfijh
m ilk p ro d u c tio n i n d a iry cows, w ith a r a t i o n composed o f e i t h e r b a rle y o r
corn supplem ented w ith corn s ila g e and a l f a l f a hay , b u t n o t w ith th e whole
o a t g r a in so su pplem ented.
They co n clu d ed t h a t b io lo g ic a l val uea o f
p r o te in s a r e more q u a l i t a t i v e th a n q u a n t i t a t i v e m easures.
These e x p e ri­
m ents a ls o show t h a t * a re th e fe e d in g o f a r a t i o n r e s u l t e d i n a n e g a tiv e
b a la n c e th e r e was a r a p id d e c re a s e in m ilk y i e l d u n t i l a p o s i t i v e b a la n c e
was s e c u re d .
The work o f Cary and Meigs (7 ) shows th a t th e m ilk y i e l d can be
a f f e c t e d m arkedly by changes in e i t h e r th e q u a n tity o r q u a lity o f p r o te in s
fe d .
Ths r e s u l t s o f com bining in a l l p o s s ib le ways th e p r o te in s o f c o rn ,
c o t t o n s -ed m eal and a l f a l f a was r e p o r te d by Nevens (4 6 ) .
F o r o n ly one
c o m b in a tio n , t h a t o f c o tto n se e d meal and a l f a l f a , was any supplem entary
e f f e c t in d ic a te d and t h i s e f f e c t was s l i g h t .
Nevens o b ta in e d a b io ­
lo g ic a l v alu e o f 62 fo r a l f a l f a p r o te in s when fed t o r a t s a t a 9 p er c e n t
le v e l of in t a k e .
M itc h e ll (42) made th e fo llo w in g s ta te m e n t i n 1924, '’W hile many
in s ta n c e s o f supplem entary r e l a t i o n s betw een anim al and v e g e ta b le p ro ­
te in s have been in d ic a te d o r d e m o n strated by fee d in g ex p erim en ts or
m etabolism s t u d i e s , few in s ta n c e s o f any a p p re c ia b le su p p lem en tary
e f f e c t o f th e p r o te in s o f one v e g e ta b le p ro d u c t upon th o s e o f a n o th e r
have been re p o rte d " .
A b i o l o g i c a l v a lu e o f 56 fo r a l f a l f a p r o te in s was r e p o r te d by
S a to la (48) o f th e W ashington S ta tio n when a l f a l f a hay w as fe d t o
—3 5 “
lambs a t a le v e l o f in ta k e e q u iv a le n t to a p p ro x im a te ly 14 p e r c a n t o f
th e dry m a tte r consumed.
He found t h a t a com bination o f o n e p a r t
a l f a l f a hay and th r e e p a r t s c o rn s i l a g e had a b io lo g ic a l v a lu e o f BI,
w h ile th e m ath e m atica l v a lu e c a lc u la te d on th e b a s is o f th e n itro g e n
each c o n tr ib u te d was 64, a d if f e r e n c e o f 17, due t o th e supplem entary
v a lu e o f th e p r o t e i n s .
C ry s tin e was added to a n e x c lu s iv e a l f a l f a r a t i o n by Haag (2 0 ),
who conducted experim ents w ith r a t s a t th e Oregon S ta t i o n .
These ex­
p e rim e n ts d em o n strated a d e fic ie n c y o f c y s ti n e i n th e mixed cru d e p ro ­
te in s o f a l f a l f a .
C onclusions . I . P r a c t i c a l fe e d in g ex p erim en ts in d ic a te th a t th e
p r e s e n t feed in g sta n d a rd s fo r d a iry c a t t l e a r e to o h ig h in
r o te in re ­
q uirem ents fo r b o th m aintenance and m ilk p ro d u c tio n .
2 . Above th e Armsby m aintenance re q u ire m e n ts an amount o f
d i g e s t i b l e cru d e p r o te in o nly s l i g h t l y g r e a t e r th a n th e p r o t e i n c o n te n t
o f m ilk , a p p e a rs to be a d e q u a te .
3. H itro g e n b a la n c e experim en ts s u p p o rt th e c o n te n tio n t h a t th e
p r e s e n t p r o te in re q u ire m e n ts In a l l a cc e p ted fe e d in g s ta n d a rd s a r e to o
h i# i.
4 . D e te rm in a tio n s o f b io l o g i c a l v a lu e s o f p r o te in s show t h a t p ro ­
t e i n re q u ire m e n ts a r e q u a l i t a t i v e as w e ll a s q u a n t i t a t i v e .
6 . A l f a l f a hay a p p ea rs to b e d e f i c i e n t in c y s tin e .
•energy R equirem ents o f D airy Cows. C arb o h y d rates and f a t s a r e l e s s
complex in c o m p o sitio n th a n a r e th e p r o te in s and a r e more abundant and
c h ea p e r in th e u su a l f e e d s .
C arb o h y d rates and f a t s a re th e main so u rces
“35“
o f h e a t and energy needed by th e a n im a l.
I f th e y a r e fe d in amounts
g r e a t e r th a n a re r e q u ir e d t o meet th e energy need o f an a n im al, th e c arb o ­
h y d ra te s and f a ta w i l l b e s to re d up as body f a t .
O arbohydratea and f a t s
a r e a ls o in v o lv e d in m ilk s e c r e tio n i n th e e la b o r a tio n o f m ilk su g ar and
m ilk f a t .
T h e ir f b n c tio n a , w h ile im p o rta n t, a r e n o t so in s e p a ra b ly
lin k e d w ith th e w e ll-b e in g o f th e anim al a s a r e th o s e o f th e p r o te in s .
If b
some chance th e amount o f c a rb o h y d ra te s and f a t s in th e r a t i o n i s
reduced to a very low l e v e l , p r o te in s can f u r n is h th e n e c e s s a ry en erg y .
T h is is an e x tra v a g a n c e , how ever, fo r th e p r o te in s a r e to o c o s tl y to be
used fo r t h i s p u rp o se .
Under no c o n d itio n s can c a rb o h y d ra te s s e rv e th e
e s p e c ia l fu n c tio n o f g ro w th , ti s s u e r e p a i r , and m ilk s e c r e tio n t h a t a r e
a s c r ib e d to th e p r o t e i n s .
The e x p e rim e n ta l work on which e x i s t i n g fe e d in g s ta n d a rd s a re based
Ie o f th r e e ty p e s .
H aecker (21) and i& k les (9 ) d eterm in ed th e q u a n titie s
o f food n e c e s sa ry to keep m ilk in g cows a t uniform boty w e ig h t.
Armsby
(40) b a se s h is sta n d a rd on an ex p erim en t o f K e lln e r, in which th e com­
p l e t e energy b a la n c e was d eterm in ed fo r a m ilk cow.
Savage (49) r a i s e s
th e q u e s tio n a s to what w i l l happen i f cows a r e fe d more th a n i s
n e c e s s a ry , a c c o rd in g t o H aecker’s r e s u l t s , t o keep them a t uniform
body w e ig h t.
F o llo w in g t h i s a r t i c l e by S avage, s e v e r a l experim ents were
conducted t o answer t h i s q u e s tio n , some o f which a r e review ed in l a t e r
p a ra g ra p h s in t h i s t h e s i s .
U sin g re c o rd s w hich had been k e p t a t th e B e l t s v i l l e farm fo r fo u r
y e a r s , Meigs and C onverse (38) compared th e n u tr i e n ts r e q u ir e d in
th e s e experim ents w ith e x i s t i n g fe e d in g s ta n d a r d s .
They found t h a t t h e i r
r e s u l t s were i n c lo s e agreem ent w ith th e e x te n s iv e in v e s t ig a ti o n s o f
H aecker i n re g a rd t o th e q u a n titie s o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s r e q u i r ­
ed t o keep m ilk in g cows a t uniform body w e ig h t.
When th e r e s u l t s o b ta in e d
by B ckles (9) i n th e same f i e l d w ere c a lc u la te d i n term s o f t o t a l d ig e s ­
t i b l e n u t r i e n t s , th e y were a l s o found to be i n c lo s e agreem ent w ith th e
r e s u l t s o b ta in e d by M eigs and C onverse.
B oth th e Armsby an d th e B ckles s ta n d a rd s a r e s t a t e d i n term s of
n e t en erg y .
Tho Amaby s ta n d a rd is from 11 to 23 p e r c o a t h ig h e r in r e ­
q u ire m e n ts, however.
Meige and C onverse, th e r e f o r e , camo t o th e con­
c lu s io n t h a t t h e re q u irem en ts a s s t a t e d by Armsby wero to o l o r .
Meigs (40) review ed th e work o f Armsby, Be k ie s , Raa c k e r, and th e
work a t B e l t s v i l l e and came to th e c o n c lu s io n t h a t t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e
n u t r i e n t s w ere more s a t i s f a c t o r y fo r fo rm u la tin g fee d in g s ta n d a rd s
th a n n e t e n erg y , b ecau se th e m uscular a c t i v i t y in n e t energy d eterm in a­
tio n s c o u ld not be c o n tr o lle d and t h i s i n tu r n cau ses a la r g e v a r ia tio n
i n th e h e a t o u tp u t o f th e a n im a l.
I n th e study of the Armsby s ta n d a r d , Meigs (40) s t a t e d t h a t i t was
not b ased on azy experim ents c a r r ie d ou t under c o n d itio n s ap p ro ach in g
th o s e o b ta in e d in p r a c t i c e , b u t on a n ex p erim en t o f K e lln e r in which
th e com plete energy b a la n c e was o b ta in e d i n one m ilk in g cow f o r a p e rio d
o f two w eeks.
A lthough two o th e r cows w ere c o n sid e re d , b o th were some­
what le s s econom ical, and wore n o t u sed i n th e c a l c u l a t i o n s .
I n th e Armsby, E o k lea, and Savage fe e d in g s ta n d a r d s , th e m ainten­
ance re q u ire m e n ts a r e g iv e n fo r 1,000 pound cow s.
In c a l c u l a t i n g th e
-3 8 -
re q a ire m e n ts fo r cows t h a t weighed more o r l e s s th a n a th o u san d pounds,
*fcigs and C onverse used c o r r e c tio n s b ased on th e assu m p tio n t h a t main­
te n an c e re q u ire m e n ts a r e p ro p o r tio n a l to body s u r f a c e , t h e i r re q u ire ­
ments bein g c a lc u la te d from th e formula*
X=
j—-IL__j '
where
X i s th e m aintenance re q u ire m e n t t o be d e term in e d . It, th e m aintenance
re q u ire m e n t o f a 1 ,000 pound cow, and W th e body w eight o f th e cow whose
re q u ire m e n t i s to b e d e te rm in e d .
In fo rm u la tin g t h e i r fe e d in g s ta n d a r d , Meigs and Converse a ls o took
in to c o n s id e r a tio n th e e f f e c t o f fe e d in g a t a p la n e o f n u t r i t i o n h ig h e r
than t h a t c a ll e d f o r by th e e x is tin g s ta n d a r d s .
T h is fe e d in g s ta n d a rd i s
a l i t t l e more l i b e r a l i n b o th p r o te in and t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u tr i e n ts
th a n the M orrison s ta n d a r d .
The e f f e c t o f th e p la n e o f n u t r i t i o n on m ilk y i e l d was s tu d ie d by
S c k le s and Palm er (1 0 ) , in w e ll r e g u la te d e x p erim en ts.
B oth under­
fe e d in g and o v e rfe e d in g w ere s tu d ie d .
The f i r s t in flu e n c e o f u n d erfeed ­
in g was t o c au se a d e c re a se in w e ig h t.
The m ilk flow was n o t m a te r ia lly
a f f e c t e d d u rin g th e f i r s t s ix ty d a y s.
The in flu e n c e o f u n d e rfe e d in g be­
came g r e a t e r w ith th e advance in th e l a c t a t i o n p e rio d .
They a ls o con­
clu d ed t h a t th e in c r e a s e in t h e p la n e o f n u t r i t i o n above norm al d id not
r a i s e th e m ilk flow to any a p p re c ia b le e x t e n t .
In th e l a t t e r p a r t o f
th e l a c t a t i o n p e r io d th e m ilk flow did n o t d ecrease so r a p id ly a id th e y
concluded t h a t h e re over fe e d in g does h e lp s l i g h t l y in h o ld in g m ilk
p ro d u c tio n to a h ig h e r l e v e l .
In a re p ly to M eigs, F orbes (141 s t a t e d t h a t th e Armsby s ta n d a rd
—59 —
was b ased n o t o n ly on K e lln e rs w ork, bu t a ls o upon th e work o f numerous
o th e r w o rk ers. In c lu d in g H aecker, E c k le s , Evvard, J o rd a n , W oll, and
H art and Humphrey.
C onverse (6) r e p o r te d t h a t t h e r e s u l t s o f r a t h e r e x te n s iv e e x p e ri­
ments I n d ic a te t h a t fe e d in g cows a c c o rd in g to th e Savage o r Haecker
s ta n d a rd , t h a t i s , so t h a t they w ill j u s t m a in ta in uniform body w eig h t,
does n o t keep them a t t h e i r maximum m ilk y i e l d .
The th r e e e ^ e r lm a n ta
re p o rte d were i n c lo s e agreem ent i n showing t h a t an above s ta n d a rd r a t i o n
v e ry m a te r ia lly in c re a s e s p ro d u c tio n .
Two s h o r t tim e ex perim ents w ith
cows w ell alo n g in l a c t a t i o n gave a 16 p e r c e n t in c re a s e i n m ilk y i e l d ,
as th e r e s u l t o f fe e d in g 12 p e r c e n t more th a n re q u ire m e n ts; w h ile th e
t h i r d experim ent in w hich whole l a c t a t i o n p e rio d com parisons were u sed ,
showed from 14 p e r c e n t to 16 p e r c en t in c r e a s e in p ro d u c tio n a s th e
r e s u l t o f fe e d in g 17 p e r c e n t more th a n th e re q u ire m e n ts.
I n a review o f th e work o f E ckles and Palm er (6) Converse
i n t e r p r e t e d th e d a ta from t h i s work as r e a l l y showing t h a t in fo u r o f
th e f iv e experim ents re p o rte d by them , t h e r e was n o t only an a r r e s t i n g
o f t h e normal d e c lin e fo r th o s e cows in advanced l a c t a t i o n , b u t an
a c tu a l in c r e a s e in p ro d u c tio n due t o o v e rfe e d in g .
The r e s u l t s o f in v e s tig a tio n s by Cary and Meigs (7) show t h a t
cows, even i n th e f i r s t months o f l a c t a t i o n a r e q u ite s u s c e p tib le to
an in a d e q u a te energy s u p p ly .
Forbes and K riss (1 3 , 16) proposed a t e n t a t i v e fe e d in g sta n d a rd
i n which th e t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s r e q u ire d a r e low er th a n th e
M orrison s ta n d a rd fo r both m aintenance and m ilk p ro d u c tio n .
The
-
40 -
c a lo r lm e tr ic d e te rm in a tio n s o f th e m ain ten an ce re q u ire m e n ts o f d ry cows
in term s o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s , av erag ed 5,551 pounds; w h ile th e
d e te rm in a tio n s of th e m aintenance re q u ire m e n ts o f l a c t a t l n g cows com­
p ile d from an experim ent re p r e s e n tin g ap p ro x im a te ly c o n d itio n s o f
p r a c t i c e a v erag e d 5,972 pounds,
th e y a r b i t r a r i l y a c c e p te d th e higher
f ig u r e as t h e i r s ta n d a rd fo r th e re q u ire m e n t fo r a 1,000 pound cow.
C o n c lu sio n s. I . Due to th e lim ite d number o f n e t en erg y d eterm in a­
t i o n s , t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u tr i e n ts a r c more s a t i s f a c t o r y fo r fo rm u la tin g
fe e d in g s ta n d a rd s a t th e p re s e n t tim e .
2 . The Meigs and C onverse fe e d in g s ta n d a rd i s one o f t h e l a t e s t
s ta n d a rd s and is based upon a c tu a l r e s u l t s a t B e l t s v i l l e , as w e ll ae
upon o th e r im p o rtan t ex p erim en tal work w hich has been co n d u cted
p re v io u s ly by o th e r n u t r i t i o n e x p e r ts .
3 . F eeding above th e Haocker and Savage re q u ire m e n ts te n d s t o in ­
c re a s e p ro d u c tio n an d to r e t a r d th e d e c lin e i n th e m ilk flo w .
4 . E xperim ents by Forbes and K rias in d ic a te th a t th e energy r e ­
quirem ents o f e x is t in g fe e d in g s ta n d a rd s nay be to o h ig h , a c c o rd in g to
t h e i r d e te rm in a tio n s .
6 . W hile th e n e t-e n e rg y c c n o e p tlo n i s t h e o r e t i c a l l y more n e a r ly
c o r r e c t , ex p erim en tal work does n o t w a rra n t i t s use a s y e t .
M in eral and V itam in R eq u irem en ts.
P ro b ab ly no p h ases o f d a iry
c a t t l e fe e d in g have re c e iv e d more a t t e n t i o n d u rin g th e p a s t few y e a rs
th a n th e u se o f m in e ra l supplem ents and th e im portance o f v ita m in s .
S in c e m in e ra l and v ita m in re q u ire m e n ts a r e only i n d i r e c t l y o f im portance
in c o n n e c tio n w ith the s u b je c t o f t h i s t h e s i s , th e p r e s e n t s t a t u s o f th e
—4 1 —
knowledge o f th e s e two p hases o f n u t r i t i o n In t h e i r r e l a t i o n t o d a ir y
c a t t l e fe e d in g , w i l l be review ed very b r i e f l y .
A lso due to th e f a o t
t h a t s e v e r a l volumes c o u ld be w r itte n on th e s e two p h ases o f n u t r i t i o n
w ith o u t f u l l y c o v e rin g th e s u b je c t, th e a u th o r w ill re v ie w only th e
work t h a t p e r ta in s to th e fe e d in g o f a l f a l f a hay t o d a ir y cows, in
which a l f a l f a hay c o n s t i t u t e s
th e e n t i r e r a t i o n o r makes up a la r g e
p o r ti o n o f th e r a t i o n and i s supplem ented w ith c o n c e n tr a te s .
The
rev iew o f t h i s f i e l d w i l l f a r t h e r be lim ite d to only th o s e m in e ra ls
and v ita m in s t h a t a r e o f m ajor im p o rtan ce under th e s e c o n d itio n s .
The elem ents on w hich much in fo rm a tio n i s a v a ila b le in c lu d e
sodium, p o ta ssiu m , calciu m , phosp h o ru s, magnesium, s u lp h u r, i r o n , co p p er,
c h lo r in e , io d in e , f l u o r i n e , z in c , and m anganese, a c c o rd in g to Becker (2)
in h is r e v ie s o f e x p erim en tal re s e a rc h on m in e ra ls .
T hat many o th e r
elem ents a r e p r e s e n t in liv in g th in g s was a ls o shown in t h i s rev iew .
However, l i t t l e le known o f t h e i r fu n c tlo n e in n u t r i t i o n .
Among th e
l a t t e r , B ecker c i t e s l i t e r a t u r e showing t h a t th e r e a re p r e s e n t i n l i v in g
th in g s : aluminum, a r s e n i c , b o ro n , lith iu m , rubidium , s i l i c o n , s tro n tiu m ,
tita n iu m and vanadium .
The m in e ra l elem en ts g e n e r a lly c o n sid e re d o f m ajor im p o rtan ce
in
d a ir y c a t t l e n u t r i t i o n a r e c alc iu m , p h o sp h o ru s, sodium and c h lo r in e .
The need o f sodium and c h lo r in e in th e form o f ccmaon s a l t , as a m in e ra l
su pplem ent, i s more w id e ly re c o g n iz e d th a n t h a t o f any o th e r m in e ra l. In
a review o f l i t e r a t u r e on m in e ra l su p p lem en ts, o th e r th a n s a l t s o f calcium
and p h o sp h o ru s, H am ilton (22) re p o rte d t h a t th e r e was no e x p e rim e n ta l
evidence in d ic a tin g th e g e n e r a l n e c e s s ity o r d e s i r a b i l i t y o f supplem enting
-4 2 '
o rd in a ry farm r a t i o n s w ith any o f th e s e w ith th e e x ce p tio n of sodium and
c h lo r in e , th e elem ents o f o rd in a ry s a l t .
At th e W isconsin S t a t i o n , H art and a s s o c ia te s (27) fed a h ig h lim e h ig h phosphorus r a t i o n to one group o f d a ir y cows and a low lim e— low
phosphorus r a t i o n to a n o th e r group over a p e rio d o f f iv e y e a r s .
The
hig h lim e -h ig h phosphorus r a t i o n c o n s is te d o f a l f a l f a hay , c o rn s i l a g e ,
and a g r a in m ix tu re made up o f 35 p a r t s o f y ello w c o rn , 30 o f o a t s , 30
o f w heat b ra n , and 5 o f o i l m eal.
To 100 pounds o f th e g r a in m ix tu re ,
5 pounds o f bone meal were a ls o a d d ed .
P a s tu re fo r t h i s group o f anim als
c o n s is te d o f e i t h e r a l f a l f a o r sw eet c lo v e r .
The low lim e-lo w phosphorus
r a t i o n c o n s is te d o f tim o th y hay grown on a c id s o i l , c o rn s i l a g e , and a
g r a i n m ix tu re made up o f 40 p a r ts o f o a t s , 40 o f y e llo w c o rn and 20 o f
g lu te n m eal.
T im othy-June g r a s s p a s tu r e was a v a il a b le a number o f months
d u rin g th e y e a r .
Seven cows from each group were s la u g h te r e d a t th e c l o s e o f th e
experim ent and th e two humeri and th e t w e l f t h p a i r o f r i b s w ere removed
and a n a ly se d fo r a s h .
T h e ir f ig u r e s do n o t in d ic a te t h a t th e tim othy
hay r a t i o n used i n t h i s experim ent f a i l e d to d evelop as la r g e a s k e le to n
i n p ro p o r tio n to l iv e w eight as i n th e c a s e o f a l f a l f a - f e d a n im a la .
In
c o n c lu s io n th e y s t a t e , wWe b e lie v e t h a t th e s e d ata a r e im p o rta n t in con­
t r i b u t i n g t o th e problem o f th e lim e and phosphorus m etabolism o f th e
m ilk in g cow and p o in t t o th e f a c t t h a t u n le s s r a tio n s w ith a much low er
lim e c o n te n t th an our low lim e r a t i o n a r e fe d , th e r e would seem to b e
no need o f supplem enting th e r a t i o n o f d a iry cows w ith e x tr a lim e and
-4 3 -
and In o rg a n ic p h o s p h a te s .
T h is c o n c lu s io n , o f c o u rs e , assumes t h a t th e r e
I s a r e s t p e rio d o f 4 to 6 weeks w ith l i b e r a l fe e d in g d u rin g which s t o r ­
age c an a g a in ta k e p l a c e .”
A r e p o r t o f s i x com plete calciu m and phosphorus b a la n c e t r i a l s fo r
f u l l l a c t a t i o n and g e s ta tio n p e rio d s by K lle n b e rg e r, Kewlander and Jones
(11) o f th e Vermont Experim ent S ta tio n showed t h a t a l l cows i n t h i s ex­
p e rim e n t ended t h e i r t r i a l s w ith p o s i t i v e b a la n c e s .
N e g ativ e b a la n c e s
a p p ea re d to be normal d u rin g th e e a r ly p a r t o f l a c t a t i o n p e rio d s and to
be com pensated by r a p id s to ra g e as th e l a c t a t i o n and g e s t a t i o n p e rio d s
p ro g re ss.
When m in e ra l supplem ents were fed th e n e g a tiv e p e rio d s were
n o tic e a b ly s h o rte n e d .
Prom th o s e t r i a l s th e y concluded t h a t th e
n e c e s s ity o f fe e d in g c alc iu m and phosphorus supplem ents w ith good g r a in
r a t i o n s fed in l i b e r a l q u a n t i t i e s may b e s e r io u s ly q u e stio n e d .
R esearch work by B o h sted t (4) b o th in a c tu a l e x p erim en tal work and
in a reviuw o f o th e r e x p e rim e n ta l work c o in c id e s w ith th e re c e n t work
o f o th e r w o rk ers, a s re g a rd s t h e n e c e s s ity o f ad d in g a calciu m or
phosphorus supplem ent t o th e d a iry c a t t l e r a t i o n .
He c o n c lu d e s, " I t is
p l a i n t h a t th e v a s t m a jo rity o f m in e ra l fe e d in g experim ents u sin g
p r a c t i c a l r a tio n s a s c o n tro l r a t i o n s have no t shown a need fo r a d d itio n ­
a l calciu m and p h o sp h o ru s.
D airy cows and o th e r c a t t l e a r e much more
fr e q u e n tly in need o f a d d itio n a l phosphorus th a n calciu m , and i t i s
w ell a p p re c ia te d t h a t phosphorus may be e a s ily s u p p lie d th ro u g h wheat
b ra n , c o tto n s e e d m eal, lin s e e d meal o r o th e r h ig h p r o te in c o n c e n tr a te s ,
which phosphorus fe e d s , from th e m in eral s ta n d p o in t b a la n c e th e lim e o f
th e mixed legume and g r a s s h a y , o r legume hay, which most dairym en s t r i v e
-
44-
t o feed*"
Meigs and T urner and c o lla b o r a to r s (41) conducted calciu m and
phosphorus t r i a l b a la n c e s w ith d a ir y cows, in which r a t i o n s c o n ta in in g
a l f a l f a h ay , g re e n fe e d , tim o th y h ay , and bonemeal were com pared.
They
concluded t h a t ( I ) calciu m from w e ll-c u re d o r f a i r l y w e ll c u re d h ay a,
b o th tim o th y and a l f a l f a , Ie much b e t t e r a s s im ila te d th a n i s t h a t from
bonem eal; (2) c alc iu m i s d e c id e d ly b e t t e r a s s im ila te d from f r e s h g re e n
m a te r ia l th a n from th e same m a te r ia l a f t e r I t has been d r ie d ; (3 ) th e
manner in which hay i s cured makes a g r e a t d if f e r e n c e in th e r a t e a t
which calcium i s a s s im ila te d from i t ;
(4 ) phosphorus a s s im ila tio n may be
i n t e r f e r e d w ith by an e x ce ss o f calciu m in th e r a t i o n .
"Two p a r t s o r
more by w eight o f c alc iu m to one o f phosphorus c o n s t i t u t e an e x c e s s ."
T hat t h r e e c o n d itio n s a r e im p o rta n t fo r in s u r in g a p o s i t i v e
b a la n c e in d a iry cows in r e s p e c t to calciu m and phosphorus was re p o rte d
by T u rn er and a s s o c ia te s (54) o f th e Bureau o f D airy I n d u s tr y .
A fte r
c o n d u ctin g a s e r i e s o f m etabolism ex p erim en ts th e y came to th e co n clu ­
s io n t h a t th e c o n d itio n s n e c e s sa ry w ere, ( I ) t h a t a s u f f i c i e n t q u a n tity
o f calcium and phosphorus must be s u p p lie d i n th e r a t i o n ; (2 ) th e c a l ­
cium and phosphorus sh ould be s u p p lie d in about equal q u a n t i t i e s .
The
amount o f calciu m p ro b a b ly sh ould n o t exceed th e amount o f phosphorus
by more th a n 50 p e r c e n t, and (3) th e calciu m sh o u ld be su p p lie d a s a
c o n s ti tu e n t o f n a t u r a l feed s in a r a t i o n in c lu d in g a good q u a lity o f
legume hay, p r e f e r a b ly a l f a l f a , and a good g r a in m ix tu re .
Numerous e x p erim en ts have shown t h a t th e a s s im ila tio n o f calcium
—45—
and phosphorus i s dep en d en t upon th e a n t i - r a c h i t i c v ita m in D.
In hie
re c e n t review o f th e l i t e r a t u r e p e r ta in in g to calciu ra and phosphorus
su p p lem en ts, B ohatedt (4 ) o f th e U n iv e r s ity o f W isconsin cane to th e
fo llo w in g c o n c lu s io n s :
" S n a il anim al work lo ad s us to assum e t h a t only
in th e p re s e n c e o f a generous amount o f v ita m in D nay th e c a lc iu m phosphorus r a tio n be d r a s t i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t from what i s c o n sid e re d th e
n orm al, and s t i l l p e rm it p ro p e r grow th on th e p a r t o f th e a n im a ls .
P r a c t i c a l r a t i o n s o f ru m in an ts due t o th e la r g e amount o f su n -c u re d hay
consumed a r e so w e ll s u p p lie d w ith v ita m in D t h a t th e two elem en tecalcium and p h o sphorus, may s a f e ly bo p r e s e n t in much low er p e rc e n ta g e s
and may v a ry more w ith r e f e r e n c e to each o th e r , th a n th e y may i n r a tio n s
o f th e s m a lle r anim als t h a t s u b s i s t alm o st e n t i r e l y on c o n c e n tr a te s ."
The m ost e x te n s iv e and a c c u r a te review o f th e l i t e r a t u r e found in
r e l a t i o n to c alc iu m and phosphorus a s s im ila tio n a s a f f e c te d b y v ita m in D
i s th e r e p o r t by Bethke (S) o f th e Ohio S t a t i o n .
B ethke c ite d a number
o f experim ents showing t h a t v ita m in D or u l t r a - v i o l e t l i g h t a r e a s s o c ia te d
w ith c alc iu m and phosphorus u t i l i s a t i o n i n th e r a t and th e c h ic k and th e p lg >
and t h a t calciu m and phosphorus must be p r e s e n t in th e d i e t and in c o rre c t
r e l a t i o n s h i p t o each o th e r b e fo re th e r a t , and p ro b a b ly th e c h ic k and th e
p ig cm r e t a i n them i n p ro p e r amounts fo r normal bone d e p o s itio n , re ­
g a r d le s s o f v ita m in D.
The r e l a t i o n o f v ita m in D, or i t s e q u iv a le n t, to
calciu m and phosphorus m etabolism in l a c t a t i n g an im als was s t a t e d to s t i l l
be an open q u e s tio n .
B ethke s t a t e d t h a t a lth o u g h th e l i t e r a t u r e does n o t
d e f i n i t e l y show t h a t v ita m in I) in c re a s e s th e calciu m and phosphorus u t i l i s e -
-4 6 -
t i o n in th e heavy m ilk in g cow, no one has d e f i n i t e l y d e m o n strated th a t
th e a d d itio n o f an a n t i - r a c h i t i c f a c to r to a v ita m in -D -fre e r a t i o n would
n o t fa v o ra b ly in flu e n c e calcium and phosphorus u t i l i s a t i o n ,
I i t h th e e x c e p tio n o f v ita m in D, d a iry c a t t l e r a tio n s a re n o t a p t
to be la c k in g in v ita m in s , a c c o rd in g to a b r i e f rev iew o f th e work on
v ita m in s by M orrison (4 4 ) .
A p p aren tly n e ith e r v ita m in C o r v ita m in 0
a r e im p o rtan t in liv e s to c k fe e d in g .
C o n c lu sio n st I . Sodium and c h lo r in e in th e form o f common s a l t a re
th e two m in e ra l elem en ts most a p t to b e la c k in g in d a iry c a t t l e r a t i o n s .
2 . R ecent work in d ic a te s t h a t calciu m and phosphorus a r e fu rn is h e d
in s u f f i c i e n t amounts in norm al d a ir y c a t t l e r a tio n s where m in e ra l de­
f i c i e n c i e s a r e n o t a problem .
3 . V itam in D i s th e v ita m in most a p t to be la c k in g in d a ir y c a t t l e
ra tio n s .
4 . In i r r i g a t e d s e c tio n s o f Montana where c o n s id e ra b le a l f a l f h hay
i s fe d to d a ir y cows, m in e ra ls and v ita m in s sh o u ld be p re s e n t in th e
r a t i o n i n s u f f i c i e n t l y la r g e amounts e x ce p t i n m in eral d e f i c i e n t a r e a s .
-47
PART
IT
RESULTS OP ^XPEBIMaiT AT THE MONTANA EKPhJRIMEMT STATION
A OomparlBon o f Two Methods o f A p p o rtio n in g G rain to M ilk in g Cows
Tho fe e d in g s ta n d a rd s a s th e y now e x i s t have been worked o u t a f t e r
y e a rs o f re s e a rc h work a t no s m a ll ex p en se.
B rery e f f o r t has been made to
o b ta in d a ta t h a t would be o f v a lu e i n d e te rm in in g th e re q u ire m e n ts o f
d a iry cow s.
As a r e s u l t o f t h i s work i t is p o s s ib le to c a l c u l a t e w ith
re a s o n a b le acc u ra cy th e re q u ire m e n ts o f in d iv id u a l d a iry cows and by making
u se o f th e in fo rm a tio n a v a i l a b l e re g a rd in g th e d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s o f th e
fe e d , to p re p a re a r a t i o n t h a t w ill supply what i s needed.
I t would be im p r a c tic a l to c a l c u l a t e th e re q u ire m e n ts o f each
in d iv id u a l anim al in th e h e rd by means o f a fe e d in g s ta n d a rd , because o f
th e tim e in v o lv e d and a ls o becau se most dairym en a r e n o t s u f f i c i e n t l y v e rs e d
i n the methods o f w orking out a r a t i o n by means o f a fe e d in g s ta n d a rd .
For
th e s e re a so n s feed in g r u le s b ased on a c e r t a i n fe e d in g s ta n d a rd have been
a d o p te d .
In view o f th e enormous amount o f work In v o lv ed i n o b ta in in g th e
d a ta fo r th e s e s ta n d a r d s , i t seems t h a t to o l i t t l e emphasis has been p la c e d
on th e n e c e s s ity o f a c t u a l e x p e rim e n ta l work in th e s e l e c t i o n o f fe e d in g
methods whereby th e f u l l v a lu e o f th e s e s ta n d a rd s may b e r e a l i z e d under
p r a c t i c a l c o n d itio n s .
-4 3 -
Thc t e
methods o f fe e d in g d a iry cows m ost commonly ad v o cated were
compared by means o f an experim en t conducted by th e a u th o r a t th e Kontana
Experim ent S ta tio n under th e d i r e c t i o n o f Louis V inke.
Boti: methods a re
b ased upon two f a c ts which a r e c o n sid e re d fundam ental in th e economical
fe e d in g o f d a ir y cows* ( I ) Cows sh o u ld b e fe d a l l o r n e a r ly a l l th e good
roughage th e y w ill e a t ; (2) Cows sh o u ld a t el I t i r e s , e x ce p t f o r a few
weeks a f t e r c a lv in g , r e c e iv e enough fe e d t o p ro v id e th e n u t r i e n t s re q u ire d
fo r th e p ro d u c tio n o f m ilk and th e m ain ten an ce o f body w eight w ith o u t any
lo s s o f w eight b u t w ith no more th a n a sm all g a in .
The Meigs and Converse
s ta n d a rd was u sed i n e s t i a t i n g th e amounts o f n u t r i e n t s r e q u ir e d .
The u s u a l method o f a p p o rtio n in g c o n c e n tra te s i s t o g iv e each cow
I pound o f g r a i n to each 3 o r 4 pounds o f m ilk produced, depending upon
th e ric h n e s s o f th e m ilk .
T h is method i s u n s a tis f a c to r y under western
c o n d itio n s fo r two re a so n s $ ( I ) B ecause cows w ill g e t enough n u tr i e n ts
from a l f a l f a hay a lo n e to p ro v id e fo r th e m ain ten an ce o f t h e i r b o d ie s as
w e ll a s fo r th e p ro d u c tio n o f a c e r t a i n amount o f m ilk ; and (2 ) b ecau se I
pound o f c o n c e n tra te s does n o t c o n ta in s u f f i c i e n t n u t r i e n t s fo r as much
a s 3 pounds o f m ilk .
A method a d v o ca te d more r e c e n tly by W estern d a iry husbandmen Is to
feed d a iry cows a l l th e a l f a l f a hay th ey w i l l c a t , and In a d d itio n enough
g r a in to p ro v id e th e n u t r i e n t s for every pound o f m ilk produced i n excess
o f th e amount t h a t w i l l be p rovided fo r by th e n u tr i e n ts consumed above
m aintenance re q u ire m e n ts , in th e form o f a l f a l f a hay.
Low t e s t i n g cows
a r e fe d I pound o f g r a i n fo r every Z l / z pounds o f m ilk th e y produce d a ily
-
49 -
i n exoeBB o f a c e r t a i n am ount, and h ig h - t e s t i n g cows a r e fe d I pound o f
g r a in fo r e v ery 2 pounds o f m ilk th ey p ro d u ce d a ily in ex cess o f a c e r t a i n
am ount.
One pound o f g r a in f u r n is h e s j u s t enough n u tr i e n ts f o r th e produc­
tio n o f 2 and 2 l / 2 pounds o f m ilk o f a h ig h and low b u t t e r f a t c o n te n t
r e s p e c tiv e ly .
This method w i l l be r e f e r r e d to a s Woodward’ s M ethod.
A ccording to th e methods p ro p o sed fo r th e fe e d in g o f d a ir y cows in
m ilk , some w o rk e rs, n o ta b ly Woll and H eadley, a r e o f th e o p in io n t h a t Iow^
t e s t i n g cows w i l l consume enough a l f a l f a hay to p ro v id e th e n u t r i e n t s f o r
m aintenance and ab o u t 30 pounds o f m ilk p e r d a y .
T re ts v e n s t a t e s th a t low-
t e s t i n g cows w ill n o t consume s u f f i c i e n t a l f a l f a hay to p ro v id e enough
n u t r i e n t s , above m aintenance re q u ire m e n ts , fo r th e p ro d u c tio n o f more th a n
16 to 20 pounds o f m ilk p a r d a y .
The same v a r ia tio n e x i s t s i n re g a rd to
h ig h - t e s tin g cow s.
Due to t h i s la c k o f s u f f i c i e n t d a ta on th e consum ption o f a l f a l f a
hay by d a iry cows, i t was n e c e s sa ry to a p p o rtio n th e g r a in a t th e b e g in n in g
o f e a c h week, i n th e c a s e o f th e second method d e s c rib e d , a c c o rd in g to th e
a v e ra g e d a ily consum ption o f a l f a l f a hay d u ring th e p re v io u s week. A lthough
t h i s experim ent would p ro b a b ly have been a l i t t l e more p r a c t i c a l i f th e
d a ily consum ption o f a l f a l f a hay co u ld have been e s tim a te d p re v io u s to
th e e x p erim en t, i t i s hoped t h a t th e in fo rm a tio n c o n ta in e d h e r e in w i l l be
o f c o n s id e ra b le v alu e in th e w orking out o f a more s a t i s f a c t o r y method o f
fe e d in g d a iry cows o r i n th e r e v i s a l o f some o f th e p r e s e n t m ethods.
O b je cts o f th e E xperim ent.
I . To compare a r e l a t i v e l y new method o f
a p p o rtio n in g g r a in to d a ir y cows, when th e roughage c o n s is ts o f a l f a l f a hay
-5 0 -
fad ad lib ito m to th e u s u a l method o f fe e d in g a c e r t a i n amount o f g ra in
f o r ev ery pound o f m ilk produced; th e com parison to b e made on th e b a s is
o f g a in o r lo s s i n m ilk p ro d u c tio n , g a in o r lo s s i n body w e ig h t, and th e
amount o f n u t r i e n t s consumed above o r below re q u ire m e n ts aa shown by th e
Meigs and Converse s ta n d a rd .
2 . To determ ine th e amount o f a l f a l f a hay o f a known q u a lity t h a t
d a iry cows w ill consume when g r a in is in c lu d e d in th e r a t i o n and i s fed
a s c lo s e to re q u ire m e n ts a s p o s s ib le a c c o rd in g to th e Meigs and Converse
s ta n d a rd ,
3 , To d e term in e what f a c to r s must be g iv e n m ajor c o n s id e r a tio n in
working out a more s a t i s f a c t o r y method o f a p p o rtio n in g g r a in to d a ir y
cows under W estern c o n d itio n s .
Methods o f E x p e rim e n ta tio n .
D u ra tio n o f E xperim ent* The f i r s t p e rio d o f th e experim ent s t a r t e d
th e evening o f December 14, 1932, and c o n tin u e d u n t i l th e evening o f
J a n u a ry 25, 1933.
The second p e rio d o f th e ex p erim en t began th e evening
o f February I , 1933, and c o n tin u e d u n t i l th e evening o f K erch 15, 1935.
The r e v e r s a l method was used d u rin g th e two p e rio d s o f 42 days each .
Cows Used; S ix p u re b re d H o ls te in cows and s i x p u re b re d J e r s e y cows
were s e le c te d from th e C o lle g e d a iry h e rd f o r t h i s e x p e rim e n t.
A ll o f th e
cows had had a c c e ss to a l l th e a l f a l f a hay th ey would e a t from th e tim e
/
they w ere h e if e r c a lv e s up u n t i l th e b e g in n in g o f th e e x p e rim e n t. C ra in
was a ls o fe d l i b e r a l l y d u rin g t h i s p e rio d .
A llotm ent C o n s id e ra tio n ;
The tw elv e cows were d iv id e d a s u n ifo rm ly
—Bi­
as p o s s ib le in to two groups o f 6 head e ac h .
Bach group c o n s is te d o f th r e e
H o ls te in s and th r e e J e r s e y s , and were d iv id e d as ev en ly a s p o s s ib le w ith
r e s p e c t to le n g th o f tim e in m ilk , a g e , w e ig h t, m ilk p ro d u c tio n , p e r c e n t
o f b u t t e r f a t in m ilk , and p e rio d o f g e s t a t i o n .
The h i s t o r y and p ro d u c tio n
o f th e e x p erim en tal cows i s g iv e n in T ab le IV.
T able iy_H i_story_and_?£ojiu£tion £ f_^jcp£rimenta^l £owa__a_t ^Beginning o f Experim ent
Group I
Age
Due t o
- T lm T T in c T - —M ill WrTducTiTn-bn
C alve
l a s t c a lv in g Dec. 8 - l4 , 1932.
-ATeT T b T .-p T r-d T y - -LEsT - -YFsT "Months" - - "MTnthT *
B ea u ty , J e r s e y
1127
(12)*
I
34 .0
Ge
991
6
7
S tephanna, J e r s e y
4
16.9
850
L a to n a , J e r s e y
4
8
2 1 .1
6
7
Amy, H o ls te in
1526
2 7 .4
4*
A m elia, H o ls te in
1314
5
44.1
Bi
F o rb e s, H o ls te in
1421
6
55.8
4
Name and Breed
- W eig h t-
si
A verage
Queen, J e r s e y
Id o w e ll, J e r s e y
Ona, J e r s e y
A lb e r ta , H o ls te in
A d e lin e , H o ls te in
I d a b e lle , H o ls te in
1205
si
7
Group I l
- T f o - ” 6-------- TIT)* 1061
973
Bi
8
1476
4&
4&
1663
6
4&
1271
5 3 /4 (11)*
1217
6
7
Average
•Hot bred at""beginning o f ex p erim en t.
Weight o f Cows:
33.2
- - i l --------------- -------- 2 7 .4
7
16 .0
5
2 3 .6
7
19.2
7
30 .4
3
53.8
5
2 8 .4
Bach cow was weighed on th e th r e e c o n se c u tiv e days
p ro c e e d in g b o th p e r io d s .
At t h e c lo s e o f each p e rio d , in d iv id u a l w eights
were ta k e n on each o f th e l a s t th r e e d a y s.
The av erag e o f th e th r e e
w eig h ts was ta k e n a s th e a v erag e w eig h t o f th e cow a t th e b e g in n in g and a t
th e end o f b o th p e r io d s .
I t was n e c e s sa ry t o g e t th e av erag e w eight o f
each cow b e fo re th e day th e e x p erim en tal p e rio d began in o rd e r t o d eterm in e
-5 2 '
th e n u t r i t i v e re q u ire m e n ts o f each oow.
U ilk and B u t t e r f a t R eco rd s;
The cows w ere m ilked t h r e e tim es each
d ey, th e p e rio d s o f m ilk in g b e in g a t I A. M., 8 :3 0 A. M., and 4 P . M.
D a ily m ilk re c o rd s were k e p t on th e r e g u la r b arn m ilk s h e e ts .
At th e end
o f th e f i r s t week com posite m ilk sam ples were ta k e n o f each in d iv id u a l
cow fo r th e th r e e m ilk in g s and t e s t e d f o r b u t t e r f a t by th e members o f th e
D a iry In d u s try D epartm ent.
The cows were t e s t e d a t th e end o f every two
weeks t h e r e a f t e r , one t e s t s u f f i c i n g fo r th e week p re c e d in g and th e week
fo llo w in g th e t e s t .
Housing and Equipm ent: Ho change was made in th e h a n d lin g o f th e
e x p e rim e n ta l cows from th e u su al h e rd p r a c t i c e .
w ater a t a l l tim e s .
The cows had a c c e s s to
Except in e x c e p tio n a lly bad w eather th e y were tu rn e d
in to a diy l o t d u rin g t h e a fte rn o o n f o r e x e r c is e * .
The mangers were very deep and d id n o t a llo w th e lo s s o f any c o n s id e r­
a b le amount o f h ay , h av in g been p lan n ed e s p e c ia ll y fo r e x p e rim e n ta l p u rp o se s,
A t i g h t box was f i t t e d to a movable s c a le fo r th e w eighing o f th e h a y . A
g r a in c a r t , t o which was a tta c h e d a s p rin g s c a le , was used f o r g r a in feed ­
in g .
M ilking m achines were used th ro u g h o u t t h e experim ent on a l l e x p e ri­
m ental cows and w ere handled by th e same man th ro u g h o u t th e e x p erim en t.
R a tio n Fed and Methods o f F e e d in g : The a l f a l f a h*y w as g rad ed by
A. H. P o s t, A ss o c ia te P r o fe s s o r o f Agronomy and L. P . R e i tz , A s s is ta n t
i n Agronomy.
During th e f i r s t p e rio d th e a l f a l f a was g ra d e d a s Ho. 3
g r e e n - lig h t tim o th y -m ix ed .
a s Ho. 3 g re e n .
D uring th e second p e rio d th e a l f a l f a was graded
-6 3
The c o n c e n tra te m ix tu re c o n s is te d o f 400 pounds o f m ill ru n * , 300
pounds o f w heat, 200 pounds o f b a r le y , 60 pounds o f o a ts , 26 pounds o f
c o tto n s e e d m eal, 10 pounds o f s a l t and 5 pounds o f bonemeal*
The two groups w ere fe d a s fo llo w s :
Group I .
T his group was fed a c c o rd in g t o th e U sual M ethod.
The
cows i n t h i s group re c e iv e d a l l th e a l f a l f a hsy th e y would e a t and in
a d d itio n th e H o ls te in s re c e iv e d I pound o f g r a in f o r every 4 pounds o f
m ilk , and th e J e r s e y s re c e iv e d I pound o f g r a i n fo r every 3 pounds o f
m ilk .
The amount o f g r a i n fe d was c o r r e c te d a t th e end o f each week
a c c o rd in g to th e a v e ra g e m ilk p ro d u c tio n f o r t h a t week.
T h is method i s
c a l l e d th e U sual Method by the a u th o r b e c a u se th e m a jo rity o f d a ir y
husbandmen a d v o c a te th e fe e d in g o f g r a i n a c c o rd in g t o t h i s g e n e r a l method.
The p r o p o r tio n o f g r a i n t o m ilk t a r i e s i n d i f f e r e n t fe e d in g r u le s from I
pound o f g r a i n to 2 l / 2 pounds o f m ilk to I pound o f g r a in to 6 o r 6
pounds o f m ilk .
The p r i n c i p l e i s th e same, however, inasm uch a s a c e r t a i n
amount o f g r a in is fed fo r every pound o f m ilk produced r e g a r d le s s as to
w hether or n o t th e roughage a lo n e p ro v id e s s u f f i c i e n t n u t r i e n t s fo r main­
te n a n c e as w ell as a c e r t a i n amount o f m ilk .
Group I I . Group I I was fed a c c o rd in g to Woodward's M ethod.
group re c e iv e d a l l th e a l f a l f a Iiay th e y w ould e a t .
T his
At th e end o f each
week th e a v e ra g e d a ily consum ption o f a l f a l f a hay was d eterm in ed fo r each
I n d iv i d u a l.
By d e d u c tin g th e m aintenance re q u irem en t o f t h a t in d iv id u a l,
a s g iv e n in th e Meigs and Converse s ta n d a r d , from th e t o t a l n u tr i e n ts
consumed i n th e fbrm o f a l f a l f a h ay , th e amount o f m ilk t h a t c o u ld be
*The m ill ru n c o n s is te d o f a m ix tu re o f b ra n and s h o r t s .
produced from t h i s excess o f n u t r i e n t s was d e term in e d .
For every pound
o f m ilk produced above t h i s amount th e H o ls te in s re c e iv e d 0 .4 pound o f
g r a in and th e Jo rsq y s re c e iv e d 0 .6 o f a pound o f g r a i n .
For exam ple,
a 1 ,0 0 0 pound J e r s e y cow consuming 26 pounds o f a l f a l f a hay p e r day
would be r e c e iv in g 4 .9 8 pounds o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s i n excess
o f h e r m aintenance re q u ire m e n ts a s shown by th e Meigs and C onverse
s ta n d a r d .
T his 4 .9 8 pounds o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u tr i e n ts i s s u f f i c i e n t
fo r th e p ro d u c tio n o f 11 pounds of 6 .3 6 p e r c e n t m ilk a c c o rd in g t o t h i s
same s ta n d a rd .
For ev ery pound o f m ilk produced i n excess o f 11 pounds
t h i s J e r s e y cow would re c e iv e 0 .6 o f a pound o f g r a in .
I f sh e d id n o t
p ro d u ce more th a n 11 pounds o f m ilk , no g r a in would b e fe d .
For t h i s
group th e change in th e amount o f g r a i n fe d was made a t th e end o f each
week a c c o rd in g to th e a v erag e d a ily consum ption o f a l f a l f a hty a s w all a s
th e a v e ra g e d a ily p ro d u c tio n o f m ilk .
In d e te rm in in g th e re q u irem en ts o f
t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s fo r m ilk p ro d u c tio n th e g e n e r a lly a c c e p te d
a v e ra g e b u t t e r f a t t e s t of 6 .3 5 p e r c e n t fo r Je rsq y e and 3.6 p e r c e n t f o r
H o ls te in s was u se d .
At th e end o f th e f i r s t p e rio d o f 42 d ay s, th e two groups w ere r e ­
v e rse d w ith re s p e c t to th e method o f fe e d in g and c o n tin u e d f o r a n o th e r
p e rio d o f 42 d a y s.
A t r i a l p e rio d o f 7 days p reced ed each ex p erim en tal p e r io d . D uring
t h i s tim e b o th groups re c e iv e d a l l th e a l f a l f a hay they would e a t and
g r a in a t th e r a t e o f I pound to each 3 and 4 pounds o f m ilk produced.
The re q u ire m e n ts o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s fo r m aintenance
and m ilk p ro d u c tio n was d eterm in ed from th e Meigs and C onverse ta b le s .
—55 -
A lf a lf a hay was fe d a t 5:30 A. M ., 11 A. M., and a t 6 :3 0 P . M.
The l e f t o v e r a l t o I f a hay was weighed h a c k a t 6 A. M., an d a t 3 P . M.
Feeds U sed: The g ra in s and a l f a l f a hay w ere sec u re d from s e v e ra l
f f e r e n t grow ers i n th e G a lla t in V a lle y .
was p u rch ased from lo c a l d e a l e r s .
The m ill ru n and c o tto n s e e d meal
T able V shows th e a c t u a l a n a ly s is o f th e
feed s as r e p o r te d by Cy I). Evans o f th e C hem istry D epartm ent o f th e
Montana A g r ic u ltu r a l Experim ent S t a tio n .
Tahiti V _Anal_ysis_ o_f_F^edsJ[Tj8ed
Crude
Feed
M oisture Ash
F ib e r
P r o te in
- f Wheat
10.4
2 .0 6
2 .9 9
1 3.23
M ill Run
8.80
5.39
18.65
10.61
Oats
8 .7 3
3.62
12.80
9.08
9.64
2.58
12.87
B arley
7.8 7
5.96
A lf a lf a Hay
5.32
8 .4 4
4 4 .1 2
C o tto n seed Meal* 43.00
12.00
H -Free
E x tra c t
Fat
59.47
48.35
62.65
65.59
35.09
23.00
1.8 5
5.5 2
3 .1 2
1.46
1 .0 7
6.00
---------
These f ig u r e s w ere c o n v e rte d i n t o d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s by th e u se
o f Henry and M o rris o n 's t a b l e (32) on t h e a v erag e d i g e s t i b i l i t y o f American
fe e d in g s t u f f s .
A ccording t o th e a c tu a l a n a ly s is o f t h e fe e d s by th e members o f th e
C hem istry D epartm ent and th e a v erag e p e r c e n t o f d i g e s t i b i l i t y of th e s e
fe e d in g s t a f f s a s given by Henry and M o rriso n , th e c o n c e n tra te r a t i o n con­
ta in e d 1 2 .2 p e r c e n t d i g e s t i b l e c ru d e p r o t e i n and 72.3 p e r c e n t t o t a l
d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s , and th e a l f a l f a hay c o n ta in e d 5.99 p e r c e n t d i g e s t i b l e
c ru d e p r o te in and 47.14 p e r c e n t t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s .
h e a u lts o f th e E xperim ent. F or com parison o f Woodwards Method o f
fe e d in g g r a i n t o d a ir y cows w ith th e u s u a l method o f feed in g I pound o f
g r a in t o e a c h 3 o r 4 pounds o f m ilk p ro d u c e d , re c o rd s were k e p t o f th e t o t a l
•A n aly sis g iv e n on com m ercial feed ta g .
56fe« d conaumsd by each group d u rin g b o th p e r io d s , th e consum ption o f
d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s a s compared w ith th e re q u i re a e n ta g iv e n i n th e Iieigs
and C onverse s ta n d a rd , th e a v erag e d e c lin e i n m ilk p ro d u c tio n and th e
g a in or lo s s in body w e ig h t.
P ro d u c tio n . One J e rs e y cow and two H o ls te in cows began t he second
p e r io d a s dry cows so th e y were n o t in c lu d e d i n d e te rm in in g th e a v e ra g e
o f the two g ro u p s.
The f iv e J e rs e y cows i n m ilk , in th e group fed a cc o rd ­
in g to Woodward's Method, av erag ed 21 .1 pounds o f 5 .8 p e r c e n t m ilk p er
d ay .
The fo u r H o ls te in cows i n m ilk a v erag e d 3 8 .2 pounds o f 3 .2 p e r c e n t
m ilk p e r d a y .
The same f i v e J e r s e y cows fed a c c o rd in g to th e U sual Method a v erag ­
ed 18.9 pounds o f 6.03 p e r c e n t m ilk p e r day and th e same fo u r H o ls te in
cows a v erag e d 33.6 pounds o f 3 .2 4 p e r c e n t m ilk p e r day .
Com parison o f N u tr ie n ts Consumed w ith th e N u trie n ts R e q u ire d . W ith
b o th methods o f fe e d in g a com parison was made o f th e n u t r i e n t s p ro v id ed and
th e n u t r i e n t s r e q u ire d a c c o rd in g to th e Meigs and. C onverse s ta n d a rd .
P r o te i n was a p p a r e n tly s u p p lie d i n s u f f i c i e n t amounts to b o th g ro u p s.
The group fe d a c c o rd in g t o Woodward's method la ck e d only .2 p e r c e n t o f r e ­
c e iv in g enough d i g e s t i b l e c ru d e p r o te in and th e o th e r group re c e iv e d an
excess o f 7 p e r c e n t.
A ccording to Henry and M o rriso n 's t a b l e s , th e av erag e
p e r c e n t o f d i g e s t i b l e cru d e p r o te in in a l f a l f a hay is 1 0 .6 , w hereas th e
a v erag e p e r c e n t o f d i g e s t i b l e cru d e p r o t e i n in th e a l f a l f a hay fe °- ***
5*99 a c c o rd in g to th e a c t u a l a n a ly s is and th e d i g e s t i b i l i t y o f c ru d e
p r o te in a s g iv e n by Henry and M orriso n .
I f th e a l f a l f a Iiay e a te n had been
67 -
o f a v erag e q u a l i t y , a s shown by Heniy anti lio r r la o n ’s t a b l e s , th e form er
group would have e a te n an amount o f d i g e s t i b l e cru d e p r o t e i n , 47 p e r c e n t
In e x ce ss o f t h e i r re q u ire m e n ts and th e l a t t e r group would have e a te n
an excess o f 61 p e r c e n t d i g e s t i b l e cru d e p r o t e i n .
T a b le s VI and V II show t h a t when th e a c tu a l a n a ly s is o f a l f a l f a
hay was used in d e te rm in in g th e amount o f n u t r i e n t s consumed th e r e
ap p eared t o b e vary l i t t l e d if f e r e n c e I n th e t o t a l a v e ra g e s o f th e two
groups in th e amount o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s e a te n above o r below
th e re q u ire m e n ts g iv e n i n th e IIelgs and Converse s ta n d a rd .
The cows fed
a c c o rd in g to Woodward’ s Method la c k e d 4 .7 p e r c e n t o f consuming enough
t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s and th e group fe d a c c o rd in g to th e U sual
Method consumed 3 .7 6 p e r can t more t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s th a n were
r e q u ir e d .
The th r e e d ry cows in t a b l e VI were not in c lu d e d i n th e t o t a l s .
When th e in d iv id u a l cows were can p ared w ith in t h e i r r e s p e c tiv e
groups th e r e was a marked d if f e r e n c e , how ever.
T able VII shows t h a t th r e e
high p ro d u c in g cows. B eau ty , Queen and I d a b e l l e , fed a c c o rd in g to th e
U sual M ethod, d id n o t r e c e iv e enough t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s a c c o rd in g
to th e Meigs and C onverse s ta n d a rd .
Beauty and Queen la ck e d 9 .6 p e r c a n t
and 12.6 p e r cen t r e s p e c tiv e ly o f consuming enough t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e
n u trie n ts .
I n t h i s same group 5 cows o f c o m p arativ ely low p ro d u c tio n con­
sumed a c o n s id e ra b le e x cess o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s .
The th re e
lo w est p ro d u c in g cows, S te p h a n o s, A lb e r ta , a n d Amy, consumed an excess
o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s above re q u ire m e n ts amounting t o 2 1 .7 p er
c e n t, 2 0 .4 p a r cen t and 1 7 .7 p e r c e n t r e s p e c tiv e ly .
Prom t h e d a ta in T ab le V I, i t was found t h a t a cc o rd in g to th e
a c t u a l a n a ly s is o f t h e fe e d s re c e iv e d by tiie cot's fed a c c o rd in g to
Woodward** M ethod, t h e r e were no la r g e v a r ia tio n s in th e p e rc e n ta g e o f
t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s consumed, th e g r e a t e s t excess above th e
Iieiga and C onverse re q u ire m e n ts b e in g l . t i p e r c e n t and th e g r e a t e s t
d e fic ie n c y below re q u ire m e n ts b ein g 1 1 .8 p e r c e n t.
I t w ill b e n o ted
t h a t w ith one e x c e p tio n a l l o f th e ,Io la te in e w ere fe d s l i g h t l y above
re q u ire m e n ts and a l l o f the J e r s e y s were fed somewhat below r e q u ir e ­
m en ts.
T h is was undoubtedly due i n p a r t to th e f a c t t h a t th e J e rs e y s
produced m ilk c o n s id e ra b ly h ig h e r i n p e r c e n t o f b u t t e r f a t th a n th e
a v e ra g e J e r s e y and th e H o ls te in s produced m ilk c o n ta in in g a low er p e r
c e n t o f b a t t e r f a t th a n th e a v erag e H o ls te in .
The av erag e t e s t f o r
J e r s e y s , used i n d eterm in in g th e apportionm ent o f g r a i n , was 5.35 p e r
c e n t, w hereas th e J e r s e y s on th e ex p erim en t av erag ed above 5 .8 p e r c e n t
in t e s t .
The a v e ra g e t e s t f o r H o ls te in s used i n a p p o rtio n in g g r a i n was
3 .5 p e r c e n t, w hereas th e H o ls te in s i n th e experim ent av erag ed le a s th a n
3 .3 p e r c e n t in t e s t .
The r e s u l t was t h a t th e h ig h t e s t i n g J e r s e y s in
t h i s experim ent r e q u ir e d more n u t r i e n t s p e r pound o f m ilk produced th a n
th e a v e ra g e J e rs q y and th e low t e s t i n g H o la te in s re q u ire d l e s s n u tr i e n ts
p e r pound o f m ilk produced th a n th e av erag e H o ls te in , due t o th e f a c t
t h a t th e re q u ire m e n t fo r n u t r i e n t s in c re a s e s w ith th e in c r e a s e i n th e
p er c e n t o f b a t t e r f a t in th e
M illc
(21).
cow t h a t d id not r e c e iv e enough n u t r i e n t s .
Amelia was th e o n ly H o ls te in
T h is was due p ro b a b ly to h er
h ig h a v erag e t e a t o f 3 .8 p e r c e n t.
A fte r d e d u c tI % th e m aintenance re q u ire m e n ts d eterm in ed from th e
-6 9 -
Ia W a TI
PBQDUOTION AND FliBD COBSUMPTION OF TwBLVE COWS FZD ACCORDING TO WOODWARD’S IfBFHCB)*
H o ls te in s
Amy
Amelia
Fobes
A lb e rta
A deline
Id a b e lla
863
1601
2218
Dry
Dry
1839
2 7 .4
6 7 .4
6 6 .4
147
360
696
62.9
483
Average
1205
5 1 .4
541
♦Dry
1263
1295
1347
1228
1263
1210
1116
1535
1325
1439
1586
1588
1268
*19
*21
*36
*3
*3
-2
702
864
1065
579
696
920
768
921
1126
634
662
972
700
979
1061
452
452
902
11.8
f .5 7
r2 8 .0
* 3 1 .6
* 1 .9
r8 .S
6 .6
» 6 .0
* *•4 0.1
*44.0
»7 .9
1168
»7.6
773
822
811
-4 * 7
*1 .4
t O.S
-
-
c a rs n o t in c lu d e d in t o t a l s .
** The a c tu a l a n a ly s is o f c o n c e n tra te s was u sed in b o th colum ns. A ctual r e f e r s to th e a c tu a l a n a ly s is o f t h e
a l f a l f a fe d and Htif r e f e r s to a v erag e a n a ly s is o f a l f a l f a hay g iv e n by Henry and M orrison.
**• R equirem ents determ ined by means o f th e Meigs and Converse s ta n d a rd .
-
T able T H
Com
60 -
PBODOCTIOS AND FtldD CONSUMPTION OF 12 COWS FED GRAIN ACCORDING TO THK USUAL METHOD OF I POUND TO EACH
3 AHD 4 POUNDS OF MILK PRODUCED.
P ro d u c tio n ___
Milk B u tte r f a t
A lf a lf a
Hay
L bs.
Gain o r
Average Loss in
Weight Weight
Lbs.
Lbs#
"" T o ta l D ig e s tib le N u trie n ts *
Consumed
Excess o r D e fic ie n c y
A ctu al Htil
R eq u ired *** A ctu al
Htil
Lbs#
Lbs •
Lba.
%
%
Lbs.
L bs.
G rain
M ixture
Jjbs #
J e rs e y s
Beauty
Stephana
Latmaa
Queen
Idow ell
Ona
1204
204
691
998
482
875
76.1
14.1
3 9 .7
59.6
2 5 .7
4 9 .5
434
91
245
343
189
301
1114
985
1033
912
823
1059
1113
1002
843
949
1053
970
♦4
*3
r4
-4 2
-1 7
-6
839
530
664
678
525
717
889
574
710
719
561
764
928
435
603
776
547
711
—9 .6
+21.7
+17.8
-1 2 .6
- 4 .2
+ .8
- 4 .2
+31.8
+17.8
- 7 .3
+ 2 .5
+7.5
H o letein s
Aisy
Amelia
Fobes
A lb e rta
A d elin e
I d a b e lle
496
1168
1918
334
752
2068
16.8
4 6 .3
62.1
14.2
2 4 .0
5 9 .2
140
308
497
119
231
539
1282
1331
1419
1248
1285
1175
1549
1327
1448
1508
1671
1264
-1 0
+16
+18
-3 6
+36
-14
706
850
1028
674
773
943
763
909
1091
730
830
995
599
803
1004
560
674
965
+17.7
+5.9
+2.4
+20.4
+14.7
- 2 .3
+27.3
+13.3
+ 8.7
+30.3
+23.2
+ 3.1
933
4 0 .5
286
1136
1216
—3 .6
744
795
717
+3.75
+10.8
Average
* The a c tu a l a n a ly s is o f c o n c e n tra te s was used i n both colum ns. A ctu al r e f e r s t o t h e a c tu a l a n a ly s is o f th e
a l f a l f a fe d and H&M r e f e r s to av erag e a n a ly s is o f a l f a l f a hay g iv e n by Henry and M o rriso n .
** R equirem ents d e term in e d by means o f th e Meigs and C onverse s ta n d a rd .
—
61—
Melg* and C onverse s ta n d a rd , th e g ro u p fe d a c c o rd in g t o Woodward's Method
coisum ed only 7.75 pounds o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s p e r pound o f
b u t t e r f a t , w hereas th e group fed a cc o rd in g to th e u su al method consumed
9.06 pounds o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s p e r pound o f b u t t e r f a t .
The
f ig u r e s on th e a c tu a l a n a ly s is o f th e fe e d s wore used i n making t h i s
com parison.
I f th e a l f a l f a hay had been of a v erag e co m p o sitio n a s shown by
Henry and
,o r r i s o n 's ta b le s o r i f th e a c t u a l p e rc e n ta g e o f t o t a l
d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s in the a l f a l f a hay had been known a t t h e b eg in n in g
o f th e experim ent, th e cows i n m ilk fed a c c o rd in g to Woodward's Method
would have been fed c o n s id e ra b ly c lo s e r to th e Meigs and C onverse s ta n d a rd .
T able T shows t h a t by u sin g Henry and M orrisons f ig u r e s o f E l . 6 p e r o e n t
t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s fo r the a l f a l f a hay , t h i s group would have r e ­
c eiv e d an a v e ra g e o f o n ly 1.4 p e r c e n t t o t a l d ig e s t ib le n u t r i e n t s above
re q u ire m e n ts .
The g r e a t e s t ex cess o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s w u ld
have been 8 .3 p e r c e n t i n the c a se o f th e H o ls te in cow, Amy, and th e
g r e a t e s t d e fic ie n c y w ould have been 5 .6 p e r c e n t in th e c a s e o f th e
H o ls te in cow, A m elia.
However th e group fed a cc o rd in g to th e H sual Method m ight n o t have
fa re d so w e ll i f th e a l f a l f a hay had been o f a v erag e q u a lity s in c e th e
a v e ra g e ex cess o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s would have been 1 0 .8 p er
c e n t above re q u ire m e n ts as shown by T ab le V I I .
Two cows. B eauty and
Queen, would s t i l l have f a i l e d to r e c e iv e enough n u t r i e n t s and s i x cows,
S te p h a nna, L a tona, Amy, A m elia, A lb e rta , and A d e lin e , w u ld have con-
62-
soDdd t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s c o n s id e ra b ly in e x cess o f re q u ire m e n ts,
ra n g in g from 1 3 .3 p e r c e n t to 31.8 p e r c e n t i n excess o f th e MeLgs and
C onverse re q u ire m e n ts.
Gain o r Loss i n W eight. Tatil es VI and V II show t h a t t h e r e was l i t t l e
d if f e r e n c e i n th e change in body w eight in th e two g ro u p s.
T ab le VI
shows t h a t th e cows fe d a c c o rd in g to Woodward's Methdl g a in ed an average
o f 7.5 pounds d u rin g th e 42 d a y s.
T ab le V II shows t h a t t h e g ro u p fed
a c c o rd in g to th e U sual Method l o s t an a v erag e o f 3 .5 pounds d u rin g th e
42 d ay s.
A lthough th e d a ta i n T able VI shows t h a t th e th r e e d ry cows,
fe d a n e x c lu s iv e a l f a l f a r a t i o n , consumed t o t a l d i g e s t ib le n u tr i e n ts
c o n s id e ra b ly in e x c e s s o f t h e i r m aintenance re q u ire m e n ts, th ey d id n o t
make as much g a in i n w eight a s some o f th e cows i n m ilk t h a t were r e ­
c e iv in g g r a in b u t were n o t r e c e iv in g an e x c e ss o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e
n u t r i e n t s above t h e i r re q u ire m e n ts .
The J e rs e y cow, Id o w o ll, g a in ed 15
pounds d u rin g t h i s 42 day p e r io d and th e two H o ls te in cows, A lb e rta and
A d e lin e , g a in e d only 3 pounds each during t h i s p e r io d .
The two H o ls te in s
did n o t make th e g a in in w eight t h a t was e x p ec te d o f them c o n s id e rin g
th e work o f Vinke (56) and o f th e o th e r ex p erim en tal work review ed in
th is th e s is .
A lb e rta and A deline consumed an ex cess o f 28 and 31 p er
Cont t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s r e s p e c tiv e ly , above t h e i r re q u ire m e n ts,
a c c o rd in g to the Melga and C onverse s ta n d a rd , and were e x p ec te d to make
a more s u b s ta n tia l g a in in w e ig h t.
D e clin e in M ilk Y ie ld .
S in c e th r e e o f th e cows were tu rn e d d ry a t
—63—
th e end o f t h e i r f i r s t p e r io d , n e ith e r they n o r the th r e e cows in th e
o th e r g ro u p , used a s check cows, were used i n comparing th e two methods
o f fe e d in g , w ith r e s p e c t to th e e f f e c t o f each upon th e r a t e o f d e­
c l i n e in m ilk y i e l d .
F ig u re I shows th e d e c lin e in m ilk p ro d u c tio n o f
s i x cow s, two H o ls te in s and f o u r J e r s e y s , t h a t were fe d a c c o rd in g to
b o th methods d u rin g two d i f f e r e n t p e rio d s o f 42 days e a c h .
B eauty,
Latona and Fobes were fe d a c c o rd in g to Woodward’s Method th e f i r s t
p e rio d and a cc o rd in g t o th e Usual Method th e second p e rio d .
Queen, Ona,
and I d a b e lle were fe d a c c o rd in g to th e U sual Method d u rin g th e f i r s t
p e rio d and a c c o rd in g to Woodward’ s Method d u rin g t h e se c o n d p e r io d .
I t w i l l b e n o te d from F ig u re I th a t th e r e was very l i t t l e
d if f e r e n c e in th e r a t e o f d e c lin e o f th e m ilk y i e l d of th e s e s i x cams
when fed acc o rd in g to one o r t h e o th e r o f t h e two m ethods.
When fed
a c c o rd in g to the U sual M ethod, th e s e s i x cows d e c lin e d in m ilk a t a
s l i g h t l y more ra p id r a t e d u rin g th e f i r s t p e r io d , b u t d e c lin e d a t about
t h e same r a t e d u rin g th e second p e r io d .
I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to n o te th a t a lth o u g h th e cows fe d a c c o rd in g
t o th e U sual Method re c e iv e d t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s i n excess o f
re q u ire m e n ts , they d id not h o ld up I n m ilk y i e l d any b e t t e r th a n when
th ey were fe d a c c o rd in g to Woodward's M ethod.
When fed by th e l a t t e r
method they f a i l e d to r e c e iv e enough feed to m eet t h e i r re q u ire m e n ts
o f t o t a l d i g e s t ib le n u t r i e n t s by a s l i g h t m arg in , a c c o rd in g t o th e
Meigs and C onverse s ta n d a r d .
-
64 -
=Q
W OO DW J fi D V METIiOD
USUAL METHOD
D E C L / M E //y AT/ZA
F ig u re I .
Y / E LD B Y
WEEKS
Average d e c lin e i n m ilk p ro d u c tio n o f s i x cows fed
a c c o rd in g to Woodward’s Method compared to th e av erag e
d e c lin e in m ilk p ro d u c tio n o f th e same s i x cows when
fe d a c c o rd in g t o th e U sual Method#
65-
Avarage Consumption o f A l f a l f a .
The amount o f a l f a l f a hay eate n p a r
day d id not vary w ith in very wide l i m i t s from day to d a y .
The s i x J e r s e y
cows consumed an a v e ra g e o f 2 3 .2 pounds o f a l f a l f a hay p a r day and th e
H o ls te in s consumed an a v e ra g e o f 3 0.4 pounds p e r day a s shown in Table V III*
T ab le V I I I .
Average D a ily Consumption o f A llh lf a by 6 J e r s e y s and 6
H o le te in a and a v e ra g e d a ily m ilk p ro d u c tio n p ro v id e d fo r
by th e n u t r i e n t s consumed i n e x ce ss o f m aintenance
I l f a T f I A v I r a g I -------- ------ T o ta l D ig e I tT h l V N lt I iI n ts ---------------M ilk P r o d u I tio I
T V a T fIlfa " " Reqii I r ed""for TJonaumed in Excess "Provided fo r by
Body
tiatan
Excess o f N u trL bs.
Eaten*
M aintenance** o f M aintenance
Weight
le n t s in
per
A lf a lf a
L bs. p er
Lbs. p er
Lbs.
L bs. p er
day
Lba. p e r Day
Day
Bay
Day _
Jersey s
7.3
7. W
3 .0 7
10.94
986
2 3 .2
30.4
1460
14.33
H o ls te in e
I OTTT-
4 .1 7
13.
The J e r s e y s consumed o n ly enough t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s above
m a in te n an c e , i n th e form o f a l f a l f a h ay , t o p ro v id e th e n u t r i e n t s fo r 7.3
pounls o f m ilk t e s t i n g 6 .3 5 per c en t b u t t e r f a t , and th e H o ls te in s consumed
only enough to p ro v id e th e n u t r i e n t s fo r 13 pounds o f m ilk t e s t i n g 3 .5 p er
c e n t.
The a l f a l f a hay would undoubtedly have been e a te n i n much la r g e r
q u a n t i t i e s i f i t had been of b e t t e r q u a l i t y .
The day fo llo w in g th e c lo s e
o f th e experim ent a few lo a d s o f f l u e , b r i g h t , le a f y a l f a l f a hay were
d e liv e r e d to th e d a iry b a r n .
The cows a t e such la r g e q u a n t i t i e s o f t h i s
hay t h a t a t th e end o f th e t h i r d day one day t r i a l w eights were ta k e n o f
th e amount o f a l f a l f a hay e a te n by th e cows which had been in th e e x p e ri­
m ent.
D uring t h * t one day th e J e r s e y s a t e an average o f 28 pounds of
a l f a l f a hay and th e H o la tein a a t e an a v e ra g e o f 40.5 pounds o f a l f a l f a h a y .
* A ctual A n a ly s is . ** D eterm ined from th e Meigs ana C onverse S ta n d a rd .
CONCLire IONS
I* G ra in a p p o rtio n e d to d a iry cows a c c o rd in g to Woodward’s Method
s u p p lie s th e t o t a l d i g e s t ib le n u t r i e n t s to each in d iv id u a l cow in more
n e a r ly th e c o r r e c t am ounta, a a g iv e n in th e Meiga and C onverse S ta n d a rd ,
th a n does g r a in a p p o rtio n e d to d a ir y cows a c c o rd in g t o th e U sual Method
o f I pound o f g r a i n fo r each 3 and 4 pounds o f m ilk p ro d u ced , d epending
upon th e ric h n e s s o f t h e m ilk .
Woodward's Method i s to a p p o rtio n g r a in
a t th e r a t e o f 0 .4 and 0 .6 pound, to low and high t e s t i n g cows r e s p e c t­
iv e ly fo r each pound o f m ilk produced above th e amount p ro v id e d fo r by
th e roughage a lo n e .
2 . G ra in a p p o rtio n e d to d a ir y cows a c c o rd in g to th e U sual Method
o f I pound o f g r a in to each 3 or 4 pounds o f m ilk p ro d u c e d , r e s u lte d in
th e o v e rfe e d in g o f low p ro d u c e rs by as much a s 2 1 .7 p e r c e n t and th e
u n d e rfe e d in g o f h ig h p ro d u c e rs by a s much a s 12.6 p e r c e n t.
T here was
a g r e a t e r tendency to o v e rfe e d low p ro d u c e rs th a n th e r e was t o under feed
h ig h p ro d u c e rs .
3 . More e f f i c i e n t p ro d u c tio n was r e a liz e d by fe e d in g a c c o rd in g to
Woodward's Method than was r e a l i z e d by fe e d in g a c c o rd in g to th e Usual
M ethod.
Above m aintenance re q u ire m e n ts t h e cows fed a c c o rd in g to
Woodward's Method averaged a pound o f b u t t e r f a t from 7.75 pounds o f
t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s , whereas th e cows fe d a cco rd in g t o th e Usual
Method consumed an a v e ra g e o f 9.05 pounds o f t o t a l d i g e s t i b l e n u tr i e n ts fo r
each pound o f b u t t e r f a t p roduced.
67-
4.
T h ere was l i t t l e d if f e r e n c e i n th e r a t e o f d e c lin e o f m ilk
p ro d u c tio n o f th e cows fed by e i t h e r one o r th e o th e r o f th e two m ethods.
6. Good q u a lity a l f a l f a Iiay was e a te n in much la r g e r q u a n titie s
th a n was p oor q u a l i t y a l f a l f a hay.
6. S u f f i c i e n t p r o te in was a p p a r e n tly p ro v id ed by th e p o o r q u a lity
a l f a l f a hay and a g r a in m ix tu re c o n ta in in g 12.2 p e r c e n t d i g e s t i b l e crude
p ro te in .
—68
PART V
OKHLPAL conclusions
1. When cow a a r e fe d a l l th e a l f a l f a hay th e y w ill e a t and g r a in a t
t h e r a t e o f I pound to every 3 , 4 , or 5 pounds o f m ilk p ro d u ced , t h e low
p ro d u c e rs a r e o v e rfe d b e ca u se cows w ill g e t enough n u tr i e n ts from good
a l f a l f a hay a lo n e f o r th e m ain ten an ce o f t h e i r b o d ie s as w e ll a s f o r th e
p ro d u c tio n o f a c e r t a i n amount o f m ilk .
2 . There i s a g e n e ra l tenden cy fo r h ig h p ro d u cers to b e under fed
when a p p o rtio n e d g r a in a t th e r a t e o f I pound to each 3 o r 4 pounds o f
m ilk produced when a l f a l f a i s fe d ad lib itu m b e ca u se I pound o f g r a in
w i l l n o t f u r n is h th e n u tr i e n ts fo r as much a s 3 pounds o f m ilk .
3 . A s a t i s f a c t o r y method o f fe e d in g d a iry cows under W estern co n d i­
tio n s t h a t can b e worked out by Experim ent S t a t i o n s , is t o d e term in e
th e amount o f m ilk t h a t can b e produced on a l f a l f a hay a lo n e , f o r h ig h
t e s t i n g and low t e s t i n g b re e d s , and th e n fe e d cows o f th e h ig h t e s t i n g
b re e d s 0 .6 o f a pound o f g r a in fo r every pound o f m ilk produced i n ex
c e s s o f th a t amount and t o cows o f th e low t e s t i n g b re e d s fe e d 0 .4 o f a
pound o f g r a in f o r every pound o f m ilk pro d u ced in excess o f th a t amount.
4 . In o rd e r to fo rm u la te a s a t i s f a c t o r y method of fe e d in g d a iry cows
a s d e s c rib e d ab o v e, d a ta must be se c u re d on th e consum ption o f a l f a l f a
bay o f b oth good and poor q u a lity *
—69—
6 . J e rs e y cows cannot e a t enough p o o r q u a lily a l f a l f a hay to p ro v id e
th e n u t r i e n t s f o r m aintenance and more th a n 8 pounds o f m ilk .
6 . H o ls te in cows cannot e a t en o t^h poor q u a lity a l f a l f a hay to p ro ­
v id e th e n u t r i e n t s f o r m ain ten an ce and more th a n
13 pounds o f m ilk .
7. Good q u a lity a l f a l f a h a y , because o f i t s g r e a te r p a l a t a b i l i t y , i s
e a te n i n much l a r g e r q u a n titie s th an i s poor q u a lity a l f a l f a hay .
8. Good q u a lity a l f a l f a hay is more e f f e c t i v e in m a in ta in in g th e
m ilk flow th a n i s poor q u a lity a l f a l f a h a y .
9 . The a c c e p te d fe e d in g s ta n d a rd s fo r d a ir y c a t t l e a re p ro b a b ly to o
h ig h in p r o te in re q u ire m e n ts f o r b o th m aintenance and m ilk p ro d u c tio n .
1 0. When good q u a lity a l f a l f a hay i s fe d ad lib itu m th e v a lu e o f
a d d in g h i p r o t e i n c o n c e n tra te s to th e r a t i o n i s q u e s tio n a b le .
11. F e e d ii^ s ta n d a rd s fo r d a iry cows a g re e more c lo s e ly in t o t a l
d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s th a n th ey do in p r o te in re q u ire m e n ts .
1 2 . T o ta l d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s a r e more s a t i s f a c t o r y f o r fo rm u lat­
in g fe e d in g s ta n d a rd s a t th e p re s e n t tim e th a n is n e t e n erg y .
13. F eeding a t a p la n e o f n u t r i t i o n h ig h e r th a n is c a ll e d fo r in
th e a c c e p te d feeding s ta n d a rd s r e s u l t s in an in c r e a s e in p ro d u c tio n b u t
n o t i n p r o p o r tio n to th e amounts o f n u t r i e n t s fe d .
14. Except in m in e ra l d e f i c i e n t a r e a s , t h e o n ly m in e ra l t h a t is
a p t t o b e la c k in g i n d a iry c a t t l e r a tio n s i s common s a l t .
15. When a l f a l f a hay i s fe d to d a ir y c a t t l e , none o f th e known
v ita m in s o f im p o rtan ce i n d a iry c a t t l e fe e d in g w ill be la c k in g .
70-
ACKNOWLSDOratENTS
Acknowledgement a a r e made to P r o fe s s o r L ouis V inke, head o f th e
D epartm ent o f Animal H usbandry, Montana S t a t e C o lle g e , fo r h is v a lu a b le
a s s is ta n c e In c o n d u ctin g th e e x p e rim e n ta l work and h is a id In th e p r e ­
p a r a tio n o f t h i s m a n u sc rip t;
a ls o to W. P . D ick so n , A s s is ta n t Animal
Rusbandryman, for h is a id i n th e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f th e e x p erim en tal
w ork.
-7 1
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-I T y i-
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