The Nutritive Value of Alfalfa Hay. III. Corn as a Supplement to an All-Alfalfa Hay Ration for Milk Production

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Abstract
12 cows which had been depleted of their reserve milk-producing factor(s) on an all-alfalfa hay ration were used in 15 trials to study the effect on milk production after a part of the total digestible nutrients in alfalfa had been replaced with corn. 11 hays representing 8 crop yrs. were used and each exptl. period averaged 15 days in length. The replacement of a part of the alfalfa hay with corn, on an equal total digestible nutrient basis, always resulted in an increased production of 4% fat-corrected milk. Milk production increased markedly during the 2d day following the change to the alfalfa-corn ration and persisted for 7-10 days before reaching a plateau. An equally sharp drop in milk production occurred on the 2d day following the change to an all-alfalfa hay ration and the drop continued for 1 week or longer before production stabilized at a lower level. The results of this investigation indicate that the corn grain supplied an unidentified factor(s) needed to balance hay for milk production.