Silage and dairy cow production

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Abstract
In two experiments with Jersey cross-bred dairy cows, pasture and unwilted silage, and unwilted, wilted, and formaldehyde-treated silages, fed as sole rations, were compared. In both experiments level of feeding and diet significantly affected milk production and composition. In the first experiment voluntary intake of silage was 32% lower than that of pasture, and silage feeding lowered milk yields and fat and protein contents of milk, Regression analyses of data obtained when different levels of feeding were applied indicated that differences in milk yield and composition persisted when the diets were compared at the same digestible energy intake. Also, pasture-fed cows lost more body weight than those fed silage. In the second experiment, by comparison with unwilted silage, formaldehyde-treated silage increased milk fat content and yields of milk and fat. Wilting also produced relative increases in yields of milk and its components. Differences between diets in the pattern of rumen fermentation were small and not considered to influence milk yield and composition, However, lower levels of soluble carbohydrate and higher levels of soluble non-protein N, each affecting the efficiency of rumen microbial synthesis and consequently the amount of available dietary protein,, could have been responsible. The possible mechanisms accounting for different responses between silages are also discussed.