Balancing pasture and maize silage diets for dairy cows using
urea, soybean meal or fishmeal
K.A. Macdonald, J.W. Penno, E.S. Kolver, W.A.C. Carter and J.A.S. Lancaster
Dairy Research Corporation Ltd, Private Bag 3123,Hamilton.
Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production. 1998,
58: 102-105
Four treatment groups of 10 Holstein-Friesian cows were
established at the DRC No. 2 dairy in the spring, summer and autumn of
1996/97 to test the efficacy of providing urea, soybean meal or fishmeal
supplement to overcome the protein deficiency that occurs when cows are
supplemented with large amounts of maize silage. Pasture allowance was
manipulated to achieve an average pasture dry matter (DM) intake of
6.6kg/cow/day for each group. Treatment groups were supplemented with 75
MJ ME/cow/day as either 7.0kg DM of maize silage, 7.0kg DM of maize
silage plus 90g of urea, 5.2kg DM of maize silage plus 1.4kg DM of
soybean meal, or 5.8kg DM of maize silage plus 1.0kg DM of fish meal.
The addition of urea as a source of non-protein nitrogen had no effect
on milk, milkfat or milk protein production. Soybean meal increased milk
protein production by 0.06kg/cow/day in both summer and autumn (P<0.01).
Fishmeal increased milkfat production by 0.07 (P<0.01) and
0.08kg/cow/day (P<0.05) in summer and autumn and increased milk protein
by 0.06 (P<0.01), 0.10 (P<0.01) and 0.08kg/cow/day (P<0.001) in spring,
summer and autumn, respectively.
Keywords: NZSAPAB;
dairy production; maize silage; urea; soybean meal; fishmeal.
Last Updated 12-09-1998
