Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #118591
Title: MILK PRODUCTION AND BONE CHARACTERISTICS OF DAIRY COWS FED DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF PHOSPHORUS FOR TWO OR THREE LACTATIONS

Author
item WU, ZHIGUO - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
item Satter, Larry
item BLOHOWIAK, ALEX - FORMER ARS EMPLOYEE
item STAUFFACHER, R - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
item WILSON, J - VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INST

Submitted to: Journal of Dairy Science
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/24/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Effects of feeding different amounts of P to lactating dairy cows in the third year of a 3-yr feeding experiment are reported. Treatments were .31, .39, and .47 percent dietary P (DM basis) fed to 10, 14, and 13 Holsteins. The 37 cows included 19 and 14 that had been fed similar amounts of P for 2 or 3 yrs, respectively, upon completion of the lactation this year; the remaining 4 cows (3 in the .31 percent and 1 in the .39 percent P groups) completed just the one lactation of this trial. The twelfth rib bone was surgically removed (20 cm) from 9, 9, and 11 cows that were still available at the end of the lactation from the three treatments. The nine cows sampled from the .31 percent P group included the three 1-yr cows. The bone samples were tested for strength and P content. Milk production averaged more than 12,000 kg during the lactation, with no indication that feeding low P reduced milk production. No difference was determined among treatments in the force the bone endured before rupture (shear stress) or the energy required to deform the bone to the point of fracture (fracture energy). Ash content of the bone was slightly lower for the .31 percent P group, but P content of bone ash was similar among treatments. Feeding .31 or .39 percent P for 2 or 3 yrs did not reduce milk production, bone strength, or bone P content.