Location: Dairy Forage Research
Project Number: 5090-31000-027-012-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Oct 1, 2019
End Date: Sep 30, 2022
Objective:
Evaluate diets formulated with corn silage containing an a-amylase trait compared to the same hybrid without the a-amylase trait on lactation performance, nutrient digestibility, and methane emissions of lactating dairy cows.
Approach:
An animal feeding experiment will be conducted to evaluate corn silage containing an a-amylase trait on lactation performance, nutrient digestibility, and methane emissions of lactating dairy cows. Forty lactating Holstein dairy cows will be fed diets formulated with corn silage containing the a-amylase trait or with corn silage without the trait (20 cows on each treatment). Cows will be fed a common covariate diets for 2 weeks followed by a 9-week experiment evaluating the lactation performance of cows fed the two types of corn silage. In the 9th week, cows will be placed in environmental chambers to measure gas emissions. Experimental design will be a randomized completed block design.
