Location: Dairy Forage Research
Project Number: 5090-31000-027-041-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2026
End Date: Jul 31, 2029
Objective:
Develop strategies to best utilize various cover crops in dairy cow diets. The specific objective will be to evaluate the factors that improve the nutrient utilization of the diets fed to high producing dairy cows resulting in improved animal performance, reduced nutrient excretion, and improved efficiency of the conversion of feed to milk.
Approach:
Feeding studies will be conducted to determine the impact of including cover crop forages on lactation performance, nutrient utilization, and feed conversion efficiency of high producing dairy cows. Experimental design will be a randomized complete block design with 12 to 16 cows/treatment diet. Cows will be fed in early lactation or at peak milk production. Cows will be housed in a tie stall barn, have unrestricted access to water, and be individually fed once daily for ad libitum consumption. Cows will be milked 3-times per day in a milking parlor. Milk yield will be recorded daily during the sampling period. Milk samples will be analyzed for fat, protein, lactose, and milk urea nitrogen. Standing, laying, eating, and ruminating behaviors will be assessed with rumination collars over a 7-day period. Fecal grab samples will be collected over a 4-day period to determine nutrient digestibility of the diets. Enteric gaseous production will be measured.