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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #168406
Title: ARE WE FEEDING OUR COWS TOO MUCH PROTEIN?

Author
item Broderick, Glen
item OLMOS, J - UW MADISON
item ADAMS, L - UW MADISON

Submitted to: Hoard's Dairyman
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/15/2004
Publication Date: 3/25/2004
Citation: Broderick, G.A., Olmos, J., Adams, L.N. 2004. Are we feeding our cows too much protein?. Hoard's Dairyman. 149(6):214.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: To summarize, we found in two feeding trials that optimal production of milk and protein was obtained when dairy cows were fed about 16.5% CP in diets formulated from alfalfa plus corn silage, high moisture corn and solvent-extracted soybean meal. Adding greater amounts of CP to the diet (by replacing high moisture corn with SBM) did not improve production, or may have slightly reduced milk yield, but greatly increased N excretion. There was little change in fecal N over a wide range of dietary CP levels; nearly all of the extra N in the diet was excreted in the form of environmentally unstable urinary N.