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ARS Home » Plains Area » Clay Center, Nebraska » U.S. Meat Animal Research Center » Nutrition, Growth and Physiology » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #338587
Title: Increasing the diet concentrations of fat and hemicellulose on energy utilization and methane production in lactating Jersey cattle

Author
item DREHMEL, O - University Of Nebraska
item Brown-Brandl, Tami
item JUDY, J - University Of Nebraska
item FERNANDO, S - University Of Nebraska
item KONONOFF, P - University Of Nebraska

Submitted to: Journal of Dairy Science
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/3/2017
Publication Date: 6/1/2017
Citation: Drehmel, O.R., Brown-Brandl, T.M., Judy, J.V., Fernando, S.C., Kononoff, P.J. 2017. Increasing the diet concentrations of fat and hemicellulose on energy utilization and methane production in lactating Jersey cattle [abstract]. Journal of Dairy Science. 100(Supplement 2):113.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Eight multiparous, lactating Jersey cows averaging 98 ± 30.8 DIM and BW of 439.3 ± 56.7 kg were used to determine the energy content of diets differing in concentrations of fat and hemicellulose. A twice replicated 4 × 4 Latin square was used to compare treatments. To manipulate the concertation of fat tallow was included at either 0 or 2% of the diet DM. The concentration of hemicellulose was manipulated by changing the inclusion rate of corn silage, alfalfa hay, and soybean hulls resulting in diets containing either 11.3 or 12.7 % hemicellulose. Resulting treatments were as follows; Low Fat Low Hemicellulose (LFLH), Low Fat High Hemicellulose (LFHH), High Fat Low Hemicellulose (HFLH) and High Fat High Hemicellulose (HFHH). There were no interactions (P = 0.14) between fat and hemicellulose observed for any dependent variable tested. Neither fat nor hemicellulose affected DMI (P = 0.25) averaging 16.2 ± 1.18 kg/d across treatments. Similarly, treatments did not affect (P = 0.51) milk production, averaging 23.0 ± 1.72 kg/d. The inclusion of fat tended (P = 0.10) to reduce methane produced per kg of DMI from 24.8 to 22.7 ± 1.61 L/kg while hemicellulose had no effect (P = 0.37). Energy retained as tissue tended to decrease (P = 0.10) from -3.80 to -0.08 ± 3.26 Mcal/d with the inclusion of fat while hemicellulose had no effect (P = 0.21). Increasing hemicellulose concentration increased (P = 0.02) total intake of digestible NDF from 6.62 to 8.42 ± 0.62 kg/d while fat had no effect (P = 0.62). Methane per unit of digested NDF tended to decrease (P = 0.10) from 63.3 to 47.0 ± 0.73 L/kg with increasing hemicellulose concentration while fat had no effect (P = 0.73). Results of this study confirm that methane production may be reduced while energy utilization increased by the inclusion of fat in diets fed to lactating dairy cattle. In comparison, despite increasing NDF digestibility, manipulations of hemicellulose had little effect on methane production or energy utilization.