Effects of Grass Silage Additive Type and Barley Grain Preservation Method on Rumen Fermentation, Microbial Community and Milk Production of Dairy Cows

Abstract

Grass was ensiled using an acid-based additive (AS) or homofermentative lactic acid bacteria (IS). In addition, barley grain was either dried (DB) or crimped and ensiled (EB). The feeds were fed as total mixed rations (TMR) in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement to 16 Nordic Red dairy cows in four replicated Latin squares. The differences in the fermentation quality of the two grass silages were unexpectedly small. Dry matter intake was higher (p p p p p p < 0.10) to be higher for AS-fed cows than IS-fed cows, and milk protein yield was higher for cows receiving DB rather than EB. The AS resulted in more aerobically stable TMR than IS and a minor advantage was found for DB compared to EB.

Keywords

• aerobic stability
• crimping
• ensiled grain
• formic acid
• grain preservation
• high-moisture grain