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JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCEAND BIOTECHNOLOGY

McCormick et al Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology 2014 538httpwwwjasbscicomcontent5138

RESEARCH Open Access

Evaluation of alfalfa inter-seeding effect onbahiagrass baleage fermentation and lactatingHolstein performanceMichael E McCormick1 Kun Jun Han2 Vinicius R Moreira3 and David C Blouin4

Abstract

Background Previous research indicates that bahiagrass may be successfully conserved as baleage but nutritivevalue is typically low for lactating dairy cows The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of addingmodest amounts of alfalfa forage (22) achieved by inter-seeding alfalfa into an existing bahiagrass pasture onbaleage nutritive value and lactation performance of Holstein cows Forage treatments employed were monoculturebahiagrass baleage (MBB negative control) bahiagrass-alfalfa mixture baleage (BAB) and conventional corn silage(CCS positive control) Thirty six mid lactation Holstein cows [348 plusmn 58 kg 35 fat-corrected milk and 112 plusmn 19 din milk (DIM)] were stratified according to milk yield and DIM and assigned randomly to 1 of 3 forage treatmentsCows were trained to Calan feeding gates and were offered a common CCS-based TMR in a 10-d covariance periodfollowed by a 42-d treatment feeding period

Results The BAB contained more protein and less NDF than MBB (126 vs 103 CP and 718 vs 766 NDF) DietDMI was similar for MBB and BAB (195 vs 216 kghdd) but cows consumed more of the CCS diet (255 kghdd)than either baleage-based diet Cows offered BAB tended to produce more milk than cows offered MBB basedTMR (284 vs 261 kghdd) but both baleage diets generated less milk than CCS-based diets (331 kghdd) Milkcomposition was similar across diets except for milk protein concentrations which were higher for CCS thaneither MBB or BAB diets however milk urea nitrogen (MUN) was lowest for cows fed CCS diets Cow BW gainwas higher for BAB than MBB implying that a portion of the higher energy contributed by the alfalfa was beingused to replenish weight on these mid lactation cows

Conclusions Data from this study indicate that alfalfa inter-seeded in bahiagrass sod that produces BAB with aslittle as 22 alfalfa may improve nutritive value compared to monoculture bahiagrass baleage and marginallyimprove lactation performance of Holstein cows However the CCS diet was vastly superior to either MBB orBAB-based diets for milk production

Keywords Alfalfa Bahiagrass Baleage Corn silage Lactating dairy cows

BackgroundBahiagrass (Paspalum notatum L) is a common peren-nial forage base for many dairies in southern Louisianaand Mississippi USA [1] When properly managed thisforage is high yielding and persistent particularly giventhe often harsh environmental conditions of the areaHowever nutritive content of conserved bahiagrass is

Correspondence memccormickagctrlsuedu1Southeast Region LSU Agricultural Center 21549 Old Covington HwyHammond LA 70403 USAFull list of author information is available at the end of the article

copy 2014 McCormick et al licensee BioMed CenCreative Commons Attribution License (httpdistribution and reproduction in any mediumDomain Dedication waiver (httpcreativecomarticle unless otherwise stated

often below requirements of young growing animals andlactating dairy cattle [2] In spite of its low nutritivevalue and water soluble carbohydrate content bahiagrassmay be successfully conserved as baleage [3]Interseeding legumes into perennial grass pastures often

increases animal growth and milk production above that ofanimals grazing pure grass stands [45] Most of the re-search on interseeding legumes into grass pastures has beenconducted in the Northeastern and Midwestern USAwhere conditions are favorable for legume production

tral Ltd This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of thecreativecommonsorglicensesby40) which permits unrestricted use provided the original work is properly credited The Creative Commons Publicmonsorgpublicdomainzero10) applies to the data made available in this

McCormick et al Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology 2014 538 Page 2 of 9httpwwwjasbscicomcontent5138

Researchers in Louisiana attempted to inter-seed red clover(Trifolium pretense) into bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)and bahiagrass pastures for lactating dairy cattle [6] Theyrecorded a 10 (4 pounds FCM) increase in milk yield forcows grazing grass-clover pastures compared to those graz-ing grass alone During the last decade alfalfa varieties havebeen developed which are especially adapted for grazing insouthern climates [7] Research using these varieties has fo-cused on interseeding (no-till drilled) in existing bermuda-grass pastures [89] Bermudagrass stand loss has been aconcern with interseeding due to earlier spring emergenceof alfalfa and shading of bermudagrass plants Increasing al-falfa row spacing from 20 to 60 cm aided in maintainingthe bermudagrass stand and reduced alfalfa seeding ratefrom 19 to 64 kgha No information on overall foragequality was provided with these reports nor is informationavailable on more traditional hay type (upright growing)alfalfa plants inter-seeded in summer perennial grassesResearch on inter-seeding alfalfa in existing bahiagrassstands and its effect on conserved forage nutritive value arenot available Though bahiagrass has a dense sod it wasspeculated that a late fall interseeding of alfalfa would allowsufficient early spring alfalfa production to improve thenutritive value of the resulting bahiagrass-alfalfa bale silagecrop A lactation performance study was conducted toevaluate the nutritive value of subsequent bahiagrass-alfalfabaleage fed to lactating dairy cows Monoculture bahiagrassserved as a negative control and corn silage (Zea Mays L)was included as a positive control

Materials and methodsForage production storage and samplingAll agronomic and animal procedures described in thisreport were conducted at the Louisiana State UniversityAgricultural Centerrsquos Southeast Research Station locatedapproximately 8 km west of Franklinton LA (Lat 30deg 47rsquo04rdquo N and Lon 90 12rsquo 19rdquo W) A 49 ha field oflsquoArgentinersquo bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum var latiflorum)was top-dressed with 45 Mgha dolomitic lime on May 252006 On December 19 2006 the bahiagrass was inter-seeded with 74 kg live seedha of lsquoAmerigraze 702rsquo alfalfa(Medicago sativa L Americarsquos Alfalfa Madison WI) witha Bush Hog Model 9690 no-till drill (M amp L IndustriesInc Baton Rouge LA) Alfalfa seeds were factory-coatedwith material containing a fungicide (metalaxyl-M) and rhi-zobia (Sinorhizobium meliloti) constituting 34 of plantedseed weight Alternating seed drops on the planter wereclosed to provide row widths of approximately 30 cm Inlate February the inter-seeded bahiagrass-alfalfa was top-dressed with 140 kg K 60 kg P 28 kg S 24 kg N and 4 kg Bfertilizer per ha Following an initial late-April hay harvestthe bahiagrass-alfalfa field was top-dressed with 125 kg K17 kg P 15 kg N 26 kg S and 3 kg B fertilizer per ha Anearby (lt300 m distant) 57 ha field of lsquoArgentinersquo

bahiagrass was used as a negative control ie monocul-ture bahiagrass Fertilizing and harvest schedules weresimilar to that of the inter-seeded field except lime wasapplied at 225 Mgha and fertilizer consisted of 449 kgha of a blended fertilizer containing 24 nitrogen 10phosphorus and 17 potassiumOn June 11th 2007 at approximately 1000 h the

bahiagrass-alfalfa field (second harvest 43 d regrowth)was harvested with a Kuhn model FC-300C disc cutterequipped with a flail-type conditioner (Kuhn NorthAmerican Inc Broadhead WI) The regrowth containedbahiagrass with less than 10 seed heads and 110-bloomstage alfalfa One meter-length windrow samples were col-lected from four random locations within the field and sep-arated into bahiagrass alfalfa and weed fractions Foragewas allowed to wilt in 12 m windrows for approximately24 h after which high-moisture forage was baled into15 m times 12 m round bales using a model 568 John Deerebaler equipped with a high moisture kit (John Deere IncCary NC) Prior to wrapping six randomly selected baleswere weighed on a digitized platform scale (Rice LakeWeighing Systems Rice Lake WI) and core-sampled to adepth of 45 cm in four locations and forage was compostedand stored on ice until processed in the Southeast ResearchStation Forage Quality Laboratory Within 15 h post-baling bales were individually wrapped (Ag Wrap AgNations Products Inc Canton OH) in six layers of25-μm-thick white stretch film stretched 50 (Silage WrapSun Film AEP Industries Inc Chino Ca USA) Afterwrapping bales were moved to a well-drained location andstored outside on the ground Hereafter wrapped highmoisture bales from the bahiagrass field inter-seeded withalfalfa will be designated as bahiagrass-alfalfa baleage (BAB)The adjacent 57 ha field of monoculture bahiagrass

was cut on June 12 2007 Forage was managed in amanner similar to that described for the BAB Windrowsamples were handled as above and evaluated for bahia-grass and weed content Hereafter wrapped high moisturebales from the monoculture bahiagrass field will be referredto as bahiagrass baleage (MBB)Corn silage was produced from Pioneer lsquo31R87RRrsquo

corn seed (Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc JohnstonIA USA) planted with a John Deere Maxi-Merge no-tillplanter (John Deere Inc Cary NC USA) in late March2007 at a seeding rate of 64200 plants ha The non-irrigated corn was fertilized with 202 kg Nha as urea31 kgha P and 88 kgha K at planting Silage was har-vested in mid-July at 13 milk line stage chopped to12 cm theoretical length and stored in a 27 m times 420 msilage bag (Ag Bag Model 9135) Ag Bag Systems IncAstoria OR USA Six green forage samples were col-lected every 7 m of bag length during silo filling andtransported to the Southeast Forage Quality Laboratoryfor analysis In future references within this report this


positive control forage will be referred to as conven-tional corn silage (CCS)

Animal managementThirty six mid lactation Holstein cows (348 plusmn 58 kg35 fat-corrected milk (FCM) and 112 plusmn 19 d in milk(DIM)) were stratified according to lactation number (18multiparous and 18 primiparous) DIM and milk yieldand allotted to forage treatments Cows were housed ina free stall barn equipped with Calan Gates (AmericanCalan Norwood NH USA) for measuring individual in-take Cows were trained to Calan Gates for 2 wk afterwhich they were subjected to a 10-d covariance periodfollowed by a 42-d treatment feeding period During thestandardization period all cows were fed a corn silage-based total mixed ration (TMR) containing 171 crudeprotein (CP) 227 acid detergent fiber (ADF) and378 neutral detergent fiber (NDF) formulated to meetenergy CP rumen undegradable protein (RUP) and min-eral requirements for a 613 kg Holstein cow producing39 kg FCM daily [10] All animal procedures employedin this study were approved by the Louisiana StateUniversity Animal Use and Care CommitteeMilk weights were automatically recorded for each

cow at each am and pm milking using the AFI-Milk2000 Information System (Germania Dairy AutomationWaunakee WI USA) Morning and evening milk sam-ple composites were collected weekly preserved with 2-bromo 2 nitropropane-1 3-diol and analyzed for fatprotein lactose and urea N via infrared spectroscopyand SCC was determined via flow cytometry (LouisianaDHIA Baton Rouge LA USA) Body weights and bodycondition score (BCS 1 = extremely thin and 5 = extremelyobese) [11] were recorded on two consecutive days at thebeginning and end of the trial Body condition scores wereassigned by three independent observersOn the morning of d 42 10 mL of rumen fluid was

collected pre-feeding from each animal via rumenocent-esis [12] Rumen fluid pH was measured immediatelywith an Orion model 230A portable pH meter (Orion Re-search Inc Boston MA) and the sample was thenplaced on ice until transported to the Southeast Re-search Station Forage Quality Laboratory Five mL ofrumen fluid was sterilized with 10 mL 25 meta-phosphoric acid and samples were centrifuged at7000 g in a refrigerated centrifuge (4degC) filteredthrough a 20 micron filter and stored at minus20degC

Diet preparation and Lab analysesForages conserved as baleage (BAB and MBB) wereground with a flail type hay grinder (Model 2554HayBuster McConnell Machinery Co Lawrence KS)into a vertical auger TMR mixer (Jaylor Model 3650 OrtonOntario Canada) A fresh bale of each treatment baleage

was processed each morning between 0700 and 0830 h dur-ing the 42 d feeding period Ground forage treatments wereaugured from the TMR mixer wagon onto a conveyor andinto a Calan Data Ranger (American Calan Inc NorwoodNH USA) whereupon concentrates were added tocomplete the experimental TMRs Corn silage washandled in a manner similar to ground baleages Cowswere individually fed once per day between 0800 h and0930 h to leave 10 or more ortsOrts were collected and weighed prior to feeding each

day Ort and TMR grab samples were collected dailyand stored at 4degC These samples were compositedweekly and used to determine TMR nutritive value andDM intake Grab samples of ground baleage and cornsilage were also taken daily at the conveyor compositedweekly and later analyzed for nutritive value in theSoutheast Research Station Forage Quality Laboratory(Franklinton LA USA) A 10 kg sample of ground for-age was collected weekly and manually evaluated forparticle length (Table 1) During the second half of thestudy (wk 4ndash6) ambient and ort temperatures were re-corded using a hand-held Raynger ST60 laser thermometer(Raytek Inc Santa Cruz CA USA) Ort temperatureswere measured only for those cows leaving at least 50 kgfresh weight Temperatures were taken from the approxi-mate center of the ort TMR massWeekly silage and TMR composite samples were

weighed dried at 55degC for 48 h and ground through a1-mm screen Ground samples were analyzed for DMand CP (micro Kjeldahl) according to AOAC [13] pro-cedures Sample ADF and NDF concentrations weredetermined using the detergent fiber methods of VanSoest et al [14] Sodium sulfite and amylase wereadded to NDF solutions before fiber analyses were con-ducted In vitro digestibility (IVTD) of silage sampleswas determined by the two stage rumen fermentation-pepsin technique as described by Goering and VanSoest [15] and water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) con-centrations were determined using the phenol-sulfuricacid procedure [16] Volatile fatty acids (VFA) for silageand rumen fluid samples were measured via gasndashliquidchromatography [17] Rumen fluid lactic acid concentrationwas determined via the enzymatic conversion of L-lactateto pyruvate using the YSI 2700 Select BiochemistryAnalyzer (YSI Inc Yellow Springs OH)Bahiagrass net energy was estimated by the equation

NEL (Mcalkg) = 22 times [1085 ndash (00124 times ADF)] and cornsilage by the equation NEL (Mcalkg) = 22 times [1044 ndash(00124 times ADF)] [3] Concentrate mix NEL was estimatedbased on NRC [10] estimates of NEL for grain supplementingredients [10] Concentrations of Ca K Mg Mn Zn andCu in silages and TMRs were determined by dry ashingsolubilizing in 20 HCl and analyzing via atomic absorp-tion spectroscopy (Analyst 30 Perkin Elmer Norwalk CT)

Table 1 Chemical composition fermentation characteristicsand particle size of silage crops ( of DM)1

Silage crop2

Item MBB BAB CCS

DM 5577 plusmn 1303 5160 plusmn 970 2923 plusmn 113

CP 1032 plusmn 038 1264 plusmn 089 953 plusmn 046

ADF 4218 plusmn 119 4150 plusmn 060 2655 plusmn 083

NDF 7656 plusmn 173 7180 plusmn 176 4570 plusmn 194

IVTD3 6812 plusmn 597 7134 plusmn 354 8061 plusmn 250

NEL Mcalkg 123 plusmn 004 132 plusmn 006 156 plusmn 004

WSC3 222 plusmn 096 377 plusmn 105 1026 plusmn 420

pH 571 plusmn 055 539 plusmn 032 376 plusmn 009

Lactate 073 plusmn 029 058 plusmn 012 347 plusmn 059

Acetate 024 plusmn 012 027 plusmn 005 478 plusmn 157

Propionate 000 000 069 plusmn 029

Butyrate 000 003 plusmn 001 005 plusmn 002

Isobutyrate 002 plusmn 001 000 000

Valerate 004 plusmn 010 003 plusmn 006 000

Isovalerate 001 plusmn 001 000 000

Calcium 032 plusmn 003 057 plusmn 007 015 plusmn 005

Phosphorus 017 plusmn 001 027 plusmn 002 087 plusmn 021

Potassium 149 plusmn 029 188 plusmn 012 096 plusmn 023

Magnesium 025 plusmn 005 023 plusmn 002 013 plusmn 001

Copper ppm 400 plusmn 145 361 plusmn 166 229 plusmn 201

Manganese ppm 2361 plusmn 1211 1470 plusmn 630 3538 plusmn 879

Zinc ppm 2571 plusmn 418 222 plusmn 365 2463 plusmn 158

Post-ensiling particle size4 of total

lt 10 cm 249 plusmn 144 225 plusmn 121 375 plusmn 290

1 to 74 cm 139 plusmn 35 132 plusmn 17 132 plusmn 44



223 to 296 cm 13 1 plusmn 53 105 plusmn 43 86 plusmn 91

gt 297 cm 144 plusmn 105 56 plusmn 51 68 plusmn 591Determined from forage samples collected each day and compositedweekly (n = 7)2MBB =monoculture bahiagrass baleage BAB = bahiagrass-alfalfa baleage andCCS = conventional corn silage3IVTD = in vitro true digestibility WSC = water soluble carbohydrates4Based on fresh samples collected biweekly and manually measured forparticle length


[13] Phosphorus was determined by the molybdovanadatecolorimetric method [13]

Statistical analysesLactation performance data were statistically analyzedusing the MIXED procedure of SAS Institute [18] Alldaily intake and milk production data were reduced tocow-week means before statistical analysis The modelfor the lactation performance data included forage treat-ment week and forage treatment x week as fixed effects

cow nested within treatments as random effects and cowsby week as residual error effects Performance data col-lected during the standardization period were used ascovariables for the dependent variables Treatment meanswere generated via Tukey-Kramer procedures and resultsare accompanied by the highest standard error Statisticaldifferences between means were declared at P lt 005 andtendencies were reported at P gt 005 and lt 010

Results and discussionForage agronomic and nutritive value assessmentAlthough alfalfa broke dormancy several weeks prior tobahiagrass alfalfa constituted less than 10 of the foragemix in the initial late April harvest However at the sec-ond cutting on June 11 2007 the alfalfa accounted for223 of the forage mixture bahiagrass accounted for768 and weeds represented the remaining 15 of theforage mass (BAB treatment) The monoculture bahia-grass field contained 971 bahiagrass and 29 weeds atthe second cutting (MBB treatment) The bahiagrass-alfalfa harvest used for the study generated forty five15 m times 12 m round bales weighing an average of659 kg fresh weight Average DM yield for the secondcutting was 3235 kgha for BAB and 3450 kgha forMBB treatmentChemical composition fermentation characteristics

and particle size of silage crops are presented in Table 1The CP levels were low and NDF high for MBB (103and 765 respectively) but these concentrations aresimilar to values reported by Florida researchers for 5-wk bahiagrass regrowth [19] Crude protein concentra-tion in BAB was 225 higher and NDF was 73 lowerthan MBB reflecting the higher nutritive value of alfalfapresent in the BAB mixture [20] In vitro digestibilityand net energy for lactation of bahiagrass baleage werealso improved by interseeded alfalfa In general researchwith tropical grass-legume mixtures indicates nutritivevalues similar to the ratios of the grass and legumespresent in the mixture [21] Corn silage in vitro digest-ibility and NEL were considerably higher than those ofeither bale silage crop though this was an exceptionallyhigh-energy corn silage crop for dry land corn grown insoutheastern Louisiana [2] Poor bahiagrass baleage nu-tritive value ie low protein and high NDF was also re-ported in previous baleage work at this unit [3] butNDF levels were higher in the present study likely dueto the later stage of maturity of harvested bahiagrassDry matter content in baleage crops MBB and BAB was

similar and was well within the optimum range of 40-60described by Muck [22] Since DM differences betweenMBB and BAB were minimal pH and fermentation charac-teristics were more likely influenced by forage compositionthan baleage moisture content Residual WSC concentra-tions were much lower for baleage crops than corn silage

Table 2 Ingredient and chemical composition ofexperimental diets ( of DM)1

Diets2

Item MBB BAB CCS

Ingredient composition

Corn grd 2193 2392 2193

Soybean meal 55 1774 1573 1775

Cottonseed 834 834 834

Mineral mix3 174 174 174

Sodium bicarbonate 089 089 089

Rumen inert fat4 085 085 085

SC5 063 063 063

Calcium carbonate 043 043 043

Forage 4745 4747 4744

Chemical composition












Zinc ppm 890 plusmn 113 823 plusmn 128 1003 plusmn 661Chemical composition of total mixed rations determined from samplescollected daily and composited weekly (n = 7)2MBB =mono culture bahiagrass baleage-based diet BAB = bahiagrass-alfalfabaleage-based diet and CCS = conventional corn silage-based diet3Mineral and vitamin mix containing 23 Ca 3 P 7 Mg 6 K 30 S15 mg Cokg 650 mg Cukg 50 mg Ikg 1200 mg Mnkg 2700 mg Znkg18 mg Sekg 300000 IU Vitamin Akg 30000 IU Vitamin Dkg and 1500 IUVitamin Ekg4MegaLac rumen inert fat manufactured by Church and Dwight IncPrinceton NJ5Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast product sold by Diamond V Mills Inc CedarRapids IA6IVTD = in vitro true digestibility


and coupled with high pH indicate a restricted fermenta-tion for MBB and BAB A slight increase in silage WSCand decrease in pH was noted for BAB compared to MBBbut pH values for both baleage crops were above 50 themaximum pH threshold required for inhibition of undesir-able clostridial fermentations [22] In spite of this restrictedfermentation high levels of mold were not observed in baleinteriors probably a result of relatively low baleage moistureconcentrations [23] and airtight bale wrapping Lactic acidwas the predominant organic acid present in baleage ex-tracts though concentrations were less than one fourth ofthat found (4 of DM) in high WSC-containing cool sea-son grasses [24] As McEniry et al [23] noted extent ofbaleage fermentation is often limited in low moisture foragecrops Similarly Foster et al [19] recorded bahiagrass bale-age WSC of 372 post-ensiling and lactate concentrationsequaled less than 1 of DM However Foster et al [19]noted butyrate concentrations of 039 whereas we wereunable to detect any butyrate in our MBB silage In factonly nominal levels of VFAs were detected for either bale-age crop with the exception of acetate whose average con-centration was 024 and 027 for MBB and BABrespectively Overall the pH organic acid concentrationsand nutritive values were quite similar between the twobahiagrass baleage crops with each data set indicating thatbahiagrass is a forage crop low in WSC and overall nutritivevalue which under the management conditions imposedmay none the less be successfully ensiled as baleage Cornsilage pH was typical of that recorded for well-preservedchopped whole plant corn (lt40) but acetic acid concentra-tions were inordinately high (478 of DM) suggestive ofhetero-fermenting bacteria dominant ensiling [24]Post-grinding particle sizes for silage crops presented

in Table 1 varied considerably between MBB BAB andCCS (non-ground) More than 27 of the MBB forageexceeded 22 cm in length compared to 164 and 154for BAB and corn silage respectively Lower levels oflong particles in BAB than MBB suggest that alfalfa for-age length was more efficiently reduced by grinding thanbahiagrass forage as would be expected based on loweralfalfa NDF concentrations In addition nearly 50 ofcorn silage particles were less than 74 cm in lengthcompared to only about 35 for the baleage crops Inspite of our best efforts to reduce baleage particle lengthvia a hay grinder baleage crop particle lengths remainedsubstantially longer than those of corn silage during thefeeding studyIngredient and chemical composition of experimental

diets are presented in Table 2 Forages represented ap-proximately 475 of DM for all experimental diets DietCP ADF NDF and IVTD concentrations were similarfor MBB and BAB These data contradict the individualsilage compositions in which CP and IVTD were higherand NDF was slightly lower for BAB than MBB (Table 1)

These findings are in contrast to those of Titterton andBareeba [21] who noted that nutritive value of tropicalgrass ndash legume mixtures was generally a reflection of in-dividual nutrient composition and the ratio of grass tolegume In our study windrow samples indicated about22 alfalfa content in the mixed sward which shouldhave led to higher BAB protein content than experi-enced based on forage and TMR analyses This impliesthat actual legume contribution to BAB may have beenlower than recorded or sampling procedures failed togenerate representative samples We did note consider-able variation in field-wide alfalfa growth prior to forage


harvest This variation in percentage bahiagrass and al-falfa was also likely present within BAB bales As ex-pected the corn silage-based TMR was lower in fiberfractions and higher in IVTD than either baleage-basedTMR

Lactation performance and rumen characteristicsLactation performance data are presented in Table 3 Al-falfa inclusion in the bahiagrass baleage did not improveDM intake though cattle offered BAB showed numeric-ally higher (105) diet consumption Cattle fed CCS-based TMR consumed 242 more (P lt 005) DM thanthe average consumed by the cows fed baleage-basedTMRs Expressed as a percent of final body weight DMIwas 316 335 and 374 of BW for MBB BAB and CCSrespectively Intake for the corn silage based diets was simi-lar to that predicted by NRC [10] but cattle consumed thebaleage-based diets at considerably lower levels than pre-dicted Differences in DMI between baleage diets and CCS

Table 3 Lactation performance of Holstein cows fed totalmixed diets containing monoculture bahiagrass baleage(MBB) bahiagrass-alfalfa baleage (BAB) or conventionalcorn silage (CCS)

Silage crop

Item MBB BAB CCS SE

Cows 12 12 12

DM intake kg 1951a 2156a 2550b 075

CP intake kg 286a 320ab 348b 024

NDF intake kg 981a 1026a 818b 085

Milk yield kg1 2611a 2844b 3312c 071

35 FCM kg 2758a 2983a 3526b 120

Fat 387a 395a 383a 012

Fat kg 100a 109a 128b 006

Protein 308a 304a 324b 004

Protein kg 089a 089a 095b 001

Lactose 464a 468a 478b 002

Lactose kg 137a 138a 140a 001

MUN mgdL 1680a 1576ab 1431b 053

SCC times 1000 304a 209a 221a 89

FE2 kg fcmkg DMI 149a 142a 138a 006

Initial BW kg 61117a 61126a 65712a 2150

Final BW kg 61690a 64338a 68129a 2160

BW gain kg 573a 3212b 2417ab 471

Initial BCS 283a 263a 264a 015

Final BCS 278a 267a 303a 013

BCS change minus005a 004a 039b 011a b cMeans in a row with different superscripts differ significantly (P lt 005)1Milk yield for BAB tended to be higher than MBB (P lt 010) Milk yield for CCSwas higher than either MBB or BAB (P lt 005)2FE = feed efficiency

were likely related to the higher digestibility and smallerparticle size of corn silage compared to the baleage treat-ments (Table 2) Also NDF intake as percent BW was165 for baleage-based diets compared to only 125 forcorn silage-based diets Long particle length and high NDFconcentrations have been shown to limit DMI for bothtropical [25] and cool season grasses [26]Secondary fermentation ie diet heating may also have

influenced MBB consumption From wk 4 to 5 of thestudy minimum ambient temperature increased from73 to 152degC which increased TMR refusal temperature81 degrees (from 100 to 181degC) for MBB compared toa 55 degree increase (from 97 to 152degC) for CCS(Figure 1) Higher pH and lower VFA concentrations es-pecially lower acetic acid in baleages compared to CCSmay have allowed more rapid proliferation of molds andyeasts which led to more extensive TMR heating andlower palatability [27]Milk yield tended to be higher (P lt 010) for cows of-

fered BAB than MBB (2844 vs 2611 kghd) howeverwhen expressed on a 35 FCM basis milk yieldsbetween the two baleage crops were similar Since thepercentage improvement in milk yield with alfalfa intro-duction was about 9 for both actual and FCM lack ofstatistical difference between the two baleage treatmentsfor FCM was likely due to higher variability in milk fatconcentration as evidenced by a SE for actual milk yieldof 071 compared to 120 kghd for FCM Cows fedCCS-based diets produced substantially more (P lt 005)actual and FCM than cows fed either BAB or MBB-based diets as expected based on differences in diet NDFand NEL concentrations (Table 2) Actual milk yieldsand NRC [10] predictions for energy allowable milk weresimilar among diets Feed efficiency averaged 143 kgFCMkg DMI and did not differ with dietary treatmentResearch studying inclusion of cool season perennial le-gumes in warm-season perennial grass silage diets isscant but substitution of red clover for bermudagrasspasture or ryegrass silage indicated a substantial im-provement in DMI and FCM yield but not in feedefficiency [628]Percentage milk fat concentration did not differ among

dietary treatments Since both baleage diets containedhigher NDF concentrations and longer particle lengthsit was anticipated that baleage treatments would gener-ate higher milk fat concentrations than CCS-based dietsThe fact that they did not may partially be explained bythe higher DMI for CCS but may also be related to in-herently low NDF digestibility for the bahiagrass-baseddiets [19] However rumen fluid analysis demonstratedthat acetate the major precursor for milk fat synthesiswas present in higher concentrations for MBB than theother two silages (Table 4) These inconsistencies maybe related to time of rumen fluid sampling (4 h fast) that

000

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

4 5 6

Tem

per

atu

re

degC

Week of Study

Ambient BB BAB CS

Figure 1 Ambient and ort temperatures for bahiagrass baleage (BB) bahiagrass-alfalfa baleage (BAB) and conventional corn silage(CCS) Values are weekly means and standard deviations

Table 4 Rumen fluid characteristics of Holstein cows fedtotal mixed diets containing monoculture bahiagrassbaleage (MBB) bahiagrass-alfalfa baleage (BAB) andconventional corn silage (CCS)1

Silage crop

Item MBB BAB CCS SE

pH 640a 661a 655a 011

Lactate 002a 003a 005a 001

Acetate 5523a 3960b 4230b 311

Propionate 1369a 920b 1183ab 099

Butyrate 036a 108a 018a 026

Isobutyrate 902a 604a 630a 113

Valerate 1790a 1015a 1406a 254

Isovalerate 012a 012a 054a 025

Total VFA 9620a 6619b 7521b 575

AP2 408ab 434a 367b 013a b cMeans in a row with different superscripts differ significantly (P lt 005)1Rumen fluid collected via rumenocentesis on d-42 prior to am feeding (4 h fast)2Acetate to propionate ratio


favored larger particle sizes and slower fiber digestionrates for bahiagrass baleage-based TMRs vs corn silage-based TMRsPercent milk protein and lactose did not differ among

cows fed BAB or MBB but cows offered CCS generatedhigher (P lt 005) levels of milk protein and lactose thaneither baleage crop Higher milk protein and other com-ponent concentrations for CCS may be related to greatermicrobial protein synthesis and or enhanced dietary Nutilization due to more of easily fermentable carbohy-drate in the rumen than baleage-based diets Milk ureanitrogen concentrations though similar between BABand MBB were higher for baleage-based diets than CCSdiets (163 vs 143 mgdL) which may again suggestpoorer N utilization by cows fed the baleage-based dietsDifferences in MUN between bahiagrass and corn silageTMR were not likely due to differences in total dietaryN intake as CCS diet was higher in CP intake than MBBand BAB (Table 3) but more likely differences were re-lated to higher soluble N concentrations for the baleagecrops compared to corn silage [29]Body weight and condition score changes were gener-

ally positive as expected for cows that averaged 162DIM at study conclusion (Table 3) The BW gain washigher (P lt 005) for cows on BAB than MBB (321 vs57 kghd) suggesting that a portion of the higher

energy and numerically higher DMI for BAB may havebeen partitioned toward BW gain rather than milk pro-duction Cows consuming MBB had the lowest BW gainand on the average experienced slight losses in BCSDifferences in BW gain between BAB and CCS were


small but BCS change was 035 and 044 units higher(P lt 005) for CCS than either BAB or MBB respectivelyAgain higher DMI for CCS allowed cows to beginreplenishing body condition earlier than experienced bycows receiving baleage-based diets

ConclusionIn conclusion modest levels of alfalfa (22) in bahiagrass-alfalfa mixture fed in this study improved forage energy andprotein concentrations and tended to improve actual milkyield compared to monoculture bahiagrass forage NeitherMBB nor BAB was consumed as readily as CCS-basedTMR by mid-lactation Holstein cows and cows offeredCCS diets produced 230 more FCM than the average ofcows offered MBB or BAB-based diets Never the lessinter-seeding alfalfa into bahiagrass pastures may serve as ameans of improving bahiagrass pasture and stored foragenutritive value

AbbreviationsMBB Monoculture bahiagrass BAB Bahiagrass-alfalfa balaeageCCS Conventional corn silage DIM Days in milk BW Body weightFCM Fat-corrected milk TMR Total mixed ration SCC Somatic cell countMUN Milk urea nitrogen DMI Dry matter intake FE Feed efficiencyCP Crude protein ADF Acid detergent fiber NDF Neutral detergent fiberNRC National Research Council WSC Water soluble carbohydrates IVTDIn vitro true digestibility VFA Volatile fatty acids BCS Body condition score

Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests

Authorsrsquo contributionsMM conceived the trial generated forage treatments conducted the feedingexperiment and drafted the initial manuscript KJH managed forage productionand lab analyses VM was instrumental in project development animal trainingand animal data collection DB participated in the design of the study andconducted all statistical analyses All authors read the manuscript participated inrevisions and approved the final manuscript

AcknowledgementsThe authors wish to thank Shannon Forbes Tara Martin Doug McKean andBill Barber of the Southeast Research Station (Franklinton LA) for assistingwith animal management and laboratory analyses during this study

Author details1Southeast Region LSU Agricultural Center 21549 Old Covington HwyHammond LA 70403 USA 2Louisiana State University School of Plant Soiland Environmental Sciences Baton Rouge 70803 USA 3Louisiana StateUniversity Agricultural Center Southeast Research Station PO Drawer 569Franklinton 70438 USA 4Department of Experimental Statistics LouisianaState University Baton Rouge 70803 USA

Received 24 March 2014 Accepted 13 July 2014Published 24 July 2014

References1 Han KJ McCormick ME Walz R Forage utilization trends as determined

from eight years of forage quality analyses in Louisiana and MississippiSoutheast Res Stn Field Day Summ 2007 38ndash43 httpwwwlsuagcentercomenour_officesresearch_stationsSoutheastFeaturesextension2007+Southeast+Research+Station+Field+Day+Summarieshtm (accessed 021514)

2 Han KJ McCormick ME Walz R Forage quality results from Louisiana andMississippi producer forage samples 1999ndash2006 Southeast Res Stn FieldDay Summ 2007 35ndash37 httpwwwlsuagcentercomenour_officesresearch_stationsSoutheastFeaturesextension2007+Southeast+Research+Station+Field+Day+Summarieshtm (accessed 021514)

3 McCormick ME Han KJ Moreira VR Blouin DC Forage conservationefficiency and lactation response to bahiagrass conserved as barn-storedhay outdoor-stored hay or baleage J Dairy Sci 2011 24(5)2500ndash2507

4 Barker JM Buskirk DD Ritchie HD Rust SR Leep RH Barclay BJ Intensivegrazing management of smooth bromegrass with or without alfalfa orbirdsfoot trefoil heifer performance and sward characteristics Prof AnimSci 1999 15130ndash135

5 Wu Z Kanneganti VR Massingill LJ Wiltbank MW Walgenbach RP Satter LDMilk production of fall calving dairy cows during summer grazing ofgrass or grass-clover pasture J Dairy Sci 2001 841166ndash1173

6 Morgan EB Nelson BD Kilgore L Mason L Schilling PE Montgomery CREvaluation of summer perennial grasses with and without inter-plantedclover under grazing with lactating dairy animals Southeast Res Sta AnnProg Rep 1980 127ndash133

7 Bouton J Breeding tall fescue alfalfa and white clover in Georgia InProceedings 57th Pasture and Forage Crop Improvement Conference AthensGA 2002 httpagrilifeorgspfcicannual-proceedings57thbreeding-tall -fescue white- clover-in-georgia (accessed 242014)

8 Stringer WC Khalilian A Undersander DJ Stapleton GS Bridges JW Jr Rowspacing and nitrogen Effect on alfalfa-bermudagrass yield and botanicalcomposition Agron J 1994 8672ndash76

9 Haby VA Davis JV Leonard AT Response of over-seeded alfalfa andbermudagrass to row spacing and nitrogen rate Agron J 1999 91902ndash910

10 National Research Council Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle 7th rev edWashington DC Natl Acad Sci 2001

11 Edmonson AJ Lean IJ Weaver LD Farver T Webster G A body conditionscoring chart of Holstein dairy cows J Dairy Sci 1989 7268ndash78

12 Norlund KV Garrett EF Rumenocentesis a technique for the diagnosisof subacute rumen acidosis in dairy herds Bovine Practitioners 199428109ndash122

13 A O A C Official Methods of Analysis 15th ed Arlington VA AOAC 199014 Van Soest PJ Robertson JB Lewis BA Methods for dietary fiber neutral

detergent fiber and non-starch polysaccharides in relation to animalnutrition J Dairy Sci 1971 743583ndash3597

15 Goering HK Van Soest PJ Forage fiber analyses (apparatus reagentsprocedures and some applications) Washington DC USDA-ARS US GovPrint Office 1970

16 Dubois MK Giles M Hamilton JK Rebers PA Smith F Colorimetric method fordetermination of sugars and related substances Anal Chem 1956 28350ndash357

17 Bateman HG Williams CC Chung YC Effects of supplemental zinc in highquality diets on rumen fermentation and degradation of urea in vitroand in vivo Prof Anim Sci 2002 18363ndash367

18 SAS Userrsquos Guide Statistics Version 81 1st ed Cary NC SAS Inst Inc 200119 Foster JL Carter JN Sollenberger LE Blount AR Meyer RO Maddox MK

Phatak SC Adesogan AT Nutritive value fermentation characteristicsand in situ disappearance kinetics of ensiled warm-season legumes andbahiagrass J Dairy Sci 2011 942042ndash2050

20 McCormick ME Doughty T Walz R Alfalfa baleage production quality andpersistence ndash three year summary LSU Agric Center Southeast Res Stn FieldDay Summ 2007 28ndash30 httpwwwlsuagcentercomenour_officesresearch_stationsSoutheastFeaturesextension2007+Southeast+Research+Station+Field+Day+Summarieshtm (accessed 021512)

21 Titterton M Bareeba FB Grass and legume silages in the tropics Paper40 In Proceedings of the FAO Electronic Conference on Tropical Silage FAOPlant Production and Protection 2000161 httpwwwfaoorgdocrep005x8486ex8486e0chtm Accessed March 20 2013

22 Muck RE Fermentation characteristics of round bale silages InProceedings Southern Pasture amp Forage Crop Improvement ConferenceAuburn AL Auburn University Press 20061ndash11

23 McEniry JP OrsquoKiely NJ Clipson W Forristal PD Doyle EM The microbial andchemical composition of baled and precision-chop silage on a sample offarms in county Meath Irish Agric and Food Res 2006 4573ndash83

24 Woolford MK Chap 4 Heterolactic silage fermentations In The SilageFermentation Edited by Allen I Laskin Richard I Mateles I New York andBasel Marcel Deckers 1984

25 Panditharatne S Allen SG Fontenot JP Jayasuriya MC Ensilingcharacteristics of tropical grasses as influenced by stage of growthadditives and chopping length J Anim Sci 1986 63197ndash207

26 Petit HV Tremblay GF Savoie P Tremblay D Wauthy JM Milk yield intakeand blood traits of lactating cows fed grass silage conserved underdifferent harvesting methods J Dairy Sci 1993 761365ndash1374


27 Kung L Aerobic stability of silages In Proceeding on the Conference onSilage for Dairy Farms Harrisburg PA Pennsylvania State University Press20051ndash13

28 Moorby JM Lee MRF Davies DR Kim EJ Nute JR Ellis NM Scolan NDAssessment of dietary ratios of red clover and grass silages on milkproduction and milk quality in dairy cows J Dairy Sci 2008 921148ndash1160

29 Jonkers JS Kohn RA Erdman RA Using milk urea nitrogen to predictnitrogen excretion and utilization efficiency in lactating dairy cowsJ Dairy Sci 1998 812681ndash2692

doi1011862049-1891-5-38Cite this article as McCormick et al Evaluation of alfalfa inter-seedingeffect on bahiagrass baleage fermentation and lactating Holstein per-formance Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology 2014 538

Submit your next manuscript to BioMed Centraland take full advantage of

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Abstract

Background

Results

Conclusions

Background

Materials and methods

Forage production storage and sampling

Animal management

Diet preparation and Lab analyses

Statistical analyses

Results and discussion

Forage agronomic and nutritive value assessment

Lactation performance and rumen characteristics

Conclusion

Abbreviations

Competing interests

Authorsrsquo contributions

Acknowledgements

Author details

References

McCormick et al Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology 2014 538 of 9httpwwwjasbscicomcontent5138

Researchers in Louisiana attempted to inter-seed red clover(Trifolium pretense) into bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)and bahiagrass pastures for lactating dairy cattle [6] Theyrecorded a 10 (4 pounds FCM) increase in milk yield forcows grazing grass-clover pastures compared to those graz-ing grass alone During the last decade alfalfa varieties havebeen developed which are especially adapted for grazing insouthern climates [7] Research using these varieties has fo-cused on interseeding (no-till drilled) in existing bermuda-grass pastures [89] Bermudagrass stand loss has been aconcern with interseeding due to earlier spring emergenceof alfalfa and shading of bermudagrass plants Increasing al-falfa row spacing from 20 to 60 cm aided in maintainingthe bermudagrass stand and reduced alfalfa seeding ratefrom 19 to 64 kgha No information on overall foragequality was provided with these reports nor is informationavailable on more traditional hay type (upright growing)alfalfa plants inter-seeded in summer perennial grassesResearch on inter-seeding alfalfa in existing bahiagrassstands and its effect on conserved forage nutritive value arenot available Though bahiagrass has a dense sod it wasspeculated that a late fall interseeding of alfalfa would allowsufficient early spring alfalfa production to improve thenutritive value of the resulting bahiagrass-alfalfa bale silagecrop A lactation performance study was conducted toevaluate the nutritive value of subsequent bahiagrass-alfalfabaleage fed to lactating dairy cows Monoculture bahiagrassserved as a negative control and corn silage (Zea Mays L)was included as a positive control

Materials and methodsForage production storage and samplingAll agronomic and animal procedures described in thisreport were conducted at the Louisiana State UniversityAgricultural Centerrsquos Southeast Research Station locatedapproximately 8 km west of Franklinton LA (Lat 30deg 47rsquo04rdquo N and Lon 90 12rsquo 19rdquo W) A 49 ha field oflsquoArgentinersquo bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum var latiflorum)was top-dressed with 45 Mgha dolomitic lime on May 252006 On December 19 2006 the bahiagrass was inter-seeded with 74 kg live seedha of lsquoAmerigraze 702rsquo alfalfa(Medicago sativa L Americarsquos Alfalfa Madison WI) witha Bush Hog Model 9690 no-till drill (M amp L IndustriesInc Baton Rouge LA) Alfalfa seeds were factory-coatedwith material containing a fungicide (metalaxyl-M) and rhi-zobia (Sinorhizobium meliloti) constituting 34 of plantedseed weight Alternating seed drops on the planter wereclosed to provide row widths of approximately 30 cm Inlate February the inter-seeded bahiagrass-alfalfa was top-dressed with 140 kg K 60 kg P 28 kg S 24 kg N and 4 kg Bfertilizer per ha Following an initial late-April hay harvestthe bahiagrass-alfalfa field was top-dressed with 125 kg K17 kg P 15 kg N 26 kg S and 3 kg B fertilizer per ha Anearby (lt300 m distant) 57 ha field of lsquoArgentinersquo

bahiagrass was used as a negative control ie monocul-ture bahiagrass Fertilizing and harvest schedules weresimilar to that of the inter-seeded field except lime wasapplied at 225 Mgha and fertilizer consisted of 449 kgha of a blended fertilizer containing 24 nitrogen 10phosphorus and 17 potassiumOn June 11th 2007 at approximately 1000 h the

bahiagrass-alfalfa field (second harvest 43 d regrowth)was harvested with a Kuhn model FC-300C disc cutterequipped with a flail-type conditioner (Kuhn NorthAmerican Inc Broadhead WI) The regrowth containedbahiagrass with less than 10 seed heads and 110-bloomstage alfalfa One meter-length windrow samples were col-lected from four random locations within the field and sep-arated into bahiagrass alfalfa and weed fractions Foragewas allowed to wilt in 12 m windrows for approximately24 h after which high-moisture forage was baled into15 m times 12 m round bales using a model 568 John Deerebaler equipped with a high moisture kit (John Deere IncCary NC) Prior to wrapping six randomly selected baleswere weighed on a digitized platform scale (Rice LakeWeighing Systems Rice Lake WI) and core-sampled to adepth of 45 cm in four locations and forage was compostedand stored on ice until processed in the Southeast ResearchStation Forage Quality Laboratory Within 15 h post-baling bales were individually wrapped (Ag Wrap AgNations Products Inc Canton OH) in six layers of25-μm-thick white stretch film stretched 50 (Silage WrapSun Film AEP Industries Inc Chino Ca USA) Afterwrapping bales were moved to a well-drained location andstored outside on the ground Hereafter wrapped highmoisture bales from the bahiagrass field inter-seeded withalfalfa will be designated as bahiagrass-alfalfa baleage (BAB)The adjacent 57 ha field of monoculture bahiagrass

was cut on June 12 2007 Forage was managed in amanner similar to that described for the BAB Windrowsamples were handled as above and evaluated for bahia-grass and weed content Hereafter wrapped high moisturebales from the monoculture bahiagrass field will be referredto as bahiagrass baleage (MBB)Corn silage was produced from Pioneer lsquo31R87RRrsquo

corn seed (Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc JohnstonIA USA) planted with a John Deere Maxi-Merge no-tillplanter (John Deere Inc Cary NC USA) in late March2007 at a seeding rate of 64200 plants ha The non-irrigated corn was fertilized with 202 kg Nha as urea31 kgha P and 88 kgha K at planting Silage was har-vested in mid-July at 13 milk line stage chopped to12 cm theoretical length and stored in a 27 m times 420 msilage bag (Ag Bag Model 9135) Ag Bag Systems IncAstoria OR USA Six green forage samples were col-lected every 7 m of bag length during silo filling andtransported to the Southeast Forage Quality Laboratoryfor analysis In future references within this report this












Silage crop2

Item MBB BAB CCS






































Diets2

Item MBB BAB CCS


Corn grd 2193 2392 2193

Soybean meal 55 1774 1573 1775





SC5 063 063 063


Forage 4745 4747 4744























Silage crop

Item MBB BAB CCS SE

Cows 12 12 12

DM intake kg 1951a 2156a 2550b 075



Milk yield kg1 2611a 2844b 3312c 071

35 FCM kg 2758a 2983a 3526b 120

Fat 387a 395a 383a 012

Fat kg 100a 109a 128b 006

Protein 308a 304a 324b 004


Lactose 464a 468a 478b 002


MUN mgdL 1680a 1576ab 1431b 053

SCC times 1000 304a 209a 221a 89


Initial BW kg 61117a 61126a 65712a 2150

Final BW kg 61690a 64338a 68129a 2160

BW gain kg 573a 3212b 2417ab 471


Final BCS 278a 267a 303a 013






000

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

4 5 6

Tem

per

atu

re

degC

Week of Study

Ambient BB BAB CS



Silage crop

Item MBB BAB CCS SE

pH 640a 661a 655a 011

Lactate 002a 003a 005a 001

Acetate 5523a 3960b 4230b 311




Valerate 1790a 1015a 1406a 254


Total VFA 9620a 6619b 7521b 575
























































Abstract

Background

Results

Conclusions

Background



Animal management






Conclusion

Abbreviations

Competing interests


Acknowledgements

Author details

References












Silage crop2

Item MBB BAB CCS






































Diets2

Item MBB BAB CCS


Corn grd 2193 2392 2193

Soybean meal 55 1774 1573 1775





SC5 063 063 063


Forage 4745 4747 4744























Silage crop

Item MBB BAB CCS SE

Cows 12 12 12

DM intake kg 1951a 2156a 2550b 075



Milk yield kg1 2611a 2844b 3312c 071

35 FCM kg 2758a 2983a 3526b 120

Fat 387a 395a 383a 012

Fat kg 100a 109a 128b 006

Protein 308a 304a 324b 004


Lactose 464a 468a 478b 002


MUN mgdL 1680a 1576ab 1431b 053

SCC times 1000 304a 209a 221a 89


Initial BW kg 61117a 61126a 65712a 2150

Final BW kg 61690a 64338a 68129a 2160

BW gain kg 573a 3212b 2417ab 471


Final BCS 278a 267a 303a 013






000

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

4 5 6

Tem

per

atu

re

degC

Week of Study

Ambient BB BAB CS



Silage crop

Item MBB BAB CCS SE

pH 640a 661a 655a 011

Lactate 002a 003a 005a 001

Acetate 5523a 3960b 4230b 311




Valerate 1790a 1015a 1406a 254


Total VFA 9620a 6619b 7521b 575
























































Abstract

Background

Results

Conclusions

Background



Animal management






Conclusion

Abbreviations

Competing interests


Acknowledgements

Author details

References


Diets2

Item MBB BAB CCS


Corn grd 2193 2392 2193

Soybean meal 55 1774 1573 1775





SC5 063 063 063


Forage 4745 4747 4744























Silage crop

Item MBB BAB CCS SE

Cows 12 12 12

DM intake kg 1951a 2156a 2550b 075



Milk yield kg1 2611a 2844b 3312c 071

35 FCM kg 2758a 2983a 3526b 120

Fat 387a 395a 383a 012

Fat kg 100a 109a 128b 006

Protein 308a 304a 324b 004


Lactose 464a 468a 478b 002


MUN mgdL 1680a 1576ab 1431b 053

SCC times 1000 304a 209a 221a 89


Initial BW kg 61117a 61126a 65712a 2150

Final BW kg 61690a 64338a 68129a 2160

BW gain kg 573a 3212b 2417ab 471


Final BCS 278a 267a 303a 013






000

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

4 5 6

Tem

per

atu

re

degC

Week of Study

Ambient BB BAB CS



Silage crop

Item MBB BAB CCS SE

pH 640a 661a 655a 011

Lactate 002a 003a 005a 001

Acetate 5523a 3960b 4230b 311




Valerate 1790a 1015a 1406a 254


Total VFA 9620a 6619b 7521b 575
























































Abstract

Background

Results

Conclusions

Background



Animal management






Conclusion

Abbreviations

Competing interests


Acknowledgements

Author details

References





Silage crop

Item MBB BAB CCS SE

Cows 12 12 12

DM intake kg 1951a 2156a 2550b 075



Milk yield kg1 2611a 2844b 3312c 071

35 FCM kg 2758a 2983a 3526b 120

Fat 387a 395a 383a 012

Fat kg 100a 109a 128b 006

Protein 308a 304a 324b 004


Lactose 464a 468a 478b 002


MUN mgdL 1680a 1576ab 1431b 053

SCC times 1000 304a 209a 221a 89


Initial BW kg 61117a 61126a 65712a 2150

Final BW kg 61690a 64338a 68129a 2160

BW gain kg 573a 3212b 2417ab 471


Final BCS 278a 267a 303a 013






000

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

4 5 6

Tem

per

atu

re

degC

Week of Study

Ambient BB BAB CS



Silage crop

Item MBB BAB CCS SE

pH 640a 661a 655a 011

Lactate 002a 003a 005a 001

Acetate 5523a 3960b 4230b 311




Valerate 1790a 1015a 1406a 254


Total VFA 9620a 6619b 7521b 575
























































Abstract

Background

Results

Conclusions

Background



Animal management






Conclusion

Abbreviations

Competing interests


Acknowledgements

Author details

References

000

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

4 5 6

Tem

per

atu

re

degC

Week of Study

Ambient BB BAB CS



Silage crop

Item MBB BAB CCS SE

pH 640a 661a 655a 011

Lactate 002a 003a 005a 001

Acetate 5523a 3960b 4230b 311




Valerate 1790a 1015a 1406a 254


Total VFA 9620a 6619b 7521b 575
























































Abstract

Background

Results

Conclusions

Background



Animal management






Conclusion

Abbreviations

Competing interests


Acknowledgements

Author details

References


















































Abstract

Background

Results

Conclusions

Background



Animal management






Conclusion

Abbreviations

Competing interests


Acknowledgements

Author details

References

research open access evaluation of alfalfa inter-seeding ... · thirty six mid lactation holstein...

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