Production Response of Lactating Cows Fed Dried Versus Wet Brewers’ Grain in Diets with Similar Dry Matter Content,

Abstract

Twenty-four Holstein-Friesian dairy cows (20 intact and 4 fitted with rumen cannula) during early lactation (56 +/- 25.3 d in milk) were assigned to two treatments to determine intake and production responses to feeding dried and wet brewers' grain. There were two cows fitted with a rumen cannula in each treatment. Cows were fed a total mixed ration twice daily containing either dried or wet brewers' grain at 15% of the dietary dry matter (DM). The diet contained 47% forage and 53% concentrate. The experimental design was a replicated 2 x 2 Latin square with two periods of 5 wk each. First 2 wk in each period were considered as adaptation to diets and data from the last 3 wk were used for treatment comparisons. Dried and wet brewers' diets contained 68.0 and 66.5% DM, respectively. Feeding brewers' grain dry or wet to dairy cows had no influence on feed intake (25.6 vs. 25.1 kg/d), fat corrected milk yield (40.1 vs. 40.7 kg/d), milk composition and feed consumption. The pH, ammonia, total volatile fatty acids and molar ratios of volatile fatty acids in the rumen fluid were not different between treatments. Fatty acid composition of milk fat from cows fed diets containing dry or wet brewers' grain was identical, except C18:2 and C18:3 fatty acids were lower in milk fat from cows fed wet brewers' grain compared with dried brewers' grain. The results from the present study suggest that the performance of cows fed either dried or wet brewers' grain at 15% of dietary DM was similar when diets had the same DM. The average price for dried and wet brewers' grain in the United States from July 2001 to June 2002 was dollars 145.3 and dollars 96.9/metric tonne DM, respectively. Using wet instead of dried brewers' grain will save dollars 49/metric tonne minus the difference in storage costs. Wet brewers' grain can be fed to dairy cows in areas that are close to the brewery and provides nutritive value similar to the dried brewers' grain.

Effect of brewer's grain on rumen fermentation, milk production and milk composition in lactating dairy cows

“…Therefore, the higher linoleic acid in BG diet compared with the control diet may partly contribute to increased CLA in the milk of the cows fed a BG diet. The CLA in the milk fat was higher in cows fed BG (Dhiman et al . 2003) than in those fed typical dairy diets containing 50% forage and 50% grain (Dhiman et al .…”

“…2002). The higher CLA in milk of cows fed a BG diet might be due to an increased supply of digestible fiber from BG (Dhiman et al . 2003).…”

Effects of Storage Duration and Temperature on the Chemical Composition, Microorganism Density, and <i>In vitro</i> Rumen Fermentation of Wet Brewers Grains

“…Dairy cows fed with WBG perform better than those on dried brewers grains (Dhiman et al, 2003). Numerous dairy farms chose to utilize WBG to reduce costs.…”

Utilização De Resíduos Industriais Na Dieta De Bovinos Leiteiros

“…Também um médio teor de lignina, celulose e hemicelulose, o que nos permite inferir que a taxa e a extensão de degradação da fibra podem ser medianas. Dhiman et al (2003) dizem que, devido à sua natureza fibrosa e baixo teor energético, o RUC é bastante adequado para ruminantes, especialmente vacas leiteiras de alta produção, para balancear o consumo de grandes quantidades de dietas ricas em amido. O RUC torna-se interessante em relação ao teor e disponibilidade do selênio, principalmente quando fornecido para vacas em lactação, pois este mineral, em conjunto com a vitamina E, contribui para a redução da incidência de problemas reprodutivos e mastite (PEDROSO et al, 2006).…”