The Highly Digestible Fiber for Dairy Rations

NutriFiber is a forage grass technology, available in select Barenbrug grasses, that helps modern dairy producers by providing physically effective, digestible fiber for today’s high producing cows. Today’s high-producing dairy cows require both Non-Fiber Carbohydrate (NFC) and Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF). Properly balancing NFC and NDF is critical for animal health and profitable production. Table 1 below presents ration guidelines.

Increase Milkfat and Maintain Milk Production

On average 50% of milkfat is made from short-chain fatty acids, specifically acetate and butyrate. These are primarily made in the rumen from the fermentation of fiber. Adding NutriFiber to the ration increases the digestible fiber that produces these substrates for milkfat production. 

 

A study conducted at the University of Wisconsin replaced equal portions of corn silage and alfalfa silage with NutriFiber silage.The resulting treatment ration contained 2% more NDF and 2% less NFC (of the ration dry matter). Small changes can produce big results. During the first period of the test, cows on the treatment diet produced milk with 0.5% higher fat test (3.5 more pounds of 4% Fat Corrected Milk per day), a statistically significant effect. After 2 months, the treatment and control groups were switched. The effect of switching diet was pronounced. Removing NutriFiber silage from their ration reduced fat test by 0.35%. Adding NutriFiber silage increased fat test by 0.35%. A clear demonstration of the value of NutriFiber!

 

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