Effects of Feeding High Forage Diets and Supplemental Fat on Feed Intake and Lactation Performance in Dairy Cows

Fifty mid-lactation Holstein cows were used in a six-week feeding trial to study effects of high-forage, high-fat diets on dry matter intake and production performance. Cows were divided into 10 replicates, each consisting of five cows. Each cow was assigned to a control (diet 1) or one of the four experimental diets (high-forage (75%), high-fat (7.5%) (diet 2); high-forage, medium-fat (5%) (diet 3); medium forage (65%), high-fat (diet 4); medium-forage, medium-fat (diet 5)), or a control diet containing about 50% forage and 2% fat. All diets were isonitrogenous (17.7% crude protein). The forage mixture consisted of 20% alfalfa hay, 40% alfalfa haylage, and 40% com silage. Supplemental fat included 80% rumen-protected fat and 20% yellow grease. Dry matter intake was decreased (p<0.01) in cows fed experimental diets (18.4, 20.9, 19.9, and 22.6 kg for cows fed diets 1-4, respectively vs. 27.5 kg for cows fed the control diet). Daily milk production was lower (p<0.05) for cows consuming experimental diets (30.5, 31.3, 31.0, and 32.5 kg for cows fed greater for cows consuming experimental diets (1.74, 1.55, 1.60, and 1.53 kg milk/kg dry matter intake for cows fed diets 1-4, respectively, vs. 1.26 kg milk/kg dry matter intake for cows fed the control diet).