Advances Dairy Cattle Nutrition

Applied nutrition is the selection and proportioning of feedstuffs and ingredients to

supply the correct amounts and balance of nutrients required for optimal productive and

reproductive performance.

Fundamental nutrition is the series of biochemical reactions used in the body

during the assimilation and processing of nutrients to meet the physiological needs of the

animal.

Fundamental and applied nutrition are equally important in determining optimal

feeding and management strategies for dairy cattle for health and production. Dairy cattle

nutrition can be defined broadly as the use of the components of feeds for the processes

of maintenance, growth, reproduction, lactation, and health(Drackley et al., 2006).

Feeds

Milk yield per cow continues to increase with a slower rate of increase in dry matter

intake.Therefore, efficiency of ruminal fermentation and digestibility of the dietary

components are key factors in improving the efficiency of feed use (Eastridge, 2006).

Cereal Grains

Most of the research with cereal grains has been with corn, barley, sorghum, and

wheat, and has been recently reviewed (Firkins et al., 2001). Reducing particle size of

cereal grains by mechanical processing (grinding or dry rolling) increases ruminal starch

digestibility but may slightly reduce ruminal NDF digestibility, and the benefit of the

processing is greater for the starch sources with lower ruminal digestibility of starch (e.g.,

sorghum > corn > barley > wheat).

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 Although diets generally have about 40 to 60% concentrates for lactating dairy

cows in early and midlactation and 30 to 40% concentrates during late lactation, research

has demonstrated that formulation of diets for a targeted forage-to-concentrate ratio is

not adequate. The forage-to-concentrate ratio does not take into consideration the quality

of the forage, particle size of the forage, the type and processing of the cereal grains, and

the concentration of nonforage fiber sources in the diet to affect dietary starch

concentration.

By-Products

Widely used cereal grain by-products include wet and dry corn gluten feed, corn

gluten meal, wet and dry brewers grains, distillers grains (with and without solubles; corn,

barley, and sorghum sources), wheat middlings, and oat hulls.

Oilseed by-products include the meals (high in protein) after extraction of the oil,

hulls, and whole cottonseed as a by-product from the ginning industry. Soybean meal is

hardly regarded as a by-product because it is the most common protein supplement.

Other oilseed meals such as cottonseed, canola, sunflower, and safflower are used in the

areas where the seed is principally grown.

In the drying of by-products, such as with distillers grains, the heat can decrease

rumen degradability of the protein, but excessive heat can cause the Maillard reaction to

render the protein indigestible Soybean hulls are effective as a nonforage fiber source in

diluting starch from rations of high producing dairy cows, and cottonseed hulls are an

effective source of fiber for optimizing ruminal fermentation.

The hulls and cotton lint on whole cottonseed result in it being an effective fiber

source, with its effectiveness being similar to forages, unlike the fiber from most other by-

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product feeds. Effects of gossypol, a toxic pigment in cottonseed, on cows and heifers is

often minimized by limiting the amount of cotton products in diets, but cotton products are

usually excluded in diets for bulls because of the negative effect of gossypol on viability

of sperm.

Molasses is produced from sugar beets, sugar cane, and citrus products. Some

by-products generated from the food industry that are used as animal feed include beet

pulp, citrus pulp, bakery wastes, vegetables, apple and tomato pomaces, nut fractions

and hulls, and whey. Dried whey is a common ingredient in milk replacers for young

animals; and to minimize the costs of drying, it is sometimes fed in liquid form to mature

animals(Eastridge, 2006).

Forages

Forages remain a vital part of the diet for dairy cattle to maintain rumen health, and

in many cases, for reduc-ing costs associated with feeding; therefore, more research has

been reported with forages than with other types of feed. Forages under primary

investigation include alfalfa, whole plant corn, whole plant sorghum, cereal grains, and

grasses, including cool-season (orchardgrass, ryegrass, and fescue) and warm-season

(bermuda) grasses (Eastridge, 2006).

Grass, alfalfa and corn silages are among the most widely used components of

dairy cow rations due to their high nutritional value and high fiber content. In France corn

silage is consumed by about 80% of dairy cows during the year (AFSSA, 2004) and in

the US it is used extensively (Jokela and Russelle, 2003). In Denmark, output of corn

silage increased by more than 70% between 1990 and 2008 and is equal to or greater

than the output of grass silage (Storm et al., 2010). Worldwide, corn silage may constitute

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50–75% of the diet (Driehuis et al., 2008) for a dairy cow consuming approximately 26 kg

dry matter per day (Drackley et al., 2006).

Forage preservation is a crucial element for productive and efficient livestock farms

in most parts of the world. Forages can be preserved to feed livestock during periods of

shortage caused by limited pasture growth or inadequate pasture conditions or when fed

as a supplement. Forage preservation also provides farmers by a means of preserving

forage when production is faster than can be adequately utilized by animals. It prevents

abundant growth from becoming too mature. Subsequently, it also offers a more uniform

level of high quality forage for ruminant livestock throughout the year.

Forage is preserved in the form of hay, haylage or baleage, and silage. While

several techniques have been proven as efficient ways to store forages, it is important to

keep in mind that, at best, conserved forages can rarely match the nutritive value of fresh

forage, and some losses of highly digestible nutrients (sugar, protein, and fat) are

unavoidable. Focusing on minimize losses, which start immediately after cutting should

be goal in forage preservation.

Silage techniques decrease the loss of nutrients as from harvest time until storage.

Moreover, they also improve the quality of feed (Beltzer 2003). The lactic acid bacteria

that are present on forage crops are involved in the fermentation of water-soluble

carbohydrates to lactic acid and, to a lesser extent, to acetic acid.

Due to the increasing use of silage around the world, it is necessary to ensure that

the silage produced is of good final quality. This review will emphasis to review up-to-date

information with a focus on silage, and possible advances techniques to limit silage

degradation.

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 Strategies to limit silage degradation and its economic and health impacts

Impaired feed intake, linked to silage inappetence or physiological disorders,

diminishes animal performance in terms of body weight gain and increases feeding costs

for farmers who have to increase the daily silage provision or add other feedstuffs.

Currently, nothing can be done to rectify spoiled silage and it has to be thrown out.

Moreover, silage degradation entails health risks, as it can act as a vector

transmitting pathogenic agents to animal and humans. Major issues in silage processing

are the use of poor quality or immature plant material, insufficiently rapid establishment

of anaerobiosis leading to weak silage acidification, and insufficient control of

contamination by pathogenic or spoilage microorganisms. To extend silage shelf life and

meet the economic and health risks associated with silage degradation, innovative

strategies in silage processing and respect of good manufacturing practices are required.

Preventive intervention is possible throughout the ensiling process, from pre-ensiling to

opening and the aerobic stage. The following section will discusses the possibilities for

preventing pathogen contamination and silage spoilage.

(a) Techniques to limit of pathogen introduction at harvest

In order to avoid silage degradation, as far as possible pathogens should be

prevented from entering the silage ecosystem. Pre-ensiling GMP is a matter of common

sense and includes such preventive measures as limiting crop degradation by fungi and

molds in the field and waiting some times between manure or slurry application and

harvest.

Crops should be harvested no sooner than four weeks after the last manure

spreading, to limit the presence in silage of butyric bacteria (Johansson et al., 200 5). This

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measure also limits the introduction of other pathogens such as Listeria, Clostridium or

E. coli (Girardin et al., 2005).

To limit the risk of incorporating telluric microorganisms in the silage, any mixing

of dirt or soil with the crop should be avoided by adjusting the harvester to the appropriate

height. Growth conditions and choice of harvesting period also have an important impact.

It has been shown that high dry matter concentration (>50% DM) in the raw material due

to late harvesting makes silage more susceptible to self-heating and infestation with toxin-

producing fungi (Purwin et al., 2006).

Moreover, carbohydrate content is lower in late-harvested crops, which reduces

the nutritive value of the silage (Ashbell and Weinberg, 2006). Pathogens can also be

introduced into silage via silos and agricultural equipment. Cleaning before filling should

obviously reduce contamination by soil or manure incorporation. Correct sealing of the

silos is also essential to limit contact with small animals such as rodents and birds, which

are potential vectors of many pathogens. Finally, before each feeding, any feed left over

from the previous feeding should be removed to prevent ingestion of spoiled silage and

consequent health issues.

(b) Techniques to Promote establishment of anaerobiosis

Rapid establishment of anaerobiosis limits effluent production and promotes LAB

development and acidification. Crops should be loaded into silos as fast as possible, and

firmly compacted, in order to quickly exclude air from the ensiled mass.

To prevent effluent production, it is recommended to harvest the crops at an

appropriate DM content (30–40% DM) and, with low-DM crops (mainly wet grasses and

legumes), to wilt them in the field.

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 Anaerobiosis can establish quickly when the silage particles are small and

therefore easily compacted in the silo. However, a too short particle size is linked to

excessive effluent (Demarquilly et al., 1998) and it has been shown that chopping length

influences the conservation and digestibility of the silage. Indeed, too many very short

particles entail a loss of the fibrous roughage properties necessary for good rumen

function and may result in acidosis (Zebeli et al., 2009). Optimal chopping length for

grasses ranges between 4 and 6 cm. Corn silage for dairy cows is recommended to

contain less than 1% of large particles (>2 cm), 8–12% of medium particles from 1 to 2

cm and less than 50% of very short particles .

(c)Techniques to promote acidification

The main effect of silage preservation is acidification. This depends on

anaerobiosis (which promotes LAB fermentation) and on the buffering capacity and DM

of the crop. The incorporation of soil in silage increases its buffering capacity (Weinberg

and Ashbell, 2003). If buffering capacity is high, aerobic microorganisms found at the

beginning of ensiling, will remain active for an extended period and will reduce the quantity

of hexoses and pentoses available for further LAB fermentation. Silage acidification is

thus delayed and secondary fermentation by Clostridia occurs, during which lactic acid is

converted to weaker butyric acid, followed by pH increase and further spoilage.

Mineral acids such as sulfuric and chlorhydric acids were used to promote silage

acidification and limit pathogenic microorganism growth. The authors have observed that

undissociated acid values in silage of pH 4.1–4.5 could be 10–100 times higher than

those recommended for preventing the growth of these pathogens in silage.

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 Formic acid increases the initial rate of decline of enterobacteria in grass silage

and is effective in reducing E. coli O157:H7 (O’Kiely et al., 2001). Formic acid is also

considered effective for reducing levels of biogenic amines (BA) in grass and alfalfa

(Steidlová and Kalac, 2004).BA contents in silage could be reduced by lowering plant

enzyme activity or through inhibition of BA-producing microorganisms (Nishino et al.,

2007).

Rapid acidification can also be obtained by carbohydrate or enzyme

supplementation. With crops such as alfalfa which contain few WSC (3–7% DM), it may

be necessary to add carbohydrates such as molasses or whey to enhance LAB

fermentation. Carbohydrate supplementation is performed together with LAB inoculation

to ensure the fermentation process. Added molasses represents 0.5 kg and whey 0.75

kg of carbohydrates in silage DM (AFSSA, 2004). Cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic

enzymes such as cellulase can convert the cellulose and hemicellulose of plant cells into

fermentable sugars (Zhang et al., 2010).

Bacterial inoculants are also commonly used for silage preservation. The purpose

of adding bacterial inoculants is to ensure faster accumulation of organic acids during the

ensiling period . The main organic acid produced by epiphytic LAB or silage additives is

lactic acid, responsible for the rapid pH decrease. Homofermentative lactic acid bacteria

are used in most commercially available inoculants, as they are efficient producers of

lactic acid. The most common homofermentative inoculant is L. plantarum. It is generally

considered that 1×106 viable inoculant cells per gram is a sufficient for the bacterial

additives to overwhelm the epiphytic LAB and become the predominant population in the

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silage (Gollop et al., 2005). Other Lactobacillus or Pediococcus species may be employed

and Enterococcus faecium is also frequently used (Li and Nishino, 2011)

(d) Techniques to limit air ingress during storage

A healthy crop at ensiling should remain so from silo filling through the storage

period to distribution. To achieve this, contamination associated with the introduction of

air into the silage should be avoided. To seal bunker and stack silos for extended periods,

plastic sheeting, usually polyethylene, is generally used (Weinberg et al., 2011). A new

black-on-white (125-m) coextruded oxygen barrier (OB) film have been shown to

constrain spoilage and dry matter losses under critical farm conditions and to improve the

stability of corn silage in the peripheral areas of the silos even when a proper harvest-

tofeedout management was implemented (Borreani et al., 2007). Dolci et al. (2001) have

observed a delay in yeast and mold growth during aerobic exposure of silages previously

protected by OB film compared to polyethylene films. The film should be resistant to

physical damage by birds and rodents and to UV. Ensiling is a competition between

aerobic and anaerobic processes. At silo opening, air can enter the forage mass and

trigger silage degradation (McEniry et al., 2010). Silo capacity should be determined

according to feeding needs (herd size and rations), and the dimensions should be

calculated so that a sufficient depth of silage is removed each day from the silo face to

minimize silage exposure to air. A clean cut at the silage front limits air penetration and

further spoilage (Weinberg and Ashbell, 2003).

(e)Techniques to Improve aerobic stability

Aerobic stability can be achieved by the use of various silage additives. Among chemical

additives, formic acid has been shownto enhance the aerobic stability of whole-crop

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wheat, sorghumand cornsilages by causingmore extensiveheterolactic fermentation with

high levels of acetic and propionic acids in the silage (Kung and Ranjit, 2001).

Although homofermentative bacteria are considered effective inoculants for silage

storage, several authors have shown that lactic acid could be used as substrate by

lactate-assimilating yeasts in case of insufficient anaerobiosis resulting in silage spoilage

(Filya et al., 2004). Heterolactic fermentation is therefore preferred in order to improve the

aerobic stability of silage at unloading. The heterofermentative species L. buchneri has

been shown to increase aerobic stability and reduce fermentation losses in numerous

studies (Adesogan et al., 2003).

(f) Techniques to directly inhibit of undesirable microorganisms

To ensure silage quality, additives inhibiting undesirable microorganisms are

commonly added to the ensiled mass. Sodium nitrite in combination with hexamine

effectively prevented clostridia growth, while sodium benzoate restricted yeast growth

(Knicky and Lingvall, 2001). The use of calcium formiate, sodium benzoate and sodium

nitrite have also resulted in high hygienic quality corn silage and significantly reduced

concentrations of zearalenone, deoxynivalenol and total ochratoxins and fumonisins (Biro

et al., 2009).

Effect of silage quality on the intake and digestibility of ruminants

The silage quality affects the intake and digestibility of ruminants. The dry matter

(DM) content, water‐ soluble carbohydrate (WSC) concentration and microorganism

populations present in the forage are the main factors that can interfere with the

fermentation of the silage. Forage with low DM and WSC concentrations may indicate

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unfavorable fermentation and forage with excessive WSC content may create acidic

silages, which reduces silage intake.

The intake and digestibility of silage determines the feeding value of silage

(Huhtanen et al., 2002). Intake of dried forages is generally closely related to digestibility

and cell wall contents (Mertens, n.d.), but this relationship is weaker for ensiled forages,

probably due to formation of fermentation products during the in-silo fermentation

process.

The silage quality and availability of nutrients influence animal performance

(Mizubuti et al., 2002) . The intake of silage is mostly lower than the intake of fresh forage

(Mauro et al., 2013) because of the occurrence of toxic substances produced during the

fermentation as amines; also because of the high concentration of organic acids and

decline in the water soluble carbohydrate content which lower availability of energy for

the growth of microorganisms in the rumen.

………………………….x………………………………..x…………………………………….

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