Biotechnological techniques in animal nutrition for improving quality indicators of meat and dairy products

Abstract

The paper presents the study results on the biotechnological technique of haylage preparing and adding the haylage to cows and steers' diets; it assesses the productivity of the animals and the quality of the obtained dairy and meat products. In the on-farm experiment, alfalfa haylage was laid in control and experimental trenches. The “Lacsil” product was introduced at 1.0 l per 15.0 tons of green mass into the experimental trench. Lacsil is a biological preservative (inoculant) for forage ensilage and a probiotic supplement for animals. The product is designed for ensiling plant materials, especially difficult to ensile. It contains specially selected lactic acid bacteria that efficiently use the supply of plant mass carbohydrates and enrich the feed with biologically active substances. To assess milk production, cows were divided into experimental and control groups, with ten cows in each group. For beef production assessment, the groups were formed with 15 steers in each group. The animals were assigned to the groups based on the matched pair principle, taking into account the age, performance rate and live weight. The lactation period and calving time were also relevant for the cows. The study has shown that feeding significantly affects animal performance indices. The research assessed the quality of the muscle and fat tissues: the experimental group improved nutritional value and had better physico-chemical properties compared with the control group. The study has shown that the cows fed alfalfa haylage prepared with the bio-preservative had better milk quantity and quality indices; for the 6-month lactation period, the difference in milk yield was 437 kg compared with the control group. The experimental group showed higher indices of protein-milk and fat-milk content. Better slaughter and meat indicators in the experimental steers are proved by higher indices of slaughter weight, carcass weight and beef nutritional value. Findings confirm the positive impact of haylage prepared with biological preservatives for cattle nutrition on the quality of meat and dairy products.