Abstract
BackgroundNegative energy balance during the transition period is a concern for both conventional and certified organic dairy systems. During early lactation, supplemental strategies are used to cope with nutrient deficiencies that are associated with impaired health, production, and reproduction. As organic certified dairies in the United States face restricted access to dietary supplements, the evaluation of products especially formulated for organic production is needed. Our objective was to assess the effect of supplementing 0.45 kg/d of an organic rumen-protected fat (RPF) on health, metabolic status, and productive and reproductive performance of organic certified Holstein cows from 1 to 150 days in milk (DIM). Two-hundred and two cows were enrolled in a randomized blocked controlled trial conducted from January to July 2017 in a certified organic dairy located in Northern Colorado (USA). Two groups were randomly assigned to be individually supplemented with organic RPF (ORG; n = 100) or control pellets (CON; n = 102) once per day, in addition to the total mixed ration (TMR). Outcomes of interest included milk yield (kg/d) and milk components, serum concentration of glucose, and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), resumption of cyclicity, time-to-first artificial insemination (AI), conception at first AI, and conception within 150 DIM, disease occurrence, culling, mortality.ResultsA significant effect for the inclusion of RPF was found in daily milk yield; RPF supplemented cows had greater milk yield (1.6 kg/d) compared to CON cows up to 150 DIM (P = 0.03). During grazing, multiparous (MP) ORG cows had greater milk yield compared to MP CON cows, whereas no effect was found in primiparous (PP) cows. Health outcomes, serum metabolite concentrations, and reproductive performance were not affected by the inclusion of RPF. Body condition loss was smaller in the ORG group up to 80 DIM; however, there was no effect on body condition during the grazing season and in the overall study period.ConclusionsThese results indicate that supplementation of RPF increased daily milk yield and prevented body condition loss during at 90 DIM. However, RPF supplementation did not affect health, serum metabolite concentration, milk components, and reproductive outcomes.
Highlights
Negative energy balance during the transition period is a concern for both conventional and certified organic dairy systems
The lower energy content of nonstructural carbohydrates compared to fats and a higher risk of rumen acidosis represents a challenge to satisfy the ruminal fermentation that leads to adequate volatile fatty acids (VFA) synthesis and lactogenesis
In the following weeks MP organic rumenprotected fat (RPF) (ORG) cows had greater milk yield compared to MP control pellets (CON) cows
Summary
Negative energy balance during the transition period is a concern for both conventional and certified organic dairy systems. Transition cows are challenged by nutrient deficits to support milk production, which triggers mobilization of fat, labile protein, and calcium [1] These metabolic changes, combined with suboptimal dry matter intake (DMI), increase the risk of concomitant health disorders that occur disproportionately during transition [2, 3]. Health disorders with high incidence during this period include milk fever (5 to 7% [4];), subclinical ketosis (22.4 to 55.7% [5];), retained fetal membranes (4%, after a normal calving [6];), metritis (18.5 to 27.6% [7];) and displaced abomasum (3.5% [8];), besides increased severity of mastitis [9] All of these disorders have adverse effects on animal welfare, milk production, reproduction, and farm profitability [10, 11]. Increasing the energy density per gram of ration with a less rumen acidogenic diet becomes an important opportunity to reduce the magnitude of the negative energy balance (NEB) in this period [14,15,16]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
