The Feeding of Dairy Cows with Fodder Beet and Concentrate containing Two Levels of Protein

Abstract

Fodder beet is a high yielding crop in terms of dry matter (DM) per hectare with yields of up to 12 t DM ha-1 from the roots and 2 to 5 t DM ha-1 from the tops. The root has a high metabolizable energy (ME) content and the average utilized metabolizable energy (UME) per hectare is 150% of average grass silage UME production (Heppel, 1985). The roots are highly digestible and can be used in dairy cow diets as a substitute for silage or concentrates. Most research work has shown an increase in total dry matter intake when fodder beet is included in a dairy cow ration (Roberts, 1987). The effect on animal performance, particularly milk fat content, is however more variable (Sabri, 1987). One reason for the differences may be the level of protein supplementatio in the fodder beet rations.This experiment evaluated the interactions between the feeding of fodder beet and level of protein supplementation in the concentrate on feed intake and cow performance.