Buchweizen: eine Futterpflanze für Milchkühe?SergejAmelchankaauthorDanielaBrandauthorTasjaKälberauthorMichaelKreuzerauthorFlorianLeiberauthorBuckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) has a high ecological value due to the long and intensive flowering as well as its favorable impact on soil fertility. However, in Europe demand for buckwheat kernels as food is low. Therefore, the question arises whether cultivation of this plant could be promoted by using it as animal feed. In the current preliminary experiment, the extent to which buckwheat, offered in different forms, is consumed by dairy cows was tested in conjunction with potential effects on milk yield. Three groups of lactating cows were fed a silage-concentrate mixture, which either contained 3 kg DM/d buckwheat kernel flour (n=4), or 2.5 kg DM/d buckwheat total plant silage (n=3) or no buckwheat compound (control; n=4). After 4 days of adaptation, the experiment lasted for 10 days. During this relatively short period, neither feed intake nor milk yield or body condition were affected. However, the nutrient density of buckwheat silage was low. By contrast, the buckwheat kernel flour proved satisfactory as an energy concentrate. Feeding and growth2009Conference paper, poster, etc.