PhytoMilk: Effect of silage botanical composition and harvest system on organic milk composition

Summary

The effect of silage botanical composition and harvest system on organic milk composition was studied in a feeding trial. Twenty-four Swedish Red dairy cows in mid lactation were allocated randomly to three treatments in a 3×3 Latin square design with each period of three weeks. The treatments were birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.)/grass silage in two-cut system (B, 16 % birdsfoot trefoil), red clover (Trifolium pratense L.)/grass silage in two-cut system (R2, 42 % red clover) and red clover/grass silage in three-cut system (R3, 38 % red clover). Milk samples from the last week in each period were analyzed for fat and protein concentration. Milk yield was 28.7 ±1.0, 30.3 ±3.2 and 28.6 ±1.4 kg ECM day-1 (mean and SD) for treatment B, R2 and R3 respectively. Milk fat concentration was 5.00 ±0.38, 4.75 ±0.01 and 4.98 ±0.25 g 100 g-1 milk and milk protein concentration was 3.62 ±0.19, 3.54 ±0.08 and 3.57 ±0.09 g 100 g-1 milk for B, R2 and R3 respectively. Harvest system and botanical composition of silage does not seem to affect milk yield or composition.