Concentrate Mixture, Grass Pellets, Fodder Beets, or Barley as Supplements to Silage ad libitum for High-yielding Dairy Cows on Organic Farms

Summary

A total of 246 Danish Holstein cows were included in three experiments. In each experiment, Barley (B) was compared with another type of supplementary feeds: a Concentrate mixture (C), Grass pellets (G), or Fodder beets (F). The concentrate mixture resulted in a higher (P = 0.002) milk yield (25.9 vs 23.7 kg), a tendency of a lower (P = 0.07) fat content (4.08 vs 4.25%), and a higher (P = 0.006) ECM yield (25.7 vs 24.1 kg) compared to feeding barley as supplement at the same energy level. Grass pellets resulted in a lower (P = 0.01) milk fat content (3.74 vs 4.07%), a tendency of a lower (P = 0.12) protein content (3.14 vs 3.23%), but no different milk or ECM yield compared to feeding barley as supplement at the same dry matter level. The total mixed ration with fodder beet tended to decrease (P = 0.12) milk yield (20.7 vs 22.0 kg) and the ECM yield (P = 0.05) was lower (21.5 vs 22.9 kg) whereas the composition of the milk was unaffected compared to the total mixed ration with barley.