Effect of Varying Dietary Ratios of Alfalfa Silage to Corn Silage on Production and Nitrogen Utilization in Lactating Dairy Cows1

Twenty-eight (8 ruminally cannulated) lactating, multiparous Holstein cows were blocked by DIM and randomly assigned to 7 replicated 4 × 4 Latin squares (28-d periods) to investigate the effects of different dietary ratios of alfalfa silage (AS) to corn silage (CS) on production, N utilization, apparent digestibility, and ruminal metabolism. The 4 diets contained (dry matter basis): A) 51% AS, 43% rolled high-moisture shelled corn (HMSC), and 3% solvent soybean meal (SSBM); B) 37% AS, 13% CS, 39% HMSC, and 7% SSBM; C) 24% AS, 27% CS, 35% HMSC, and 12% SSBM; and D) 10% AS, 40% CS, 31% HMSC, and 16% SSBM. Dietary crude protein contents were 17.2, 16.9, 16.6, and 16.2% for diets A, B, C, and D. All 4 diets were high in energy, averaging 49% nonfiber carbohydrates and 24% neutral detergent fiber. Intake of dry matter, yield of milk, 3.5% fat-corrected milk and fat, milk fat content, and apparent digestibility of neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber all decreased linearly when CS replaced AS. Effects on fiber digestion and milk fat may have been due to increasing fluctuation in ruminal pH and time the pH remained <6.0 when CS replaced AS. Milk protein content increased linearly with increasing CS, but there were no differences in protein yield. There were linear increases in apparent N efficiency and decreases in N excreted in urine and feces when CS replaced AS. Production was depressed on the diet highest in CS. Quadratic analysis indicated that milk and protein yields were maximal at dietary AS:CS ratios of, respectively, 37:13 and 31:19. No diet minimized N excretion without negatively affecting production. Diet C, with an AS:CS ratio of 24:27, was the best compromise between improved N efficiency and sustained production. Because CS is complementary with AS, it is recommended that CS be fed in AS-based diets to maintain milk yield while improving N utilization.