Dairy Science Digest

Despite decades of dedicated research, the rumen still remains a bit of a ‘black box’. This month we feature an article from Dr. Gonzalo Ferreira and his team at Virginia Tech as they try further define how undegradable fiber impacts the rumen's flow rate, and therefore productivity.

Comprehending the kinetics of degradation will assist in identifying the ideal combination of ingredients to create a profitable ration for your herd.

Could this help you make future planting decisions, as the nation is repairing from several rounds of drought? Does the ‘queen of forages’ belong in your cropping program?

Listen in to learn more!

Topics of discussion

1:48 Introduction of Dr. Gonzalo Ferreira

3:33 Impact of Fiber in the ration

4:15 Compare Alfalfa to temperate grasses

5:16 Segregating Fiber, pdNDF vs uNDF

8:04 Design of research rations

9:23 Feeding grasses to lactating dairy cows

12:40 Main variable of interest, ruminal passage rate

13:34 Dry matter intake

16:03 Ration strategy around flow rates and rumen pool size

19:08 Forage sample analysis selection

21:21 Cost of the rations

23:32 Plant more Alfalfa or Orchard Grass?

26:36 Take home message for boots on the ground dairy producers

Featured Article:

Ruminal passage rate and digestibility of fiber from dairy cows consuming diets containing alfalfa and orchardgrass hays with different concentrations of undegradable neutral detergent fiber (uNDF)

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