4 results
The use of an impeller mowing conditioner during haymaking had no effects on feeding behavior, feed intake or performance of organic dairy cows
- Andreas Haselmann, Josef Kirchler, Birgit Fürst-Waltl, Werner Zollitsch, Qendrim Zebeli, Wilhelm Knaus
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- Journal:
- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems / Volume 36 / Issue 6 / December 2021
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 29 April 2021, pp. 549-556
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Impeller mowing conditioners are commonly used to speed up the drying process on the field, making forage preservation (haying, ensiling) less dependent on weather conditions. However, the effects of this technique on the nutritive value of the forage and dairy cows' responses have not been investigated yet. Each half of two fields of grass-dominated swards, first regrowth, was cut either with or without the use of an impeller mowing conditioner (experimental hay and control hay, respectively). Ceteris paribus conditions were guaranteed by the same cutting and wilting times (roughly 48 h), number of teddings, field pickup technique and barn-drying method. At the beginning of the feeding trial, 19 lactating Holstein cows were allocated to one of two groups, one control (nine cows) and one experimental group (10 cows) and were fed the respective forage plus a fixed amount of concentrate [3.6 kg d−1; dry matter (DM) basis]. After a 14-d adaptation period, data were collected over 21 consecutive days. Covariate data of cows were collected prior to the experimental feeding period, over a time span of 9 d, and included in the statistical model. Results revealed that control and experimental hay showed significant (P < 0.05) differences in the nutrient profile. However, the magnitude of these differences was not enough to affect intakes of hay (18.4 ± 0.29 kg DM d−1), total dietary energy or chewing activity, but did lead to a decreased intake of water-soluble carbohydrates and an increased crude protein intake, thus affecting ruminal nitrogen balance (P < 0.01). This resulted in a higher milk urea content [23.3 vs 17.9 mg (100 mL)−1; P < 0.01] in cows fed the experimental hay, whereas other milk performance parameters remained unaffected. In conclusion, the use of the impeller mowing conditioner did not affect the overall forage utilization by cows when the diet contained about 16% concentrate (DM basis). As this is the first study dealing with the effects of an impeller mowing conditioner on cows' responses, future research should consider investigating the effects of mowing conditioners when cows are fed only forage or diets with lower concentrate amounts.
Comparison of different piglet diets in organic agriculture using milk powder, enriched lysine, conventional potato protein or high soybean cake content
- Nele Quander-Stoll, Mirjam Holinger, Barbara Früh, Werner Zollitsch, Florian Leiber
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- Journal:
- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems / Volume 36 / Issue 3 / June 2021
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 05 October 2020, pp. 245-254
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Feeding monogastric livestock in organic agriculture is challenging due to several tradeoffs between animal welfare aspects, resource efficiency, as well as ecological and social sustainability. Organic standards may even increase such conflicts, as is currently the case with upcoming new regulations regarding restrictions of feed sources for organic pigs in Europe. In order to contribute data for balancing reasons to minimize tradeoffs, we compared four different piglet diets, each targeted to reach a high protein quality by either a high proportion of soybean cake (SOY), inclusion of milk powder (MILK), fermentatively produced lysine (LYS) or conventional potato protein (POT). All diets were designed to meet the nutritional requirements of piglets in the best possible way, however they all represented different conflicts with either organic regulations or sustainability goals. In each of five consecutive runs, respectively three litters were assigned to every dietary treatment, resulting in 15 litters per treatment in total. In each litter, seven focus animals were defined. The piglets were studied from birth until 58 days of age. They were weaned at day 46 and sold from the farm at day 58. Piglets were individually weighed at an average age of 3, 21, 43, 50 and 58 days with simultaneous assessment of body condition score (BCS) and prevalence of diarrhea. Feed intake (FI) was recorded litter wise weekly, starting from week three. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated for the period after weaning. Statistical analysis was executed using linear mixed effect models. Regarding FI, FCR and daily weight gains, no treatment effect was found. Only at day 21, BCS was lower for piglets receiving POT. Prevalence of diarrhea increased after weaning for all treatments. All four tested diets led to similar weight gains and feed conversion in the piglets. Animals fed diet POT recovered better from diarrhea compared to the other treatments. A high soybean cake content or lysine supplementation in the diet was disadvantageous with regard to the occurrence of diarrhea. LYS diet led to signs of threonine deficit, indicating that lysine addition alone may not solve the issue. The addition of milk powder provided no extra benefit. In recognition of the health benefits, the use of 5% potato protein, even if it is sourced from conventional production, must still be considered as a sustainable option for feeding organic piglets. The sustainability implications are discussed in the paper.
Effects of supplementation of a forage-only diet with wheat bran and sugar beet pulp in organic dairy cows
- Paul Ertl, Qendrim Zebeli, Werner Zollitsch, Wilhelm Knaus
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- Journal:
- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems / Volume 32 / Issue 5 / October 2017
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 08 November 2016, pp. 446-453
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Although levels of concentrate supplementation are generally lower in organic as compared with conventional dairy cows, forage-only (FO) diets are not very common in organic dairy cows because of the resulting limited dry matter intake (DMI) and lower milk production. However, from the perspective of net food production, FO diets or forage diets supplemented only with by-products from the food processing industry, offer considerable potential because they do not compete with humans for food. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the effects of adding a mixture of wheat bran and dried sugar beet pulp [0.56:0.44 on a dry matter (DM) basis] to a FO diet on DMI, milk production, chewing activity and production efficiency. Seventeen multiparous and three primiparous mid-lactation Holstein cows were randomly assigned to one of two treatments, receiving either a FO mixture with hay and grass silage in equal proportions (FO) or the same forage mixture supplemented with a mixture of wheat bran and dried sugar beet pulp at a rate of 25% of dietary DM (25%BP). The experiment was conducted in a change-over design with two experimental periods of 7 and 6 weeks, respectively. Overall, feeding the 25%BP diet increased DMI and energy-corrected milk (ECM) yield by 1.8 kg d−1 as compared with cows fed FO. Feed conversion efficiency (kg ECM per kg DMI) and energy efficiency (kg ECM per 10 MJ net energy for lactation intake) were higher in FO, but cows fed FO were in a slightly negative energy balance and also tended to have a higher mobilization of body tissues as compared with cows fed 25%BP. In comparison with FO, cows receiving 25%BP showed less chewing activity per kg DMI or per kg neutral detergent fiber ingested. In conclusion, results from this feeding trial showed that adding wheat bran and dried sugar beet pulp to a FO diet increased DMI and milk yield and improved the energy balance when compared with a FO diet, although the magnitude of the milk yield response was lower than expected.
Sustainable pig nutrition in organic farming: By-products from food processing as a feed resource
- Sonja Wlcek, Werner Zollitsch
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- Journal:
- Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems / Volume 19 / Issue 3 / September 2004
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 12 February 2007, pp. 159-167
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Since keeping nutrient cycles intact is one of the most important goals in organic farming, the option of recycling by-products from organic food processing by feeding them to organically raised pigs was analyzed in this study. A more specific objective was to estimate the potential of this nutrient source for reducing the protein deficiency in organic pig nutrition. Sector-specific questionnaires were sent to 321 processors of organic foods in Austria. The information provided was used to estimate the total quantity of the respective by-products available. Proximate analysis, amino acid and mineral analysis were performed for different by-products. These data were combined with the available quantities of the respective by-products, resulting in the amounts of nutrients potentially recyclable for pig nutrition. Each year 2400 t of wheat bran, 990 t of rye bran and 1300 t of residues from the separation of seed grains are already fed to different kinds of livestock. Some 510 t of stale bread are currently disposed of, but could be used as a highly nutritive feedstuff for pigs, once the problem of collection is solved. Relevant amounts of other energy-rich by-products were found: currently, about 11,000 t (2000 t on a dry matter basis) of feed-grade potatoes are composted, resulting in a waste of 27,000 GJ of metabolizable energy (ME). These potatoes could be better utilized as a dietary energy source for approximately 12,300 pigs. Additionally, about 12,900 t of whey from organically produced milk are discarded, which could be used to feed roughly 14,000 pigs. High-protein by-products are scarce. Annually, 80 t and 63 t of expellers from pumpkin seed and sunflower seed, respectively, are produced from organically grown oilseeds. Only small quantities of okara (by-product of the production of tofu from soybeans) and buttermilk are available. Only 4% and 5% of the protein and lysine requirements, respectively, of the pigs currently kept on organic farms in Austria could be covered by by-products rich in protein. Excluding feed-grade potatoes means a loss of 18% crude protein (CP), 18% lysine and 26% ME of the entire nutrient supply available from organic by-products.