Roots and Potatoes as Supplements to an Alfalfa – Grass Diet to Dairy Cows

Roots and Potatoes as Supplements to an Alfalfa – Grass Diet to Dairy Cows

Fourteen multiparous dairy cows were used in 3 x 3 change-over experiment designed to study effects of replacing barley by roots and potatoes in diets based on leguminous forage on feed intake, milk production and utilisation of feed nitrogen. The cows received a mixture of alfalfa (Medicago L.) and grass silage ad libitum and an isoenergetic quantity of a supplement based on either barley and potatoes (Ba/P), fodder beets (Beta vulgaris L.) and potatoes (Be/P) or barley (Ba). The grass in grass silage was dominated by timothy (Phleum pratense L.). Total DM intake as well as yield of milk and energy corrected milk was significantly lower on diet Be/P than on the other diets. The recovery of N in milk was around 20% of N-intake on all diets.