Title: Production Response to a Highsugar, Floury Variety of Corn versus BMR or Normal Corn Hybrids
1Production Response to a High-sugar, Floury
Variety of Corn versus BMR or Normal Corn Hybrids
- John K. Bernard
- University of Georgia
- Tifton, GA
2Corn Silage
- Primary forage used for feeding dairy cows in the
Southeast - Many different types of corn hybrids available
for silage production - Type of starch
- Degree of fiber digestibility
- Nutrient content (high oil, etc.)
- Other
3Kernel hardness
- Flint varieties (vitreous) are digested more
slowly and less extensively than floury or waxy
varieties. - Limited research available on the merits of
floury or waxy corn varieties, the limited data
suggest that corn silage from waxy corn can
support greater milk and component yield than a
corn silage produced from a high oil corn variety.
4Fiber digestibility
- Brown midrib varieties have less lignin, so the
fiber is more digestible which supports greater
intake and milk production than normal varieties. - Other varieties have higher sugar content that is
assumed to be more digestible
5Objective
- To determine the intake and milk yield response
of lactating dairy cows fed diets based on corn
silage produced from a high-sugar, floury
variety, a BMR, or a normal variety of corn.
6Treatments
- Corn silage will be produced from three different
types of commercially available corn hybrids - Normal (Mycogen TMF2L844)
- BMR variety (Mycogen F2F797)
- High sugar, floury corn (MasterChoice MC590)
- Silage will be harvested and stored in silage
bags until the trial begins
7Production Trial
- Completely randomized design
- 45 Holstein cows trained to each behind Calan
gates - 2 week preliminary period for collection of
covariate data - 8 week experimental period
- Corn silage will provide a minimum of 35 of the
dietary DM
8Production Trial
- Data collection
- Daily DM and nutrient intake
- Daily milk yield
- Weekly milk composition
- Fat, protein, lactose, SNF, and MUN
- Body weight change
- Nutrient digestibility
- DM, OM, N, NDF, ADF, starch, and fat
9Statistical Analysis
- Covariate analysis of variance will be conducted
using Proc Mixed procedure of SAS - Covariates will include
- Days in milk
- Lactation (primiparous vs multiparous)
- Initial data from preliminary period
- DMI, milk yield, composition, and BW
10Potential Implications
- Trial will provide data on the merit of a high
sugar, floury endosperm corn for corn silage
relative to other corn hybrids including BMR. - This variety does not suffer from the yield drag
common with BMR varieties and reportedly has
greater drought tolerance. If it performs as
well as has been suggested, it offers another
option for producing high quality corn silage
11Corn Silage and Conserved Forage Field DayJune
18, 2009Tifton, GA
12Forage Potential of an Annual Peanut Variety for
Lactating Dairy Cows
- John K. Bernard and Albert Culbreath, UGA
- William Anderson, USDA
- Tifton, GA
13Rhizoma or Perennial Peanuts
- Rhizoma or perennial peanut forage
- Excellent forage for dairy cattle with similar
quality to alfalfa - Established using rhizoma rather than seed
- New stand may require three years before it is
productive - Once established, a stand may persist for over 20
years.
14Annual Peanuts
- Most commercially available varieties do not have
high forage yield potential and are susceptible
to a variety of diseases - Fungicides used for disease prevention are not
approved by FDA for use on forages, so the forage
can not be fed to cattle. - Previous research indicates that the forage from
annual peanut vines is very high and similar to
perennial peanut forage
15Potential New Variety
- One of the UGA breeding line (CRSP 983) has
excellent diseases resistance (leaf spot, spotted
wilt, etc.) and also has very robust foliage
production compared with other commercial
varieties or breeding lines currently available - Kernels are larger than most commercial varieties
currently planted - This line has the potential to re-establish
itself the following season if no tillage or
spraying is done.
16Objectives
- To determine the forage potential of a breeding
line annual peanut that is resistant to most
common diseases and has robust forage (vine)
production as a forage for lactating dairy cows.
- Phase 1 Forage yield and nutrient content and
response to management - Phase 2 Animal response including nutrient
intake and digestibility and production potential
17Phase 1
- Randomized design trial with a 2 x 2 x 2 x 2
factorial arrangement of treatments - 2 varieties (CRSP 983 and Georganic)
- 2 harvest schedules (1X or 2X)
- 2 digging scheduled (dig or no dig)
- All remaining plots will be harvested in year 2
- 2 cover crop (no or overseed with winter annual)
- 64 plots year 1, 32 plots year 2
18Information from Phase 1
- Forage DM yield
- Nutrient content and in vitro digestibility
- Disease resistance
- Stand re-establishment in 2nd yr
- Peanut yield
19Phase 2
- 1 acre of CRSP 983 will be established for
production of forage. Forage will be harvested as
hay for use in a lactation trial. - Replicated 3 x 3 Latin square using a minimum of
nine lactating cows, three which will have rumen
cannula
20Phase 2
- Treatments (15 of DM)
- Annual peanut hay
- Perennial peanut hay (purchased locally)
- Alfalfa hay (purchased)
- 21 day periods (14 day adaptation, 7 day
collection)
21Information from Phase 2
- DM and nutrient intake
- Milk yield
- Milk composition
- fat, protein, lactose, SNF, and MUN
- DM and nutrient digestibility
- DM, OM, N, NDF, ADF, and fat
- Nutrient fermentation
- Ph, VFA, and ammonia
22Potential Implications
- Potential to use in rotation with corn.
- Given the potential to re-establishes itself
without additional tillage and seeding and it
tolerates over-seeding with a winter annual, this
would be an economical source of high quality
forage to use with corn silage or other forages.
23Questions?
24Effectiveness of a New Type of Sprinkler System
for Cooling Cows in Free Stall Barns
- John K. Bernard and David R. Bray
- Universities of Georgia and Florida
25Heat Stress
- Much of the Georgia and Florida experiences
chronic heat stress seven or more months each
year. - Supplemental cooling from high velocity fans plus
either a sprinkler or mister system to reduce the
degree of heat stress experienced by the cow.
26Cooling Systems
- Sprinkler systems are relatively inexpensive and
require minimal maintenance but use large
quantities of water. - High pressure mister systems require a lot of
maintenance and are expensive to operate but use
less water.
27Arato Dairy Cooling System
- System developed in Germany
- System works on normal water line pressure (50
psi) without any booster pump. - Reported to use less water than systems currently
available and be as effective.
28Arato Dairy Cooling System
- No data on the effectiveness of the system to
cool cows in a hot-humid environmental or how it
will compare with other systems currently used in
the Southeast.
29Objective
- To determine the effectiveness of the Arato
Dairy Cooling System for cooling dairy cows and
reducing water usage - Lactating cows
- Dry cows
30Methods
- The Arato Dairy Cooling System in the free stall
barn at the UGA Dairy Research Center on the
Tifton Campus which also has a high pressure
mister system. - A second system will be installed to the shade
structures in the far-off dry cow lot.
31Methods - Lactating Cows
- Replicated reversal design trial will be
conducted during the summer and fall 2009 - Treatments will include
- High pressure mister system or
- Arato Dairy Cooling System
- Temperature probes will be inserted into the
vagina of 10 cows to measure core body
temperature for four days each week
32Arato Dairy Cooling System
Current System
33Methods Dry Cows
- Replicated reversal design trial will be
conducted during the summer and fall 2009 - Treatments will include
- Arato Dairy Cooling System with a battery
operated controller or - Control (no supplemental cooling)
- Temperature probes will be inserted into the
vagina of cows to measure core body temperature
for three days each week.
34 N W E S
35Potential Implications
- If this system cools the cows as effectively as
our current system, less maintenance would be
required and electricity use would be reduced. - The potential lower water use would improve water
utilization for the farm - Lower water and/or electric bills
- Less water to dispose of through waste system
- Fewer health problems (?)
36Potential Implications
- This system could potentially be used to
economically provide supplemental cooling to dry
cows or bred heifers in pastures where water is
available but electricity is not.
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38Effect of Treating Dairy Waste with UNLO2K on
Nutrient Content of Solids and Lagoon Water
- John K. Bernard and John W. Worley
- University of Georgia
- Tifton
39Dairy Waste
- Any dairy with 200 or more dairy cows must have
a nutrient management plan that outlines how the
waste will be handled and used to prevent
contamination of surface and ground water
40Dairy Waste
- Most dairies flush their barns and then separate
the solids from the liquids - Liquid is applied on crops through irrigation
systems - Solids are spread on field not receiving lagoon
water - Systems used to separator solids are not 100
efficient, so some solids accumulate in the
lagoon. At some point these solids must be
removed mechanically to restore lagoon capacity.
41Lagoon Additives
- There are several products marketed which
reportedly improve microbial breakdown of solids
in the lagoon and improve nutrient availability - Limited data are available on the effectiveness
of these products.
42UNLO2K
- Proprietary blend of plant nutrients, soil
penetrants, and biologically active oxidant
sources which stimulate beneficial microbial
populations to enhance oxidation processes and
release nutrients locked up in the organic matter - Produced and marketed by Agrakey Solutions, LLC.
43UNLO2K
- Treatment of lagoon water stimulates bacteria
that digest organic matter - Nutrients are more available
- Less sludge accumulates
- Application to crops through irrigation would
improve soil microbiology and improve soil
porosity which would improve water infiltration
and water holding capacity.
44Objective
- To determine the effect of treating the waste
system with UNLO2K on nutrient content of solids
spread on pasture and hay fields and lagoon water
used for irrigating forage crops
45Procedures
- Lagoons at the Dairy Research Center will be
shock treated with UNLO2K and then treated
according to recommendations of Agrakey
Solutions. - Samples of solids and lagoon water will be
collected two months prior to treatment and each
month after treatment for analysis of nutrient
content.
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47Potential Implications
- Data will provide information on changes in
nutrient content of solids and liquid streams. - Observational information on performance of
lagoon and use of waste water for flushing free
stall barn. - Turn-over of solids
- Slickness of floors
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