Nutritional strategies to improve nitrogen efficiency and milk protein synthesis in dairy cows
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Nutritional strategies to improve nitrogen efficiency and milk protein synthesis in dairy cows
About This Book
Dairy production is associated with significant losses of nitrogen to the environment, contributing to the degradation of air and water systems. These losses must be decreased to make dairy farming sustainable, and a primary means of doing this is to increase the conversion of feed protein into milk protein. This chapter considers the two nitrogen-utilising systems in the cow: the rumen microbiota and ruminant tissues. The more efficient both the rumen and tissue systems are, the lower the urinary nitrogen excretion. We review approaches to estimating rumen microbial protein synthesis, the protein and energy requirements of dairy cows and the use of milk urea nitrogen (MUN) to assess the nitrogen efficiency of dairy cows. We then consider the development of nutritional systems which account for rumen microbial synthesis, rumen-degradable and undegradable feed protein and endogenous protein supplies of amino acids based on utilisation of feed inputs.
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Table of contents
- 1âIntroduction: the importance of reducing nitrogen losses in dairy farming
- 2âProtein in milk: protein content, determining factors and method of synthesis
- 3âAbomasal and duodenal infusion studies
- 4âIdeal amino acid profile
- 5âCentral issues in estimating rumen microbial protein synthesis
- 6âAdditional factors in estimating microbial protein synthesis
- 7âThe metabolisable protein requirements of dairy cows
- 8âMilk urea nitrogen as a diagnostic tool
- 9âDesigning rations to improve N efficiency in dairy cows
- 10âFrom research trials to real farm applications
- 11âConclusion
- 12âWhere to look for further information
- 13âGlossary of abbreviations
- 14âReferences