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Responses by Grazing Dairy Cows given a Polymer Gel (PH20)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 November 2017

P.C. Garnsworthy
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leics., LE12 5RD
R.J. Alford
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leics., LE12 5RD
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Extract

PH20 (IPT (International) Ltd, Newark) is a water-insoluble polymer gel of acrylic acid which has been shown to improve the digestion of silage in the rumen, leading to improved live-weight gain and feed conversion efficiency in beef cattle (Garnsworthy, 1987) and, on a large number of commercial dairy farms, has led to savings in concentrate usage. Increases in milk yield have been found on only a minor number of farms and it appears that with cows in mid to late lactation unless the concentrate allocation is reduced, feeding PH20 will result in greater deposition of body reserves. The objective of the trial reported here was to study the response by cows in late lactation to PH20 under grazing conditions.

Type
Dairy Cow
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1988

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References

Garnsworthy, P.C. (1987) The effect of polymer gels on growth rate, silage digestibility and rumen fermentation in beef cattle. 38th EAAP, Lisbon.Google Scholar