Effects of forage chopping on dry matter intake, ruminal fermentation, apparent total tract digestibility, and estimated microbial protein supply for beef heifers

Highline制造有限公司是一家设备开发和制造商，拥有设计用于加工饲料的设备。草料处理机的最新进展包括增加了一个斩波器，以使切碎的草料粒度更均匀。然而，目前尚不清楚饲料加工的最佳严重程度是什么。了解如何最好地加工饲料对Highline制造有限公司和肉牛生产商都很重要，因为肉牛有能力使用低质量的饲料作为饲料来源，以在其饮食中提供必需的营养。然而，未经加工的低质量饲料可能会限制总采食量。**再加上劣质牧草固有的低营养密度和由此产生的采食量减少，**劣质牧草未必总能提供足够的营养以满足肉牛的营养需求。饲料加工可能是提高肉牛采食量和消化率的一种策略。然而，大多数先前的研究都集中在使用草料粉碎机上，这种粉碎机在加工产品中产生高比例的细颗粒和大粒度变化。**生产范围广泛的颗粒大小增加了牛的分选能力，并可能超过与加工相关的好处**。相比之下，加工后的饲草切碎导致**颗粒大小和该颗粒大小的变化普遍减少。这种方法有可能提高低质量饲料的利用率，改善肉牛的营养供应，并为肉牛生产者提供经济机会。然而，缺乏关于饲料加工的理想严重程度的数据。本研究将评估饲料加工的严重程度如何影响肉牛的反应，以便**我们可以确定严重程度如何影响牛的反应，以努力优化饲料加工。

Highline Manufacturing Ltd. is an equipment developer and manufacturer that has equipment designed to**process forage. Recent advancements to the forage processor include the addition of a chopper to create a more**homogenous particle size of the chopped forage. However, it is not clear what the optimal severity of forage**processing is. Understanding how to best process forage is important for both Highline Manufacturing Ltd. and**beef cattle producers as beef cattle have the ability to use low-quality forage as a feed source to provide**essential nutrients within their diet. However, unprocessed low-quality forage may constrain total feed intake.**When combined with the inherent low nutrient density for low-quality forages and the arising reduced intake,**low quality forages, may not always provide sufficient nutrients to meet the nutrient requirements for beef**cattle. Forage processing may be one strategy to improve both feed intake and digestibility for low quality**forages fed to beef cattle. However, most previous studies have focused on the use of forage shredders that**produce a high proportion of fine particles and a large particle size variation in the processed product.**Producing a wide range in particle size increases the ability for cattle to sort and may override benefits**associated with processing. In contrast, forage chopping following processing results in a general reduction in**particle size and variation in that particle size. This approach has the potential to**improve low-quality forage utilization, improve nutrient supply for beef cattle, and provide an economic**opportunity for beef cattle producers. However, data is lacking on the ideal severity for which forage is**processed. This study will evaluate how the severity of forage processing affects beef cattle responses such that**we can identify how the severity influences cattle responses in effort to optimize forage processing.