Comparison of barley forage with highest, intermediate, and lowest digestible fiber (NDF) with corn forage in high production dairy cattle

目前用谷物喂养奶牛和肉牛在动物生产和健康方面面临着越来越多的挑战。饲料谷物的成本是可变的，近年来大幅增加，威胁到加拿大西部畜牧业生产的经济竞争力。为了提高奶牛的饲料乳价值和饲料利用率，需要替代饲料资源，特别是高营养价值的牧草。然而，饲用大麦品种之间和品种内有多少差异、变异、养分有效性和分子结构尚不清楚。本研究的目的是利用先进的同步辐射分子红外显微光谱技术和DRIFT /ATR技术，揭示三种新大麦和一种新冷季型玉米饲料的内在结构特征及其对饲料加工的敏感性。FTIR分子光谱和量化内在结构变化与反刍动物瘤胃和肠道消化动力学和营养价值的关系。该研究计划包括三个项目。 在项目1中，我们将揭示加工对大麦和玉米饲料的独特结构特征的影响，并研究加工引起的饲料品质变化。在项目2中，我们将研究大麦和玉米饲料的N-能量同步，并确定加工对养分有效性的影响。在项目3中，我们将研究加工对奶牛影响的饲料真吸收蛋白质供应。该假说认为，饲料具有独特的内在结构，可以通过先进的分子光谱技术在分子水平上或Globar来源的分子光谱进行检测，加工引起的饲料结构变化会影响饲料品质和营养物质的利用率，以及奶牛瘤胃和肠道的发酵和消化行为。最终目标是增加我们对新大麦和玉米的饲料内在结构和饲料化学的营养相关性的基本知识。从这项研究计划中获得的信息将支持饲料和畜牧业的可持续发展。

The present feeding of cereal grains to dairy and beef cattle is faced with increasing challenges in terms of animal production and health. The cost of feed grains is variable and has highly increased in recent times, threatening the economic competitiveness livestock production in western Canada. Alternative of feed resources particularly forages with high nutritive value are required to improve Feed Milk Value (FMV) and improve feeding utilization efficiency for dairy cows. However, how much difference, variation, nutrient availability and molecular structure between and within varieties of forage barley, is unknown. The objectives of this study are to reveal the unique inherent structures of three new barley and one new cool-season corn forage affected by feed processing and determine the sensitivities of intrinsic molecular structure to the processing using the advanced synchrotron radiation-based molecular infrared microspectroscopy and DRIFT /ATR-FTIR molecular spectroscopy and quantify intrinsic structural changes in relation to digestive kinetics and nutritive value in the rumen and intestine in ruminants. The proposed research program includes three projects. In project 1, we will reveal unique structural features of barley and corn forage affected by the processing and study the processing-induced changes on feed quality. In project 2, we will study N-to-energy synchronization of barley and corn forage and determine the processing impact on nutrient availability. In project 3, we will study truly absorbed protein supply of forage affected by the processing to dairy cattle. The hypothesis is that forage has unique intrinsic structure which can be detected by the advanced molecular spectroscopy techniques at a molecular level or Globar-sourced molecular spectroscopy and the feed structure changes induced by the processing will affect forage feed quality and nutrient availability, fermentation and digestion behavior in the rumen and intestines in dairy cattle. The final goals are to increase our basic knowledge of the nutritional relevance of feed intrinsic structure and feed chemistry in new barley and corn. The information obtained from this research program will support sustainable development of feed and livestock industry.