Evaluation of Functional Fatty Acid Technology in Dairy Nutrition

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Recent preliminary studies suggest that supplementation of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) in diets of dairy cows improve their production efficiency, immune function, and overall health, but little research data for effects of MCFA supplementation currently exist in Canada. The objective is to determine effect of feeding MCFA on productivity of lactating cows in mid-lactation. Thirty Holstein cows in mid-lactation (50 to 150 days in milk) housed in a tie-stall barn at Dairy Research Technology Centre at the University of Alberta (Edmonton, AB) will be used in the proposed study. We will measure feed intake, milk yield, milk composition, body weight change, production efficiency (milk yield per kg of feed intake), and selected plasma metabolites to determine effects of MCFA supplementation. In addition, we will evaluate relationship between animal responses to MCFA supplementation and pre-trial animal status (e.g., milk yield before the experiment) to determine, if any, factors affecting animal response to MCFA supplementation. The proposed project may lead to commercialization of MCFA products by providing domestic research data to dairy producers in Canada, which would increase available technology options for Canadian dairy producers to consider so that they can improve production efficiency, animal health, and profitability of dairy operations in a cost-effective manner.