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

目前以谷物喂养奶牛和肉牛在动物生产和健康方面面临越来越大的挑战。饲料谷物的成本是可变的，近年来急剧增加，威胁到加拿大西部畜牧业生产的经济竞争力。为提高奶牛的料乳价值，提高饲料利用效率，需要替代饲料资源，特别是具有高营养价值的饲料。然而，究竟有多少差异，变异，营养有效性和分子结构的品种之间和内部，是未知的。本研究旨在利用先进的同步辐射分子红外光谱技术和DRIFT /ATR-FTIR分子光谱技术，揭示三种新型大麦和一种新型冷季玉米饲料受饲料加工影响的独特内在结构，确定其内在分子结构对加工的敏感性，量化其内在结构变化与瘤胃和肠道消化动力学和营养价值的关系反刍动物。拟议的研究计划包括三个项目。在项目1中，我们将揭示受加工影响的大麦和玉米饲料的独特结构特征，研究加工对饲料质量的影响。在项目2中，我们将研究大麦和玉米饲料的氮能同步，确定加工对养分有效性的影响。在项目3中，我们将研究饲料加工对奶牛的真正吸收蛋白质供应的影响。假设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或global - bar源分子光谱进行检测，加工过程中引起的饲料结构变化会影响饲料质量和营养物质利用率，影响奶牛瘤胃和肠道的发酵消化行为。最终目标是增加我们对新大麦和玉米饲料内在结构和饲料化学的营养相关性的基本知识。从该研究项目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.