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

海力线制造有限公司是一家设备开发商和制造商，拥有旨在**加工饲料的设备。饲料处理机的最新进展包括增加了一台切碎机，以创造出**更均匀的粉碎饲料颗粒大小。然而，目前还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于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，在它们的日粮中提供**必要的营养。然而，未经加工的低质量饲料可能会限制总的饲料摄入量。**当与低质量饲料固有的低营养密度和由此引起的摄入量减少相结合时，**低质量饲料可能不总是提供足够的营养物质来满足肉牛的营养需求**。饲料加工可能是改善饲喂肉牛的低品质饲料的采食量和消化率的一种策略。然而，以前的大多数研究都集中在饲料粉碎机的使用上，这种粉碎机**产生高比例的细小颗粒，并在加工产品中产生较大的颗粒大小变化。**产生较大的颗粒大小范围增加了牛的分选能力，并可能超过与加工有关的好处**。相反，加工后的饲料切碎通常会导致**颗粒大小的减小和颗粒大小的变化。这种方法有可能**改善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.