Corn Silage Compared to Alfalfa Hay for Milking Cows when Fed Various Levels of Grain

Cows were fed either corn silage or alfalfa hay as the only roughage for three lactations. For one lactation two other groups of cows received different proportions of each forage. Grain was fed at two levels within each forage group. Cows fed grain at the usual rate of 1 lb per 3.5 lb milk produced as much milk, fat-corrected milk, fat, or solids-not-fat as cows fed the higher rate of grain, which was ad libitum until 84 days of lactation then reduced to 1:2.5. This was true for each of the four roughage groups for one lactation and for those fed either corn silage or hay for two or three consecutive lactations. Increasing the amount of grain fed from 2,074 to 3,111 kg per lactation did not result in greater milk production.