Effects of partially replacing barley silage or barley grain with dried distillers grains with solubles on rumen fermentation and milk production of lactating dairy cows

Dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) has been commonly used as a dietary protein source for lactating dairy cows. However, there is a paucity of data evaluating the use of DDGS as a partial replacement of forage or grain. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of partially replacing barley silage or barley grain with corn/wheat-based DDGS on dry matter intake (DMI), chewing activity, rumen fermentation, and milk production. Six ruminally cannulated lactating Holstein cows were used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design with 21-d periods. Cows were fed the control diet (CON: 45% barley silage, 5% alfalfa hay, and 50% concentrate mix), a low forage (LF) diet or a low grain (LG) diet, in which barley silage or barley grain was replaced by DDGS at 20% of dietary dry matter, respectively. All diets were formulated to contain 18% crude protein and fed as total mixed rations. Compared with CON, cows fed the LF diet had greater DMI (26.0 vs. 22.4 kg/d), yields of milk (36.4 vs. 33.0 kg/d), milk protein (1.18 vs. 1.05 kg/d), and milk lactose (1.63 vs. 1.46 kg/d), but milk fat yield was not affected. The LF diet decreased chewing time compared with the CON diet (29.7 vs. 39.1 min/kg of DMI), but did not affect rumen pH and duration of rumen pH below 5.8. Compared with CON, feeding the LG diet tended to increase minimum and maximum rumen pH, but did not affect DMI, milk yield, and milk composition in this study. These results indicate that a partial replacement of barley silage with DDGS can improve the productivity of lactating dairy cows without negatively affecting rumen fermentation and milk fat production. Barley grain can also be partially replaced by DDGS in diets for lactating dairy cows without causing negative effects on productivity.