Table 5.
Ingredients (kg as-fed), chemical composition (% of dry matter unless stated), and particle size distribution (% of dry matter retained of the sieve) of the diets fed to lactating cows.
| Item | Control diet1 | HBF diet1 |
|---|---|---|
| Ingredient | ||
| Sprouted barley | – | 10.0 |
| Oat hay | 8.0 | 7.0 |
| Dehydrated alfalfa hay | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Corn meal | 7.5 | 7.0 |
| Concentrate mix2 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| Soybean meal3 (44% CP) | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| Molasses | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Mineral-vitamin premix4 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Water | 15.0 | 7.0 |
| Chemical composition | ||
| DM (% of fresh matter) | 56.1 | 56.0 |
| Ash | 9.9 | 9.9 |
| CP | 16.1 | 16.3 |
| NDF | 35.2 | 34.3 |
| ADF | 20.0 | 19.6 |
| ADL | 4.3 | 4.1 |
| Ether extract | 3.78 | 3.8 |
| NFC5 | 35.1 | 33.5 |
| Starch | 26.2 | 24.9 |
| Total sugar | 3.8 | 5.4 |
| NEL6 (MJ/kg DM) | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| Protein fractions (% CP)7 | ||
| PA | 19.2 | 21.3 |
| PB1 | 9.6 | 9.5 |
| PB2 | 34.1 | 33.8 |
| PB3 | 29.9 | 28.2 |
| PC | 7.2 | 7.1 |
| Particle size distribution (mean ± SD) | ||
| >19.0 mm | 49.3 ± 6.0 | 52.3 ± 7.3 |
| 19.0 to 8.0 mm | 16.0 ± 2.1 | 10.2 ± 1.2 |
| <8.0 mm | 34.7 ± 4.0 | 37.6 ± 7.1 |
| Pef8 | 0.65 ± 0.04 | 0.62 ± 0.07 |
| PeNDF9 | 22.9 ± 0.7 | 21.4 ± 2.0 |
1 Diets containing (HBF) or not (Control) hydroponic barley forage. 2 Contained (g/kg of mix, on a fed basis): 541 g of whole flaked soybean, 196 g of steam-flaked barley, 97 g of whole barley grain, 60 g of calcium carbonate, 50 g of sodium chloride, 34 g of monocalcium phosphate, 22 g of sodium carbonate. 3 Solvent extracted. 4 Contained (/kg of premix; based on the manufacturer’ declared content): 4.000.000 IU of vitamin A; 100.000 IU of vitamin D3; 1,500 mg of vitamin E; 1,400 mg of vitamin B6; 1,400 mg of vitamin C; 1,100 mg of vitamin B1; 500 mg of vitamin B2; 5,000 mg of choline chloride; 1,000 mg of biotin; 800 mg of pantothenic acid; 700 mg of niacinamide; 180 g calcium; 38 g of phosphorous; 70 g of sodium; 15 g of magnesium; 1,000 mg of S as copper-II-sulphate; 1,600 mg of Mn as manganese-II-oxide; 5,400 mg of Zn as zinc sulphate, monohydrate; 80 mg of I as calcium iodate, anhydrous; 10 mg of Se as sodium selenite. 5 Non-Fibre Carbohydrate calculated as 100 − (%NDF + %CP + %EE + %Ash). 6 Net Energy of Lactation, calculated according to INRA equation (39). 7 According to the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) system version 6.5 (45). 8 Physical effectiveness factor, determined according to DeVries et al. (49). 9 Physically effective NDF, determined according to DeVries et al. (49).