Table 1.
Main sources used in dairy cattle diets and the average nutrient composition.
| Nutrients (%) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource | Energy Value (VEM) 1,2 | Crude Protein CP 3 |
Crude Fat CF 4 | Crude Fibre CFi 5 | Starch + Sugars 6 |
| Grass, fresh | 1006 | 22.7 | 4.4 | 22.8 | 9.6 |
| Grass, silage | 888 | 19.2 | 4.0 | 25.8 | 5.2 |
| Maize silage | 889 | 9.0 | 2.5 | 20.7 | 29.4 |
| Alfalfa | 663 | 17.5 | 2.0 | 31.2 | 5.0 |
| Wheat straw | 425 | 4.1 | 1.2 | 41.8 | 0.0 |
| Potato pulp | 1031 | 8.1 | 0.2 | 20.6 | 20.2 |
| Brewer’s grains | 948 | 25.8 | 10.3 | 18.0 | 4.0 |
| Sugar beet pulp | 1060 | 8.4 | 0.6 | 19.5 | 4.5 |
| Potato peelings | 1112 | 11.5 | 0.9 | 3.9 | 54.6 |
| Molasses | 516 | 4.9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 45.1 |
| Grass meal | 837 | 17.7 | 3.8 | 21.1 | 10.3 |
| Soybean meal | 1015 | 46.4 | 1.6 | 5.5 | 9.5 |
| Rape seed meal | 879 | 34.4 | 3.2 | 12.1 | 9.1 |
| Maize gluten feed | 975 | 20.3 | 4.0 | 7.3 | 14.6 |
1 According to Dutch standards [5]; 2 1000 VEM = 6900 kJ/kg Net Energy of Lactation (NEL); 3 the amount of protein of animal feed or specific food, depends on the nitrogen content of the food proteins; 4 free lipid content; 5 residue cellulose material; 6 Carbohydrate content.