Milk production

Last changed: 06 December 2023

Optimization of protein feeding – economy and environment

Project responsible: Pekka Huhtanen, Department of Agricultural Research for Northen Sweden (NJV), SLU.
Project group: Mårten Hetta and , NJV, SLU.

Organic dairy production in Sweden has a well balanced use of nutrients at farm level regarding the crop production. The milk production itself is though a component with relatively low nitrogen utilization, as small share of the feed nitrogen is retrieved in the milk. At many farms are the nitrogen efficiency and economic return even lower than expected, due to a general overestimation of the marginal response rate from protein feeding and high prices of protein feeds. Modern research has recently proven that additional energy has a higher impact on the dairy production in relation to the concentration and quality of the feed protein. Theories that has not yet, been evaluated with organic dairy diets.

The project consist of three production trails (2011-2013) who together builds up a broad base of knowledge for evaluation of feeding strategies in organic dairy production.  The studies cover analysis of increased protein supply, comparison of different protein feeds and the effects of increased energy supply from the forage.

Contact

Final report 2016

Ramin M, Höjer A, Fogelberg F, Hetta M & Huhtanen P. 2015. Effect of heat treated field beans on the performance of Swedish lactating dairy cows. Poster at NFSC and ADSA.

Ramin M, Höjer A, Fogelberg F, Hetta M & Huhtanen P. 2015. Effect of heat treated field beans on the performance of Swedish lactating dairy cows. Proceedings of the 61h Nordic Feed Science Conference, 4-5 June, Uppsala, Sweden. 111-115. 

Ramin M, Höjer A, Hetta M & Huhtanen P. 2015. Effect of heat treated field beans on the performance of Swedish lactating dairy cows. The American Dairy Science Association meeting July 12-16 in Orlando Florida.  Abstract.

Progress report 2012

Progress report 2011

Publications

Gidlund H, Vaga M, Ahvenjärvi S, Rinne M, RaminM and P. Huhtanen. 2018. Predicting omasal flow of nonammonia N and milk protein yield from in vitro-determined utilizable crude protein at the duodenum. Journal of Dairy Science 101, 1164–1176. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2017-13422

Gidlund, H. 2017. Domestic protein feeds in dairy production, potential of rapeseed feeds and red clover. Diss. (sammanfattning/summary) Umeå : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., Acta Universitatis agriculturae Sueciae, 1652-6880; 2017:36

Gidlund H, Hetta, M., Huhtanen, P. 2017. Milk production and methane emissions from dairy cows fed a low or high proportion of red clover silage and an incremental level of rapeseed expeller. Livestock Science 197, 73-81. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2017.01.009 

Gidlund H, Hetta M, Krizsan SJ, Lemosquet S, Huhtanen P. 2015. Effects of soybean meal or canola meal on milk production and methane emissions in lactating dairy cows fed grass silage-based diets. Journal of Dairy Science 98, 8093-8106. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2015-9757

Huhtanen P, Cabezas-Garcia EH, Utsumi S, & Zimmerman S. 2015. Comparison of methods to determine methane emissions from dairy cows in farm conditions. Journal of Dairy Science 98 :3394–3409. doi: 10.3168/jds.2014-9118