In the upcoming series of SmartMails we will be highlighting the findings from the Adisseo-sponsored research presented at this year's JAM conference in Phoenix.
In the first paper (Abstract, Poster) presented by researchers at the Univ. of Wisconsin, the effect on milk performance of adding 12g of extra metabolizable methionine (MET) to a 16.2% CP diet was evaluated over the first 10 weeks of lactation. The Control diet was rich in metabolizable lysine (LYS) - 6.8% of MP according to CNCPS v. 6.1., through the use of a high quality blood source (ProvAAL). The addition of 20g of Smartamine® M achieved a ratio of LYS to MET of 2.8 to 1 close to current formulation guidelines.
As expected, an immediate and significant increase (P< 0.01) in milk protein content was observed due to the Smartamine M supplementation which was maintained throughout the trial period. The control cows averaged 2.75% protein whereas the supplemented methionine cows averaged 2.92%, an increase of 0.17%. Feeding Smartamine M also lowered ketone bodies. BHBA decreased from 14 to 9 mg% at week three of lactation indicating a better energy status of these animals.
In the next SmartMail, I will discuss the consequences of feeding the methionine enriched diet on the embryos flushed from superovulated cows.
