Applied 2008). While dairy cows and dairy

Applied Nutrition Problem No. 1, Spring 2018The Effects of -Heather YoungDairy goat producers sometimes wonder if the time of hay cutting affects the hay quality. They may want to reformulate their diets in order to economically meet their herd’s nutritional requirements.When feeding ruminants, it is important to consider how the rumen and the microbes within it-what is it? function in order to maximize feed efficiency.

However, dairy goat producers generally are more interested in reducing feed cost per goat per day rather than improving feed efficiency (Van Saun). In dairy cows, alfalfa cut at sundown was shown to have higher starch, water-soluble carbohydrates, and total non-structural carbohydrates than alfalfa cut at sun-rise (Brito et al., 2008).

While dairy cows and dairy goats are both ruminants, dairy goats require a diet with more nutrients since they have a smaller gastrointestinal (GI) tract that does not break down(digest?) food particles as much as a cow’s large GI tract (Kieser, 2010).Total digestible nutrients of afternoon cutting of alfalfa have been found to increase throughout the day. Therefore, afternoon cutting of alfalfa results in increased rumen microbial protein as well as total rumen carbohydrate degradability. (Yari et al., 2012)Producers should consider not only cutting time of forages, but also stages of maturity. Alfalfa at the early and late bud stages have greater effective degradable nitrogen-to-effective degradable energy ratios than alfalfa at the early bud stage (Yari et al., 2012). Leaf-to-stem ratio and crude protein decrease as maturity of alfalfa increases (Yari et al.

, 2014). Since a dairy goat can digest approximately 3 to 5 percent of its body weight dry matter per day (Kieser, 2010), a highly digestible diet high in protein and energy must be provided in order to maximize incomeover feed cost as well as the most available nutrients for the animal. Where is short summart paragraph?