A comparative study of the feeding value of dried sugar-beet pulp for milk production

SUMMARY Two 16-week experiments with lactating Ayrshire cows were conducted to study the effect on milk production of replacing barley with dried molassed sugar-beet pulp on an equal dry-matter basis. The cows on all treatments received equal weights of hay, groundnut cake and minerals but the contents of barley and of sugar-beet pulp each varied from 0 to 80% in the different concentrate mixtures. The total daily intake of dry matter expressed as a percentage of live weight averaged 2·64 and 2·72 in the two experiments. The average yield of milk in the two experiments was 18·8 kg/cow per day, and, within each experiment, the mean yields of milk and the contents of solids-not-fat and crude protein were not significantly different on the contrasting feeding treatments. The intake of water was significantly increased as the dried beet pulp replaced the barley but no major changes occurred in the proportions of V.F.A.S in the rumen liquor. It is concluded that barley and dried molassed sugar-beet pulp had the same feeding value on a dry-matter basis when used in the production ration of milking cows. It is suggested that for most purposes barley and dried sugar-beet pulp are interchangeable on an equal weight basis, but for more precise feeding the two feeds should replace each other on an equal dry-weight basis.