Evaluation of Oregon Produced Fish Meals in a Dairy Cattle Ration

The purpose of this study was to evaluate performance of early lactation cows, fed a typical Oregon dairy ration, supplemented with corn gluten meal or one of three fish meals. The fish meals, supplemented at 3.5% of the ration dry matter, included a ruminant grade menhaden from Zapata Haynie, Hammond, LA; a bottom fish produced by Ocean Proteins in Charleston, OR; and a white fish meal produced by Arctic Alaska and Depoe Bay Fish in Newport, OR. Sixteen multiparous Holstein cows were blocked into four groups of four cows for this 4 × 4 crossover design with 3-wk periods. No differences were detected for cows fed the corn gluten or fish meal diets for dry matter intake. Corn gluten meal and ruminant grade menhaden provided the highest amount of ruminally undegradable protein intake. Cows supplemented with corn gluten meal and ruminant grade menhaden had significantly higher milk production than cows supplemented with the bottom fish meal; cows fed the white fish meal had milk production similar to all other groups. There were no significant differences between diets for 4% fat corrected milk, milk fat, or protein production, or milk fat or protein content. Neither an oxidized off-flavor nor other off-flavors were detected in the milk produced by cows supplemented with fish meal. In 1993, there was no economic advantage to feeding Oregon produced FM compared to ruminant grade menhaden or corn gluten meal. However, the fish meals were essentially equally productive and could become profitable if economic conditions change.