Performance of lactating dairy cows fed rations with inoculated red clover-grass mixture silage.

Low concentrate grass feeding systems for cattle are the most appropriate in Lithuania. Grass and legume forages are the main feeds for dairy cows and beef cattle. First cut red clover-grass mixture silages were ensiled in pits with inoculant (Lactobacillus +Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii) or without any additives. Fermentation quality, nutrient losses and aerobic stability of silages were determined. The inoculated silage had no butyric acid, nutrient losses were lowered by 09.4 %, and both organic matter digrestibility and energy values were higher for the inoculated silage in comparison with the ordinary one. A feeding study was conducted using lactating dairy cows to compare red clover-grass mixture silage inoculated or not inoculated. The lactating dairy cows fed inoculated silage consumed on overage 0.89 kg-¹ DM more compared with feeding non-treated silage. The milk yield tended to increase when the inoculated silage was fed and, the yield of energy corrected milk (ECM) was higher by 2.1 kg-¹ day-¹ cow. The output of milk fat and milk protein were higher respectively by 84.8 and by 58.6 g day-¹ cow-¹ for cows fed the inoculated silage compared with the untreated silage.