Effects of Liberal Concentrate Feeding on Health, Reproductive Efficiency, Economy of Milk Production, and Other Related Responses of the Dairy Cow

Abstract

An increasing supply of grain at lower prices has en- couraged dairymen to feed more concentrates to cows bred for high production. Some dairymen have experienced phenomenal changes in levels of production resulting from liberal grain feeding, but most of these were due to a change from low to moderate, or from moderate to high rates of grain feeding. Many such situations involved in- dividual cows of exceptional appetite and unusual toler- ance to digestive stress, as well as special catering by an expert dairyman.