THE EFFICIENCY OF THE REPLACEMENT OF PROTEIN MEAL BY DDGS - DRIED DISTILLER GRAINS WITH SOLUBLES IN THE RATION FOR DAIRY COWS DURING EARLY LACTATION

Tadeusz Szulc¹, Andrzej Zachwieja², Monika Demkowicz¹, Irmina Newlacil¹, Ewa Pecka^1
1 Institute of Animal Breeding, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
² Institute of Animal Breeding, Faculty of Biology and Animal Science, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Science, Poland

ABSTRACT

The efficiency of the replacement of extracted soybean meal and rapeseed meal in the ration for dairy cows during early lactation with dried maize grain with solubles (DDGS) and its impact on performance, composition and physical characteristics of milk was determined. The study was conducted on 78 Polish Holstein-Friesian cows of Red-White variety with an average yield on a level of above 7000 kg of milk. In this study respectively: in group I – 0.5 kg extracted soybean meal and in group II – 1 kg rapeseed meal was replaced by 1 kg DDGS. An introduction of maize DDGS resulted in an increased productivity of dairy cows in the first group in the first month of study by 2.4 kg, reduced share of the milk fat and increased share of protein in milk, while in group II there was an increase in productivity by 1.95 and 1.86 kg in subsequent months. It also resulted in a significant increase of serum albumin, β-casein and α-lactalbumin level in milk from cows in I group, whereas a significant decrease in the level of those protein fraction was noticed in milk from group II. There were no changes in the physical characteristics of milk .

Key words: DDGS - dried distiller grains, dairy cows, milk production .

INTRODUCTION

The production of bioethanol from cereals is combined with alcohol-distilling drought demand on the market. In bioethanol production mainly maize is used. An acreage of crops intended for the manufacturing of spirits grew tripled in 2001-2005 and is still constantly growing. Dried distillers grain is a by-product of bioethanol production and with the addition of solubles it is known as DDGS. It contains remnants of cereal grains, yeast which are a source of valuable vitamins, non-fermentative protein, fat and fiber, which are three times more concentrated than in raw corn grain [1,10,12,13,25].

The value of DDGS depends on the quality of grain, the course of fermentation and the proportion of distillers grains and soluble, and the course of drying. Dairy cows  more likely eat DDGS of a bright, golden colour dried at lower temperatures [27].

Corn DDGS usually contains from 23.5 to 35.3% crude protein [12]. It is a protein that only in a part – from 47 to 69% is degraded in the rumen [9]. Limiting amino acid in DDGS is lysine. The energy content is about 2.25 Mcal/kg [22], as a result of participation of fat – about 10% of the dry matter protein and high digestible fiber (40% NDF and 10% crude fiber in dry matter) [2,3], which reduces the risk of acidosis. Due to the high fragmentation, DDGS is not a good source of physically effective fiber (peNDF) [10].

Dried corn distillers grain is characterized by high content of unsaturated fatty acids – up to 80% of FA, and has a high content of linoleic acid – 54% [27].

The microorganisms produce phytase in the process of alcoholic fermentation that increases the availability of phosphorus in a distillers grain nearly twice as compared to the base material [4], that allows to reduce a consumption of phosphates and reduces an excretion of P to the environment.

It has been reported in numerous experiments that the use of DDGS in the diet of dairy cows increases milk yield and causes the changes in the composition of milk [11].

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was conducted on 78  Polish Holstein-Friesian cows of Red- White variety in the herd of 400 cows with an annual milk yield exceeding 7000 kg per cow. Animals for this study were selected on the basis of analogues regarding an age, stage of lactation and milk yield in the last recording. Selected cows (second and third month of lactation) were divided into three dietary groups – 26 cows in each. Cows were fed with a  TMR composed of: corn silage 57.1%, alfalfa silage 28.6%, spent grains 14.3% (Table 1). Cows with yield higher than 16 kg of milk received one kilogram of concentrate for each additional 2 kg of milk, and in the first months of lactation cows received an addition of 1 kg of extracted soybean meal and 1 kg of rapeseed meal. During the study, for 2 months, the cows received additionally:
Group I – 0.5 kg extracted soybean meal was replaced by 1 kg DDGS,
Group II – 1 kg of rapeseed meal was replaced by 1 kg DDGS,
Group III – control group receiving 1 kg of extracted soybean meal and 1 kg of rapeseed meal. The yield of dairy cows in  milk control trial before this study was as follows: Group l – 32.62 kilograms, Group II 32.07 kilograms, Group III – 32.44 kilograms.

Table 1. Chemical composition of forage for dairy cows:

	Corn silage	Alfalfa silage	Rapeseed meal	Concentrate	DDGS*
Dry matter (%)	31.5	23.0	89.4	88.5	93.3
Protein (%)	7.7	11.8	33.0	17.3	24.3
Ash (%)	3.5	10.1	9.86	3.2	5.3
Fiber (%)	18.3	24.6		7.2	7.5
Fat (%)				2.4	10.5
Share of grains (%)	48.8

*DDGS – dried distiller grains with solubles

The control of milk yield was performed once a month and milk samples were collected for analysis. Following components were determined in milk: total protein, fat, lactose and solids using a Milko-Scan apparatus 133b ASN-FOSS Electric, casein content by Walker method (PN-68/A-86122), the active acidity using pehametr, potential acidity by Soxhlet-Henkel method (according to Polish Standard PN-68/A-86122), thermostability by alcohol test (PN-68/A-86122), mass density by Lactometer, somatic cells count (SCC) by flow cytometry apparatus Somacount 150 Bentley, total bacteria count (TBC) using flow cytometry device Bactocount 80 Bentley, urea content on AA II Bran + Luebbe analyzer, resistance using Dramiński device.

The relative proportion of the casein protein fractions (alpha-casein, beta-casein and kappa-casein) was determined according to the electrophoretic method described by Laemmli [14] on polyacrylamide gel in the presence of SDS composed of 12% of separating gel and 4% of condensing gel. Before separation milk samples were defatted by centrifugation, and an excess of salt was removed via dialysis in special viscose tubes (Visking Tubes). Before the separation, protein included in samples was denaturated by an addition of 2% of SDS and incubated in a temperature of 100°C for 5 minutes. In order to break disulphide bonds, reducing agent, i.e. 5% mercaphoethanol and 0.0625 M buffer of pH 6.75, was added to samples. To increase density of samples, glycerol (19%) was added, and bromphenol blue (0.25%) was introduced to obtain a colour. Directly before putting on a gel, sample was centrifuged in order to remove all insoluble impurities. Qualitative analyses of protein separation was done according to Kim and Jimnez-Flores [8]. Quantitative participation of analysed fractions on scanned electrophoretic picture, based on particles detection, was determined using Bio1D software (Viber Lourmat, France). Production of casein fraction (in g/l) in cows milk was calculated as a quotient of their content determined in an electrophoretogram and a content of casein in milk.

The results were statistically analyzed. Significance of differences between groups were evaluated by analysis of variance with Duncan's test, using Statistica 6.1.

RESULTS

It was found as a result of the present study that the introduction of DDGS to the feed for dairy cows resulted in a marked increase of milk yield, although this difference was not confirmed statistically. The replacement of 0.5 kilograms of extracted soybean meal with 1 kg of DDGS in the first group resulted in an increased productivity of milk by 2.4 kg per day in the first month as compared to the control group. Analogically, the replacement of 1 kg of rapeseed meal with 1 kg DDGS in group II resulted in an increased productivity of milk by 1.95 kilograms in the first month and by 1.86 kg in the second month (Table 2). This indicates that the addition of DDGS not only replaced the eliminated part of these feeds, but also had a stimulating effect on the performance of dairy cows. It should be noted that these positive changes occurred in cows with a high daily milk yield, which are in the first period of lactation.

Table 2. Milk yield and composition in subsequent control milkings

Specification	Milking
	I month						II month
	Group						Group
	I		II		III		I		II		III
		sd		sd		sd		sd		sd		sd
Yield, kg	34.65	5.80	34.20	5.25	32.25	6.32	32.54	5.43	34.36	5.23	32.50	7.41
Dry matter, %	13.06	1.10	13.49	1.20	13.68	1.03	12.94	1.22	13.47	1.46	13.38	1.16
Fat, %	4.41b	0.96	4.91a	1.00	5.06a	1.02	4.28	1.03	4.90	1.24	4.76	1.12
Protein, %	3.14	0.23	3.14	0.26	3.10	0.26	3.20	0.23	3.22	0.31	3.15	0.27
Casein, %	2.42	0.25	2.40	0.26	2.40	0.28	2.45	0.27	2.42	0.29	2.33	0.22
Lactose, %	4.91	0.28	4.85	0.15	4.96	0.28	4.86	0.31	4.74b	0.17	4.87a	0.17
Urea, mg ˇl -1	247.17	73.82	261.19	81.94	270.41	72.41	277.10	63.87	278.98	56.35	261.71	73.63
Serum albumin	5.29	1.15	4.75	0.79	4.88	0.79	8.13A	0.45	5.90B	1.37	6.54B	1.43
α-casein, %	6.86B	0.81	6.80	1.41	7.63A	0.68	8.09	1.53	8.74A	1.15	7.58B	0.89
β-casein, %	3.93	1.09	3.44	0.87	3.77	0.91	5.67A	0.92	4.18B	0.90	4.21B	0.54
κ-casein, %	3.32	0.80	3.07	0.19	3.33	0.84	3.54	0.85	3.28B	0.71	3.86A	0.76
α-lactalbumin,%	4.81	1.44	4.43	1.20	4.10	0.91	6.23A	0.58	3.37B	1.13	5.88A	1.26

a, b – the values indicated by common letters showed significant differences at a specified month at p ≤ 0.05 A, B – the values indicated by capital letters showed significant differences at a specified month at p ≤ 0.01 Group I – 0.5 kg extracted soybean meal was replaced by 1 kg DDGS Group II – 1 kg of rapeseed meal was replaced by 1 kg DDGS Group III – control group receiving 1 kg of extracted soybean meal and 1 kg of rapeseed meal

In the present study, the replacement of extracted soybean meal by DDGS in the second control milking caused a statistically significant decrease in lactose content – from 4.87% to 4.74%, while casein content in all groups remained on the same level.

The milk composition changed between the groups. The highest fat content in milk was in the case of cows in the control group – 5.06%, and the lowest in the group, in which the part of the extracted soybean meal was replaced with DDGS – 4.41%. In both experimental groups there was a slight increase in milk proteins comparing to the control group: group I and II: 3.14% and 3.14%, respectively, in the first milking, the control group 3.10% and 3.20% and 3.22% to 3.15%.

The analysis of milk proteins showed that the addition of DDGS for cows in group I resulted in a statistically significant increase (mainly in the second month of feeding), in participation of serum albumin, β-casein and α-lactalbumin level, in relation to the control group. However, there was a reduction of α-casein and κ-casein level. In turn, in the second group (in the second month of the study) the significant reduction in all tested fractions, except of α-casein level, was noticed.

Somatic cell count, except the group in which the extracted rapeseed meal was replaced by DDGS, was close to normal. However, a very high standard deviation attracts an attention and indicates that their participation in some cows could be due to a subclinical state of  acidosis, ketosis or mechanical irritation, as the share of bacteria in milk did not point the inflammation of mammary gland.

Table 3. Chemico-physical and bacteriological characteristic of milk in subsequent control milkings

Specification	Milking
	I month						II month
	Group						Group
	I		II		III		I		II		III
	x	sd	x	sd	x	sd	x	sd	x	sd	x	sd
TBC*, x1000	164.73	167.37	237.00	515.04	239.73	194.27	390.12	403.61	291.62	260.06	345.80	329.27
SCC*, x1000	558.73	1453.85	205.58	555.45	157.62	235.50	407.88	1120.34	447.42	624.64	394.92	1184.21
Acidity, oSH	8.42	1.06	8.56	0.95	8.54	1.14	7.00	0.61	6.94	0.67	6.87	0.66
Acidity, pH	6.62	0.09	6.63	0.06	6.63	0.05	6.68	0.01	6.66	0.07	6.69	0.05
Thermostability, ml	3.70	1.44	3.84	1.59	3.76	1.35	5.12	1.35	4.94	1.28	4.83	0.89
Coagulability, min	6.20	3.32	6.35	2.26	5.58	1.63	5.65	1.72	7.31	3.53	7.20	3.56
Resistance, Ω	466.15b	38.17	476.54	48.25	498.08a	42.14	604.40a	51.89	592.69Bb	49.95	635.00Aa	38.39
Density, g x cm -3	1.030	0.002	1.030	0.001	1.030	0.002	1.031a	0.002	1.030Bb	0.002	1.032Aa	0.002

*TBC – total bacterial count *SCC – somatic cell count a, b – the values indicated by common letters showed significant differences at a specified month at p ≤ 0.05 A, B – the values indicated by capital letters showed significant differences at a specified month at p ≤ 0.01 Group I – 0.5 kg extracted soybean meal was replaced by 1 kg DDGS Group II – 1 kg of rapeseed meal was replaced by 1 kg DDGS Group III – control group receiving 1 kg of extracted soybean meal and 1 kg of rapeseed meal

Physical characteristics of milk (Table 3) did not change under the influence of additives and were within the normal range. Only the acidity in °SH in the first month of the study exceeded the allowable limit, which may indicate a subclinical state of acidosis which may occur in cows with the highest milk yield.

The results obtained, except the fat content in milk and electric resistance of the milk, were not confirmed statistically.

DISCUSSION

The results of this study indicate that the addition of DDGS replaced the eliminated part of extracted soybean and rapeseed meal and also had a stimulating effect on the performance of dairy cow. Similar results were obtained by Powers et al. [20], who also reported an increase in average milk yield by 0.75 kg. Kleinschmit et al. [11] in studies using DDGS in the diet of dairy cows obtained a productivity increased by 3.8 kg as compared to the control group. In the experiment, the authors noted a slight decrease in the percentage of protein, however, they suggested that this could have been due to a wrong balance of  dose in terms of lysine demand. In subsequent studies, which consisted of both multiparous and pimaparous cows, Kleinschmit et al. [10] reported an increase in milk yield by 1.9 kg and a tendency to increase the protein in milk.

Grings et al. [6] reported an increase in milk yield from 2.4 to 4.2 kg, depending on the participation of DDGS in the ration. Participation of protein in milk increased from 0.03 to 0.17%. The level of lactose was even in all groups, while the level of casein increased only in groups where the DDGS supplement was the highest (20.8 and 31.6% dry weight dose of food). In the present study, the replacement of extracted soybean meal by DDGS in the second control milking caused a statistically significant decrease in lactose content – from 4.87% to 4.74%, while casein content in all groups remained on the same level. In this study, the replacement of extracted soybean meal by DDGS in second milking caused a statistically significant decrease in lactose content, while casein content in all groups remained on the same level.

In the present study, the fat content in milk was the lowest in the group where the part of the extracted soybean meal was replaced with DDGS. It should be noted that this took place with  a very high share of fat in the milk of cows in the herd. Having in mind  the lower preference of  the dairy industry as regards the amount of fat in milk, the change recorded should be considered as advantageous one. Similar results were noted by Kleinschmit et al. [11], who found a decrease in fat content by 0.16% to 0.02%.

The analysis of milk proteins, changes of α-casein, β-casein and κ-casein level caused by the addition of DDGS for indicate that the addition of DDGS may also affect the consumption quality and suitability for processing.

In present study, a very high standard deviation in somatic cell count was noticed, which indicates that their participation in some cows could be due to a subclinical state of  acidosis, ketosis or mechanical irritation, as the share of bacteria in milk did not point the inflammation of mammary gland. In a study conducted by Sasikala-Appukuttan et al. [21] on 10 multiparous and 5 primaparous cows with 18.5% dose of DDGS addition, a slight increase in number of somatic cell was also demonstrated but the result was not confirmed statistically.

CONCLUSION

The replacement of 50% of extracted soybean meal with DDGS, as well as the replacement of 100% of rapeseed meal by DDGS in a ration for high-yelding dairy cows resulted in an increased productivity of dairy cows by 2.4 and 1.95 kilograms of milk per day in the first month of research. In the second month of the study, no increase in productivity in the first group was noted, while the second group continued to increase at a similar level of 1.86 kilograms of milk per day. In the first group there was a statistically significant reduction in the participation of fat in milk. In two consecutive months there was a slight increase of protein content. The physical characteristics of milk remained within normal limits, and increased acidity °SH of the first review should apply to all tested cows.

It can be concluded that the addition of DDGS indicates its particularly cost-effective use in high-performance dairy cows. DDGS can successfully replace 50% of extracted soybean meal and 100% of rapeseed meal. The result of the replacement of extracted soybean meal and rapeseed meal was the additional milk production while maintaining the proper physical and chemical parameters and an unchanged value of milk processing. The addition of DDGS  allowed a better exploitation of production potential of cows and improve the profitability of milk production.

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Accepted for print: 8.03.2011

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Tadeusz Szulc
Institute of Animal Breeding,
Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
Chełmońskiego 38C, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland
phone: 71 320 57 62
email: tadeusz.szulc@up.wroc.pl

Andrzej Zachwieja
Institute of Animal Breeding, Faculty of Biology and Animal Science, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Science, Poland
Chełmońskiego 38 C
51-630 Wrocław, Poland
Phone +48 71 32-05-765
fax: +48 71 32-05-765
email: andrzej.zachwieja@up.wroc.pl

Monika Demkowicz
Institute of Animal Breeding,
Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
Chełmońskiego 38C, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland
phone: 71 320 57 67
email: demkowicz.monika@gmail.com

Irmina Newlacil
Institute of Animal Breeding,
Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
Chełmońskiego 38C, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland
phone: 71 320 57 67
email: irmina.newlacil@gmail.com

Ewa Pecka
Institute of Animal Breeding,
Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
Chełmońskiego 38C, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland
phone: 71 320 59 25
email: pecka.ewa@gmail.com

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