Effect of monensin on milk production efficiency and milk composition in lactating dairy cows fed modern diets

Since the US Food and Drug Administration's approval of monensin in 2004, significant nutritional advances have been made to increase feed efficiency and milk fat production. Recent evidence suggests monensin's adverse effect on milk fat percentage may be absent when diets are formulated to address known diet-induced milk fat depression risk factors. Thus, study objectives were to evaluate effects of monensin level on dry matter intake (DMI), milk production and composition, and efficiency of high-producing cows fed diets formulated to optimize milk fat. Ninety-six lactating Holstein cows (36 primiparous, 60 multiparous; 106 ± 17 d in milk [DIM]) were balanced by parity, DIM, and milk production and were randomly assigned to 1 of 12 pens with 8 cows per pen. All cows received 11 g/t monensin for 5 wk after which pens received 1 of 4 dietary treatments (n = 3) formulated to provide 0 (CON), 11 (R11), 14.5 (R14.5), or 18 (R18) g/t monensin for 9 wk. The basal diet was 54% forage, 27% NDF, 29% starch, and 2.3% rumen unsaturated fatty acid load. Pen was the experimental unit and data were analyzed using the Fit Model Procedure of JMP. Effects of treatment, time, and treatment × time interaction were included as fixed effects and pen as a random effect. Least squares means were determined and linear and quadratic contrasts were tested. Dry matter intake tended to decrease linearly with increasing monensin dose. Milk yield, fat percentage, and protein percentage and yield were unaffected by treatment while fat yield was quadratically increased. Milk de novo and mixed fatty acid (FA) yields (g/d) increased quadratically with monensin whereas preformed FA linearly decreased during the experimental period. Energy-corrected milk (ECM) was quadratically increased by monensin. Milk urea nitrogen concentrations increased linearly with increasing monensin dose. Monensin linearly increased feed efficiency (ECM/DMI, 3.5% fat-corrected milk/DMI, and solids-corrected milk/DMI). Body weight gain did not differ between treatments. Estimated dietary energy tended to increase linearly with increasing monensin level. These data suggest monensin improves component-corrected milk production efficiency, estimated dietary energy, and does not negatively affect milk fat percentage or FA profile.