Supplemental dietary fat and ruminally protected amino acids for lactating Jersey cows

Eight Jersey cows receiving a 50:50 ratio of forage to concentrate on a DM basis were used in a replicated 4 x 4 Latin square design to determine the effects of added fat (3.4% of dietary DM) and ruminally protected AA (8 g of Met and 24 g of Lys daily) on yield and composition of milk. Treatments were 1) basal control, 2) added fat, 3) added AA, and 4) fat plus AA. Compared with no added fat, fat supplementation increased 4% FCM yield (24.7 vs. 23.0 kg/d) and milk fat yield (1.05 vs. .97 kg), depressed milk protein content (3.58 vs. 3.74%), and altered fatty acid composition of milk. Blood triglyceride and NEFA were elevated (34.4 vs. 29.5 mg/dl and 175.1 vs. 143.7 microeq/L, respectively) by added fat. Supplementation with AA elevated blood Lys, Met, and urea N without increasing milk protein yield. Increase in blood NEFA was further augmented by fat plus AA supplementation, but no changes in concentrations of Lys or Met in blood were found. Addition of AA did not alleviate the depression of milk protein content when supplemental fat was added to the diet for Jersey cows.