NEW DAIRY RESEARCH SHOWS RUMEN CONDITIONER PLUS YEAST MORE BENEFICIAL THAN YEAST ALONE

3 June 2015Adding a rumen conditioner and yeast to dairy rations can produce gains that exceed those achieved by the yeast alone, according to new research from Schothorst Feed Research (SFR) in the Netherlands. Compared to yeast only, the combination treatment substantially reduced the time rumen pH was below the point at which fibre digestion is compromised (50 vs. 87 mins below pH 5.8) and significantly increased the proportion of acetate (63.0 vs. 61.4%) and butyrate (13.6 vs. 12.8%) volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the rumen. “The result was a 4% rise in milk fat production from 1.