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The prediction of methane production in dairy and beef cattle offered grass silage-based diets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

T. Yan
Affiliation:
The Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co Down BT26 6DR, UK
R. E. Agnew
Affiliation:
The Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co Down BT26 6DR, UK
F. J. Gordon
Affiliation:
The Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co Down BT26 6DR, UK
M. G. Porter
Affiliation:
The Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co Down BT26 6DR, UK
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Extract

A number of equations for predicting methane energy output (CH4-E) in ruminants have been published since 1930. However the data used to develop these equations were collected from diets containing mainly dried or high dry matter (DM) forages, rather than low DM heavily fermented grass silages. Since 1992 a number of calorimetric studies have been carried out with growing and lactating cattle offered grass-silage based diets at the Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland. The objective of the present study was to use these data to develop new relationships between CH4-E output and animal and dietary factors.

Type
Programme
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 1999

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References

Agricultural and Food Research Council. 1990. Technical Committee on Responses to Nutrients, Report No 5, Nutritive Requirements of Ruminant Animals: Energy. Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews (Series B) 60: 729804.Google Scholar