Comparision of effective of conventional ration and total mixed ration (TMR) for dairy cattle

Dairy farming has always been a primary important branch of cattle breeding in our country. Dairy farming is considered to be the essential direction of the strategy of agricultural development in the country of Lithuania. Dairy production made 23% of total agricultural production during the year of 2006. Milk and dairy production is produced by more than 180 thousands of agricultural subjects. About 50% of produced milk has been exported recently. It explains why economical efficiency of the production is especially important. Despite the fact that an average milk production per cow has been increasing recently, but it remains among the lowest ones in the EU. During the year of 2006 an average milk production per cow made 4484 kg of milk, 13% more than in 2000. It should be stated that our country is distinguished by quite favorable conditions for dairy farming. The cattle bred in the country are adjusted to the existing forage basis and the potential of their genetic productivity is rather high. Nevertheless, the higher requirements caused by the competition on the inner and foreign market force to seek for the more efficient development of dairy farming. About 60% of expenditure in milk production is spent on forage. That is why costs of forage production, quality and nutritional value mainly determine milk production economy. In order to decrease milk production costs it is primarily important to reach high conversion of forage nutritional substances. For more effective use of forages and getting higher production with the same resources seems to be quite useful the application of various methods of forage production and feeding technologies. In order to improve feeding technologies of high productive dairy cows the research of new, progressive forage preparation technologies may serve such a method as feeding of cows mixed rations. Ordinary daily rations of cows mainly consists of forage distinguished by different physical, mechanical and chemical properties. Such variety of forages is quite favorable for the formation of effective daily rations, but feeding each forage separately requires more labour expenditure. In this case the problems arise in the process of mechanization, that's why preparation of mixed rations seems to give better possibilities for the mechanization of the forage preparation. The aim of the research - to define the effect of the feeding of dairy cows roughage rations on their productivity, physiological state and economical parameters. The tasks of the research - to define the effect of feeding technologies on: forage intake; milk production and quality; forage OM digestibility in vitro; biochemical parameters of blood; economical effect. Novelty of the research - the effect of different feeding technologies - when forages were given as separate components and as the mixture of all components-on dairy cows' productivity, physiological state and economical parameters has been studied complexically for the first time. Practical importance of the research- the results of the research led to the conclusion that it seems economically purposeful to feed dairy cows roughage mixtures, which made 85.6 % of all daily ration while preparing and sharing them out by a mixer-divider \"OptiMix\", as this feeding technology serves to decrease feeding expenditure and to increase milk production Conclusions: 1. Forage intake increased by 2.5% when dairy cows were fed the forage mixture prepared and shared by the van-mixer “OptiMixTM” than giving these components separately; 2. When cows were fed the mixture of roughage ration which made 85.6% of daily ration, milk production of 4% fatness increased respectively 2.5% than when daily ration forages were given as separate components; 3. Different feeding technologies had no effect on milk fatness, the amount of protein, lactose and urea as well as on the somatic cell count; 4. When dairy cows were fed the mixture of roughage ration, OM digestibility of all the forages (hay, silage and grass) investigated in vitro differed inconsiderably if to compare to the cows, fed separate components of daily ration; 5. Different feeding technologies - when forages were given as separate components and as the mixture of all components - had no effect on the biochemical parameters in the blood of these cows; 6. When dairy cows were fed the mixture of roughage ration prepared and shared by the van-mixer \"OptiMixTM\" prime milk cost in the experiment I was 4.5%, lower than in case of feeding separate components of daily ration