LEAFLET NO. 53 MAY 1957 PEANUT 'HAY MILKING COWS GEORGE E. HAWKINS, Associate Dairy I-Iusbandman K. M. AUTREY, H4ead, Dairy H4usbandry Department 1T 0 ADEFQUATELY FELI) their cows. Alabanui ilairvimen must suppix hax or silage duriing 4 to 6 months of the sear. This stored forage is necessary during peiiods of adsverse weather wxheni pas tures are not productixve. Peanut Lax usually is av ailab~le III souther n andi central Alabamna at abo~i ut h alf the cost of good alfalfa hax. Thus, farmers must decide wxhether to use fpeanuit hay from nearlby sources or to b~uy other, more expensive hasy. Peanut hayv is av ailable oil many fai ms and wviil bec used regardless of cost of other hay. Usually, p~eanut hay is chopped or rrol)d and molasses is added before it is fed. This increases the cost, and re- search results have showsn thait grinding often lowers the xvalue of has' for milk production. The test reportedl in this leaflet wxas made to (1) determine the xvalue of peanut has' for milk production, andi (2) learni the effects of (giinding and molassifying fpeantit has' onl amounit of has' wxasted and o(nm milk prodiictio(n. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The experirnent insvnixed a dligestioni tr ial wxithm steeirs andit feediner trial xwith mnilking' cosss. Ria tinus studied xxith coxs w xere: (1) coairsely gr'oundi U.S. Ni). I alfalfa hax plus concentrate, (2) longy peanlut Lix plus concenitrate, ()long peanut ha' plus 12 12 per cent molasses pills Coc'ientrate, (4) ground pe'anuit has' plus conce('(ntraite, and (5) grouind peanut hay plus 1212- p~er cent molasses plus conicenitrate. Before the AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION aijih ALABAMA POLYTECHNIC F. V. Smith, Director I N STIT UT E Auburn, Alabama test began, all cows were fed the same ration. The concentrate mixture included two parts ground shelled corn, two parts citrus pulp and one part cotton- seed meal (41 per cent protein grade), plus 1 per cent salt. The cows were fed about 1 pound of concentrate for each 3 pounds of milk produced. RESULTS and DISCUSSION Results of the digestion trials and chemical analyses are given in Table 1. Ground peanut hay was about equal to alfalfa hay on the basis of total digesti- ble nutrients (TDN). The TDN value for peanut hay with molasses added was 51 per cent, slightly less than the values for alfalfa hay or plain peanut hay. Alfalfa hay fed in this study had about 10 per cent digestible protein as compared with 6 to 7 per cent in the peanut hay. Crude fiber content of the alfalfa hay was relatively high showing that it was more mature than desired. Cows on some rations were produc- ing at higher levels at the beginning of the test than cows on other rations, Table 2. The important thing to note is the rate of change in milk flow during the experimental period. There were no significant differences between the ra- tions on the basis of change in milk pro- duction during the 5-week test, Table 2. A study of the feed intake on the different rations showed that the TDN was used more efficiently in long pea- nut hay than when the peanut hay was ground or when molasses was added. This is in line with other research work showing that grinding hay, as well as adding molasses, may reduce the di- gestibility of certain nutrients in hay. However, some of this difference in ef- ficiency may have resulted from selec- TABLE 1. CHEMICAL ANALYSES AND DIGESTIBILITY OF FEEDS USED IN EXPERIMENT Feed Dry Total digestible Digestible Crude matter 1 nutrients (TDN) 2 protein protein' Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Concentrate 91 74 11 16 Alfalfa hay' 90 53 10 14 Peanut hay' 91 54 7 11 Peanut hay' with molasses 5 89 51 6 9 1 Usually barn dry hay or grain has about 88 to 90 per cent dry matter. ' Per cent TDN means that percentage of feed that a cow can use for growth, body maintenance, or milk production. ' Crude protein is the total amount of protein equivalent, such as is shown on a com- mercial feed tag. SGround to pass /-inch mesh screen. ' 12.5 per cent molasses. TABLE 2. AVERAGE DAILY MILK PRODUCTION DURING STANDARDIZATION AND TEST PERIODS Average daily milk production per cow Duiriny ex erimnti Ration Alfalfa hay Long peanut hay Long peanut hay with molasses Ground peanut hay Ground peanut hay with molasses Before JL - experiment 1 1st 2nd 3rd 4th week week week week Lb. Lb. Lb. Lb. Lb. 31 30 31 80 28 29 28 29 28 27 24 23 23 23 23 81 32 32 31 29 23 23 23 22 20 5th Av- week erage Lb. Lb. 28 29 26 28 21 23 28 30 21 22 1 Before being placed on the test rations, all the cows were fed alfalfa hay free choice plus enough concentrate to supply the feed needed for milk production. I IIlr ~-- rll I 11~-- tles.L . TABLE 3. PROPORTION OF HAY FED THAT WAS REFUSED BY COWS ON EACH RATION Ration Hay refused Per cent Alfalfa hay 5 Long peanut hay 22 Long peanut hay with molasses 23 Ground peanut hay 21 Ground peanut hay with molasses 1 tive eating of leaves peanut hay. on the unground There were no important changes in body weight on the different rations. Perhaps the most important informa- tion gained from this study was on the amount of hay refused when fed in different forms. Cows fed alfalfa hay and those fed ground peanut hay with molasses added had the lowest rate of refusal, less than 5 per cent of the hay fed, Table 3. However, regardless of whether molasses was added, most of the refused long peanut hay was peanut vine stems, corn stalks, dirt, and other debris. Considering that 20 to 23 per cent of the long peanut hay was re- fused, nearly 11/4 tons of long peanut hay was needed to supply the same amount of nutrients as 1 ton of ground peanut hay or ground peanut hay with molasses added. This should be consi- dered in deciding whether to grind hay and add molasses. This experiment showed that peanut hay had less digestible protein than alfalfa hay. Therefore, in feeding pea- nut hay, dairymen usually will need to add cottonseed meal, or a similar pro- tein supplement, so that the concentrate mixture will have about 16 per cent crude protein. The main advantage in feeding alfalfa hay lies in the fact that the concentrate ration can be made chiefly from farm grains with little or no protein supplement. SUMMARY The total digestible nutrient (TDN) content of peanut hay with and without molasses added was similar to that of alfalfa hay. Digestible protein content of peanut hay with and without mo- lasses was 6 and 7 per cent, respec- tively, as compared with 10 per cent for alfalfa. Levels of milk production were simi- lar for cows fed peanut haywith these treatments: (1) long, (2) ground, (3) molasses added, and (4) ground and molasses added. The percentage of alfalfa hay refused by the cows was less than for long pea- nut hay. Neither adding molasses nor grinding alone reduced the percentage refusal of the peanut hay fed. A com- bination of adding molasses and grind- ing peanut hay significantly reduced the refusal percentage. These results indicate that when long peanut hay costs $20 per ton, ground hay with mo- lasses added is worth about $25 per ton. Results of this study indicate that good peanut hay is equal to good al- falfa hay as a source of energy for milking cows. The quality of peanut hay is highly variable and usually it is lower in protein content than alfalfa. Therefore, most peanut hay should be fed with a concentrate mixture contain- ing approximately 16 per cent crude protein. On the other hand, farm grains make a satisfactory concentrate supple- ment to alfalfa hay, except for high- producing cows. There were no consistent advantages gained by grinding or adding molasses to peanut hay. Apparently, the total cost of consumed nutrients, including the extra protein needed to supplement peanut hay, should be the basis for deciding whether to feed peanut hay and whether to add molasses and/or grind the peanut hay.