Improving the nutritive value of wheat straw with urea and yeast culture for dry season feeding of dairy cows

The study evaluated the effects of feeding urea treated/supplemented wheat straw-based diets with addition of yeast culture (YC) as a dry season feed for dairy cows. Wheat straw diets with 3.6% urea and 5.8% molasses were formulated to upgrade nonprotein nitrogen levels and fibre degradation in the rumen. Yeast culture was included at 0 and 10 g/cow/day in mixer with commercial dairy meal to improve on fibre degradation and milk yield. Two experiments were conducted. Firstly, an in sacco dry matter degradability (DMD) trial with three steers in a completely randomized design (CRD) with a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement to determine the effects on intake and rumen degradation parameters. Secondly, feeding trial with 18 lactating cows in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement at two levels of yeast culture (0 and 10 g/cow/day) and three types of urea interventions: No intervention (WS); addition of urea to straw at the time of feeding (USWS); and 7 days incubation of straw with urea (UTWS). Yeast cultures addition had no effect on rumen pH and NH3-N, but urea intervention showed an effect on rumen pH with USWS being lowest (p < 0.05). Both urea interventions and yeast culture addition had no effect (p > 0.05) on dry matter intake, milk yield, and milk composition but they increased (p < 0.05) propionate yields.