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Main page > Research and Trials > Ruminants > The effects of Progut® on the performance of dairy cows
Objective The objective of the trials was to study the effect of Progut® on the milk production of dairy cows. Trials at Helsinki University In the first trial a special energy supplement (Acetona™) with or without Progut addition was fed to dairy cows two weeks pre- and 8 weeks post-calving. The cows were getting 1 kg of Acetona daily, giving 20 grams of Progut per cow per day. There were 12 cows in the control group and 12 cows in the trial group (second or > calving). Progut® in the dairy cow diet increased the energy corrected milk yield (ECM kg/d) by 5.3 % during the first 8 weeks of lactation (table 1). It also increased the % fat and fat production g/day. The percentage of protein was decreased slightly but due to higher milk volume the production of protein g/day did not change. Progut® improved energy utilisation by 6.5%. Table 1. The effect of the diet on the milk production of dairy cows. Helsinki University.
ECM = energy corrected milk yield, DMI = dry matter intake In the second trial a special energy supplement with or without Progut® addition was fed to dairy cows two weeks pre- and 8 weeks post- calving. The inclusion of Progut was 20 grams per cow per day two weeks pre-calving and 10 grams per cow per day 8 weeks post-calving. It should be noted however, that in this trial also the raw material composition of the energy supplement differed in the control and trial treatments. There were 12 cows in the control group and 12 cows in the trial group The energy corrected milk yield (ECM kg/d) of the trial group was 6.9 % higher than the control (table 2). Fat and protein production was also higher but the % fat and % protein was slightly decreased. The energy utilization in the trial group was better than in the control. Table 2. The effect of the diet on the milk production of dairy cows. Helsinki University.
Effects on immunity: Progut® increased the IgA content of the colostrum by 35 - 60 % (figure 1). In the successive calf trial it was seen that the IgA content of the colostrum had a significant positive correlation with the growth of the calves (figure 2). The dams seemed to recover faster from the calving stress, which can be seen in the serum IgA “recovery” rate (figure 3). The rise started at week four and at week eight the serum IgA was already 81% of the pre-trial level, whereas in the control it was only 52% (p=0,099). Figure 1. The effect of the diet on the colostrum IgA content of dairy cows
Figure 2. The effect of the colostrum IgA content on the growth of the calves between weeks 3 and 5
Figure 3. The effect of the diet on the serum IgA content of dairy cows around calving
The effect of hydrolysed brewery yeast (Progut) on the performance of dairy cows. Farm tests in Finland 2006-2007.Objective The objective of the trial was to study the effect of hydrolysed brewery yeast Progut on the milk, protein and fat yield of dairy cows. Material and methods The tests were carried out at Finnish dairy farms between 2006 and 2007. The average milk production of the farms varied from 8500 to 12000 kg per cow and year. Test-day milk records were collected from 22 farms before and after introduction of the hydrolysed brewery yeast (Progut) in the diet. The control period varied between 6 and 12 months and the test period with Progut addition ranged from three to 12 months. In total the analysed data consisted of 5846 milk yield observations from 714 cows. The data concerning milk fat and protein was somewhat smaller, including 1398 observations from 10 farms and 351 cows. Milk fat and protein was also analysed from the tank milk. The individual observations were grouped using months-in-milk as a grouping factor. The number of calving, farm and cow were included into the statistical analysis. Progut was mixed either in a compound feed or in a half-concentrate that was fed in combination with grains (barley, wheat or oats). The daily dose varied in different lactation phases from 7 to 18 grams per cow being on average about 10 grams. The basic roughage was grass silage. Results Hydrolysed brewery yeast (Progut) improved milk yield throughout the whole test period of 10 months, on average 1.8 kg per cow and day (figure 1 and table 1). According to analyse of variance the effect on milk yield was statistically highly significant (p < 0.001). The average improvement was 545 kg per cow and year when calculated to 305 days lactation period. The difference in milk yield between control and Progut groups remained the same during the whole lactation. In other words it seems that the effect of Progut on milk yield is quite similar in early lactation with high concentrate diets as in late lactation with high silage diets. According to the literature the same has not been seen with live yeast products that have been effective mainly in early lactation. Figure 1. The effect of Progut on the milk yield (kg/cow/day)
Table 1. The effect of Progut on the milk yield (kg/cow/day)
Typically protein and fat content of the milk are decreased when the milk yield is increased. However, in this farm survey Progut increased the % fat (p < 0.05), mainly in the end of the lactation period (figure 2) while the % protein remained almost the same (figure 3). Based on the tank milk analysis Progut increased the % fat by 0.068 % units (p< 0.05) and decreased the % protein by 0.048 % units (p< 0.01). Due to increased milk yield and milk fat content Progut remarkably improved the profitability of milk production. Figure 2. The effect of hydrolysed brewery yeast (Progut) on fat content of milk
Figure 3. The effect of hydrolysed brewery yeast (Progut) on protein content of milk
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