Effect of Increasing Oil from Distillers Grains or Corn Oil on Lactation Performance

The objective of this study was to evaluate production response and more specifically percentage and yield of fat in milk from dairy cows fed distillers grains with added solubles (DGS). It was hypothesized that the oil present in DGS would decrease milk fat yield. Four dietary treatments consisted of dried DGS replacing soybean meal and soybean hulls. The DGS inclusion rates as a percentage of dry matter (DM) were 0, 5, 10, and 15% DGS. To determine the role of oil in DGS, a fifth diet similar to 0% DGS with added corn oil (OIL) was included. Twenty multiparous Holsteins were assigned to a replicated, 5×5 Latin Square design with periods of 21 d. Diets were formulated to have similar crude protein and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentration. Feeding OIL or 15% DGS resulted in similar production of milk, milk protein, and milk fat. Increasing dietary DGS linearly increased milk production and milk true protein yield. Adding corn oil increased milk yield and, although milk true protein yield also tended to increase with oil, milk true protein concentration decreased. The addition of DGS or OIL did not significantly change fat yield from 0% DGS; however, fat concentration in milk was significantly decreased by DGS due to increased fluid milk production. In diets containing approximately 28% NDF, cottonseed, blood and fish meal, feeding DGS to bring total dietary fatty acids to 5% of diet DM increased milk and milk protein yield without decreasing milk fat yield. Reduced proportions of shorter chain fatty acids and increased proportions of longer chain fatty acids in milk as dietary fatty acid content increased suggests that de novo fatty acid synthesis in the mammary gland was inhibited but this was offset by increased secretion of long-chain fatty acids, presumably absorbed from the diet. Therefore, our hypothesis that feeding corn oil either as DGS or as pure corn oil would decrease milk fat yield was not correct.