Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Fatemeh Farzaneh ¹
• D. Alipour
• Hassan Aliarabi ¹
• Heshmatolah Saadi ²

¹ Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University

² Department of extension, faculty of agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University

Abstract

At first, a questionnaire was designed in three sections 1) Personal information of farmers, 2) facilities and capacity and 3) nutrition management. The information of 41 dairy farms in Hamedan province was collected at 2020 to 2021. After visiting each farm followed by the interview and completing the questionnaire, some samples of TMR were collected to measure the TMR particle size with a Penn state shaker box. Also, the milk in the bulk tank, the feces of lactating cow and ground corn grains were sampled. In 51.2% of farms they fed cows 3 times a day. The results of the research showed that the starch of the complete TMR was in the range of the key performance indicators in 59% of the farms, nearly 26% were above the range and nearly 15% were below the KPI. Results from feces analysis shows that in 46.3% of farms, amount of starch is in KPI range (3-5%). Relative index of corn flour was about 412.35 (more than KPI). The results obtained from the analysis of milk showed that the ratio of fat to protein of milk is 0.99% on average (less than KPI). ). Also peNDF was 23.5% more than the KPI in average. In general, the management of dairy farms in Hamadan province, especially in nutrition management (i.e., analysis of available feed and produced milk, feeding methods, and bunk management), requires fundamental reform. The continuous monitoring of these farms by nutrition experts and training courses will help improve their management.

Keywords

• Nutrition Management
• Penn state shaker box
• Ground corn
• Questionnaire
• peNDF

Main Subjects

• Animal and poultry nutrition