Rumiluz
Top Quality Lucerne for high yielding Dairy Cows
The role of alternative forages
It is well documented that a mixed forage diet improves Dry Matter (DM) intakes, and has an effect on milk yield and milk composition by minimising nutrient deficiencies and providing a range of energy and protein sources.
The role of fibre and its buffering effect on the rumen
There is renewed interest in diet formulation and diet structure which encourage the cow to ruminate, particularly in diets containing high levels of maize silage, cereals or wet, acidic grass silage.
Dengie call this the 'scratch factor'.
Jim Kelly of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh explains that the rumen operates at an optimum pH OF JUST UNDER 7. The bacteria in the rumen are sensitive to acidity and will not function at a pH below 6.2. The cow consuming large quantities of silage at a pH of 4 has to do a lot of buffering to achieve a pH of 6-7. To achieve this, the cow produces large amounts of saliva (100 - 150 litres which contains up to 3.5kg of bicarbonate) each day.
To produce this amount of saliva, the cow needs to make 30 - 50,000 chewing movements per day, spending an average of 500 minutes per day chewing (20 - 30 minutes chew time per kg DM). Rumiluz chewing time is 40 - 80 minutes per kg DM. Hence the cow produces more saliva when Rumiluz is added to the diet. To ensure sufficient chewing takes place, the cow must ingest at least 2 - 2.5 kg of long fibre per day with a length of 2 - 4 cm.
Rumiluz helps rumen buffering and rumination by providing the scratch factor and structure to the diet through digestible long fibre, without reducing its nutrient density.
Low levels of rumination reduce the production of saliva, which buffers the rumen, neutralising any acids before absorption. A build up of acids can result in loss of milk, acidosis, laminitis and potentially have a detrimental effect on fertility.
Farmers who have included 2.5 - 4kg per cow per day of Rumiluz in their rations have seen a significant improvement in foot health, a reduction in lameness and an improvement in conception rates.
Beta-carotene and fertility
Beta-carotene, as well as being a precursor for Vitamin A, has a role in the synthesis of progesterone and therefore can influence the fertility of the cow.
The need for extra Beta-carotene is even greater when maize silage is included in the diet.
The inclusion of 2.5 kg of Rumiluz into the diet can supply the average cow's daily requirement of Beta-carotene.
Quality Proteins
The high temperature drying process used to produce Rumiluz not only removes the water content of the plant, but at the same time reduces the degradability of the proteins, protecting approximately 50% of the protein for digestion later in the small intestine. This gives Rumiluz a good balance of Rumen Degradeable Protein (RDP) and By-pass Protein (DUP).
Dried Lucerne contains only 10% of crude protein as Non Protein Nitrogen (NPN), against 55% of crude protein as NPN for Lucerne when it is ensiled.
| Typical Analysis (Dry matter basis) | Values for MP &PDI Systems | ||
| Dry Matter | 88% | PDIN | 118 |
| Protein | 17 - 19% | PDIE | 110 |
| Fibre | 28% | PDIA | 56 |
| Metabolisable energy | 10.0 MJ/kg DM | UFL | 0.81 |
| FME | 8.8MJ/kg DM | ||
| NDF | NDF | ||
| ADF | 32 - 35% | A | 0.52 |
| OIL | 3% | B | 0.38 |
| ASH | 11% | C | 0.04 |
| Beta-Carotene | 80 mg/kg | Deg | 0.6 |
| Vitamin E | 120 mg/kg | Dsi | 0.6 |
| Calcium | 3% | Lysine DI% PDIE | 6.7 |
| Phosphorous | 0.3% | Met DI% PDIE | 1.63 |
| Inclusion rates | 2 - 4kg/day | ||
| Bale size | 1.15m x 1.15m x 0.7m | ||
| Bale weight approximately | 350 - 370 kg | ||
| To maintain product quality, Rumiluz should be stored inside, in a clean, dry environment. |
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