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About myself…

About myself…. 3 rd year Graduate Student at UBC working towards a Master of Science Degree Program: Ruminant nutrition Department: Animal Science Faculty: Agricultural Sciences. Where I work…. -UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre -Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre (PARC)

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About myself…

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  1. About myself… • 3rd year Graduate Student at UBC • working towards a Master of Science Degree • Program: Ruminant nutrition • Department: Animal Science • Faculty: Agricultural Sciences

  2. Where I work… -UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre -Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre (PARC) Agassiz, BC

  3. The main dairy barn 225 lactating cows 200 cow replacement herd

  4. In the dairy barn Free stall design 12 cow groups Parallel double 12 milking parlour

  5. Cows are ruminants rumen reticulum omasum abomasum

  6. Ruminants • “Four chambered stomach”: • Reticulum sorts feed • Rumen is full of microbes that ferment feed • Largest compartment (fits up to 200lbs of feed) • Omasum filters and absorbs • Abomasum is comparable to our stomach • Cows ruminate

  7. Cows are ruminants rumen reticulum omasum abomasum

  8. Nutrition Made Simple • Cows (like us) are a moving clump of matter • Cows need both building material and energy (to build and move) in diet • Building material comes from protein • Energy comes from carbohydrates

  9. Ruminant nutrition protein terms… • Crude protein: % nitrogen in a sample x 6.25 • “Typical” protein molecule is 1/16 nitrogen • 1/16 = 0.0625 • Problem: not all nitrogen in food is in protein form

  10. Non Protein Nitrogen and True Protein: • Crude protein is made up of non-protein nitrogen (NPN) and true protein (TP) • Non-protein nitrogen (NPN): nitrogen not in protein molecules (free peptides, free aa, nitrates, ammonia, etc) • True protein (TP): nitrogen in the form of proteins (peptides linked together)

  11. Protein: • Rumen degradable protein (RDP): non-protein nitrogen (NPN) and true protein (TP) that is degraded into non-protein nitrogen in the rumen. • Rumen undegradable protein (RUP): true protein (TP) that is not degraded in the rumen.

  12. Protein in Feed NPN RDP TP crude protein RUP

  13. Protein Digestion Rumen Feed RDP rumen degradable protein Crude Protein ammonia Microbial protein built using N from RDP RUP rumen undegraded proteins Intestine Digestion of MP and RUP

  14. Carbohydrate digestion Feed Rumen Carbs Sugar Used by microbes for energy Fermentation VFAs Waste product of microbes Energy Source for Cow

  15. Energy metabolism in humans cell glucose Pyruvic acid Acetyl CoA ADP O2 Citric acid cycle CO2 mitochondria nucleus ATP H2O

  16. The three VFAs used for energy: • Acetate • Butyrate • Propionate

  17. VFA metabolism in cows Butyrate cell Acetate Ketone bodies Propionate Acetyl CoA ADP O2 Citric acid cycle CO2 mitochondria nucleus ATP H2O

  18. Humans: Excess glucose used to make fat Cattle: Unable to make fat directly from glucose Excess acetate used for fat production Human vs. Cattle fat production

  19. My Research: RUP from Forage Grass Problems: • Lactating dairy cows need a lot of protein in their diet • A lot of dairy cow diets have too much RDP and too little RUP

  20. Plant Nitrogen usage nitrates, ammonia etc. converted into plant proteins nitrates, ammonia etc. taken up by plants nitrates, ammonia etc. from ground

  21. Possible Solution Increase the RUP content of forages: • Reduce N fertilization • Alter harvest schedules • Identify genetics that give more RUP

  22. What we are doing • We are growing three types of grass in 56 plots • Each plot is either given 0, 200, or 400 kgs of N fertilizer a year • Plots are cut several times a year and grass is allowed to dry to between 25-35% DM

  23. plots of grass

  24. The Haldrup Logster Harvester

  25. Harvesting the plots

  26. Harvest • Grass is chopped and put into mini silos • Samples are taken before and after ensiling and analyzed for CP, TP and fibre

  27. hydraulic press mini silo

  28. Drying oven

  29. Rumen Degradabilities • Silage is incubated in the rumens of cannulated cows: • Incubated silage analyzed for CP • Know N percentage before and after • Assess RDP and RUP

  30. A rumen cannulated cow cannula plug

  31. The cannulated cow barn

  32. Feeding the cows is a good way to distract them

  33. Taking the plug out of the cannula

  34. feed being digested

  35. Cannula Rumen wall Mesh bag

  36. Sample bags

  37. Up to my armpit in a cow's rumen

  38. What We Have Found: • Reducing N fertilizer levels decreases the content of non-protein nitrogen (NPN) in grass • Less non-protein nitrogen = more true protein in grass • More true protein = more rumen undegradable protein

  39. Consider a Career in Agricultural Science • Agricultural community/ farm background • Education in rural setting • Good job prospects

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