Effect of supplementation of fresh and ensiled clovers to ryegrass on nitrogen loss and methane emission of dairy cows

Two experiments were carried out to compare white clover with red clover as supplementation to ryegrass, in ensiled and fresh form, for differences in nitrogen loss and methane emission by dairy cows. In experiment 1, fresh ryegrass was mixed with fresh white (WF) or red clover (RF) (60/40 on dry matter basis). Experiment 2 involved similar mixed diets in ensiled form (WS and RS, respectively), and two ryegrass silage diets, without (GS) or with supplementary maize gluten meal (600 g protein/kg DM; GS+). Barley was supplemented to meet the calculated requirements for milk production. The type of clover did not affect crude protein (CP) intake in experiment 1. In experiment 2, the highest CP intakes were observed for cows on the GS+ diet (P<0.05), followed by the WS and RS diet, compared to the GS diet. Within experiments, no treatment effects occurred for intake of digestible organic matter, milk and milk protein yield, while milk urea and urine N excretion mostly reflected the differences in CP intake in experiment 2. The highest absolute N excretions (P<0.001) occurred with the GS+ diet, compared to the other diets. Per unit of N intake, a tendency for highest urine N losses with GS+ was still noticeable. The slurry characteristics were not affected by clover type during storage in experiment 1. In experiment 2, initial treatment differences in ammonia-N levels (P< 0.01) in the slurry were still observed after 8 weeks of storage. Clover supplementation, but not clover type, slightly enhanced gaseous N losses per cow per day in relation to GS, but not as much as GS+ (+53%). Gaseous N losses relative to milk N yield were slightly lower (P< 0.1) with fresh red clover compared to white clover, a trend not apparent in experiment 2 with silages where levels were elevated with GS+. Methane emissions were not affected (P> 0.05) either by clover supplementation or by clover type in both experiments. This study illustrates that the white and red clovers investigated were widely similar for their effects on N losses and methane emission in dairy cows. Our findings imply that supplementation of white or red clover to a high-protein ryegrass could enhance nitrogen losses to the environment, and would not be beneficial in terms of reducing methane emissions. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.