Responses of primiparous and multiparous Holstein cows to additional energy from fat or concentrate during summer

Supplemental fat has been advocated for use during hot weather and often increases milk yield of cows past peak production when energy intake should not be limiting. Relative responses of primiparous and multiparous cows to supplemental fat or isocaloric addition of concentrates under hot weather conditions have not been determined. Nine multiparous and nine primiparous Holstein cows (154 and 167 d in milk, respectively) were used in a replicated 3 x 3 Latin square design with 28-d periods. Diets were 1) control (35% alfalfa silage, 25% corn silage, and 40% concentrate, dry matter [DM] basis); 2) control plus 3% fat (HF); and 3) high concentrate ([HC] 15% alfalfa silage, 25% corn silage, and 60% concentrate). Diets were isonitrogenous; diets HF and HC were isocaloric (1.60 Mcal of net energy for lactation [NEL] per kilogram DM) and higher energy than the control (1.52 Mcal/kg). No parity x diet interactions approached significance. DM intake (DMI) was greater when cows were fed HC than when they were fed HF (21.0, 20.1, and 21.3 kg/d for control, HF, and HC, respectively); intake of NEL tended to be increased only for HC. Milk yield was increased by higher-energy diets, but milk fat content was decreased. Milk total protein content was decreased by HF and increased by HC. Yield of solids-corrected milk (SCM) was not different among diets. Efficiency of milk production, expressed either as total milk solids yield per kilogram of DMI or as kilograms of SCM per megacalorie of NEL intake, was greater for HF than for HC. Plasma glucose was higher after feeding for cows fed HC; plasma nonesterified fatty acids were greater for HF. Respiration rate and rectal temperature were greater for HC than for HF. Regardless of parity, increased energy density from either fat or concentrate increased milk yield in midlactation cows, but diets caused energy to be partitioned differently among milk components and body storage. Supplemental rumen-active fat had modest advantages over additional starch-based concentrate during summer heat conditions.