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Increased Milk Yield and Reduced Enteric Methane Concentration on a Commercial Dairy Farm Associated with Dietary Inclusion of Sugarcane Extract (Saccharum officinarum)

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(1) Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of a natural sugarcane extract (Polygain™) on milk production, milk composition and methane emissions on a commercial dairy farm. (2) Methods: A three-week baseline was established for lactating Holstein × Friesian animals. Following this baseline period, these animals were fed Polygain™ at 0.25% of their estimated dry matter intake for 3 weeks. Methane concentration in the feed bin was determined at each milking using the Gascard NG Infrared Sensor (Edinburgh Sensors LTD). (3) Results: During the intervention phase milk yield increased significantly from 26.43 kg to 28.54 kg per cow per day, whilst methane emissions and bulk tank somatic cell counts decreased significantly in the intervention phase. For methane concentration, an average of 246 ppm during the baseline periods reduced to an average of 161.09 ppm during the intervention phase. For the bulk tank somatic cell counts, the average was observed at 283,200 during the baseline and reduced to an average value of 151,100 during the intervention phase. (4) Conclusions: The natural sugarcane extract was shown to have the potential to mitigate enteric methane emissions while also increasing production and animal wellbeing outcomes in a commercial dairy setting.

Funding

This research was funded by The Product Makers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

History

Publication Date

2023-10-23

Journal

Animals

Volume

13

Issue

20

Article Number

3300

Pagination

9p.

Publisher

MDPI

ISSN

2076-2615

Rights Statement

© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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