Establishment of laboratory methods for determining the small intestine digestible protein and amino acid content in basic feed for dairy farms in Austria

In September 2023, the Committee for Requirements Standards of the Society for Nutritional Physiology (GfE) in Germany issued new "Recommendations for the Energy and Nutrient Supply of Dairy Cows". The most important changes are that with the new recommendations, the metabolisable energy (ME) and the small intestine digestible protein (sidP) or the small intestine digestible amino acids (sidAA) replace the net energy lactation (NEL) and the usable crude protein in the small intestine (nXP) as key figures for the energy and protein supply. In addition, the methodology for determining the requirement figures and the feed value was also fundamentally changed. The aim of this project is to create an Austria-specific basis for ration calculations based on the new methodology. The protein fractions and the amino acid pattern as well as their small intestine digestibility are analysed from forage samples from scientific trials at the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein. Knowledge of the protein degradability (can be derived from the protein fractions) and the amino acid pattern is a prerequisite for an exact ration calculation according to the new GfE recommendations. So far, however, there is hardly any data on these feed value parameters in typical Austrian feeds. The results of this project should therefore serve to expand the feed value tables primarily for forage from the Alpine region to include the new feed value parameters.