Grain Type Impacts Feed Intake, Milk Production and Body Temperature of Dairy Cows Exposed to an Acute Heat Event in Early Lactation

The frequency, duration and intensity of heat events in Australia are forecast to increase. Different grain types result in different heat loads on animals, so grain selection could reduce the impact of heat exposure. Thirty-two multiparous Holstein cows at 86 days in milk were offered a basal forage diet plus one of four supplements: (1) BLY, rolled barley; (2) CAN, canola meal and rolled wheat; (3) CRN, disk-milled corn; or (4) WHT, rolled wheat. Cows were exposed to a 2-day heat wave in controlled-climate chambers. Overall, cows offered CAN had the lowest dry matter intake (DMI; 16.2 vs. 17.7 kg) but produced more energy-corrected milk (ECM; 34.9 vs. 29.6 kg) when compared with the other treatments. The results were similar during heat exposure. Cows fed CRN and CAN had the greatest body temperature (38.9 °C), and cows fed BLY had the lowest (38.4 °C). Despite this, cows fed BLY had the greatest reduction in DMI from the pre-challenge to the heat-challenge periods (-2.8 vs. -0.4 kg DM/d). There appears to be a small advantage to offering cows a concentrate with a greater protein concentration compared to one that has a greater concentration of fat or starch. The choice of grain to include in a dairy cow's ration during summers with acute heat events may simply be an economic one.