Document Type

Report

Publication Date

1976

Summary

Much of the research with feedlot cattle has been devoted to studies of ways to improve feed utilization. A large portion of feed energy, and also protein, available to the ruminant results from microbial fermentation in the rumen, or rumen-reticulum. Environmental conditions maintained in the rumen are important in the rate of fermentation and the resulting end-products. Numerous experiments have shown that volatile fatty acids (VFA)--major ones being acetic, propionic and butyric produced by microbial fermentation in the rumen play major roles in energy metabolism of ruminants.

Number of Pages

12

Type

text

Format

application/pdf

Language

en

Publisher

Department of Animal Science, Agricultural Experiment Station, South Dakota State University

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