Technical Research Report - 2005:2

Makers of Reashure®

California Dairy Field Trial

A field trial was undertaken at a dairy in Tulare, CA, to evaluate the influence of Reashure in the close-up period (21
days pre-calving) on milk production, milk components and reproduction parameters. Cows, as they moved from the
far off group to the close up group, were randomly sorted into either the Control pen or the Reashure pen. All heifers
were not included in the study to allow for covariate adjustment of the milk production data, so heifers were included in
the Control group pens. Reashure was included in a supplement that was fed to the cows at a rate of .25 lbs/hd/d con-
sisting of 50% Reashure, 30% dried distillers grains, and 20% corn. This supplement was created to assure better dis-
tribution of Reashure within the diet fed. The Reashure treatment was fed on the dairy to assure that there were greater
than 100 cows that received each treatment. Only cows that received Reashure for a minimum of 21 days in the close-
up pen were included in the analysis. Cows were identified and labeled either Reashure treatment or Control treatment
within the Dairy Comp 305 files. Once final data was collected for the reproduction information, a back-up of the herd
file was sent for statistical analysis using NCSS. Data were analyzed using ANOVA including previous milk produc-
tion as a covariate when appropriate. For the final data set 164 cows received Reashure during the close-up phase and
137 cows made up the Control group.

Results

The results of the milk production and composition data showed numerical advantages to the feeding of Reashure al-
though they failed to achieve statistical significance (P<.05). There was a 1.4 lb response in fluid milk production that
carried through to the same level of response in FCM. The lack of response in milk production is most likely due to the
feeding of Reashure only in the close-up phase. Milk has a high requirement for choline for the fat composition of milk
and without a continuous supply it may have limited the response in milk production.

The exciting results are in the reproduction measurements. Cows receiving Reashure tended to have fewer days open,
by 8.7 days, with significant improvement in times bred being .33 less and 1st service conception rate being nearly dou-
bled (17.5% vs 30.0%). First service conception rate was improved for all cows regardless of lactation number. Per-
cent of cows pregnant showed the same response as other field studies and tended to be improved (51% vs 61%) in fa-
vor of the Reashure cows. The graphs show that the response to Reashure held across breedings and lactation number,
though the influence did decrease at the second breeding which would be logical considering those cows would have
been off Reashure for nearly 100 days. These results indicate that the cows receiving Reashure came through calving
in best condition and were able to start the breeding cycle faster than those cows not receiving Reashure.
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2005 Balchem Encapsulates 12/08/05