FEEDING VALUE OF CALCIUM CARBONATE-TREATED

CORN SILAGE FOR DAIRY COWS 1

K. L. SIMKINS, JR., B. R. BAUMGARDT, AND R. P. NIEDERMEIER

Department of Dairy Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison

ABSTRACT
Ten lactating cows were used to compare the feeding value of calcium
carbonate (CaCO~)-treated em'n silage with normal corn silage. A single-
reversal design with 7-wk periods was employed. Cows were fed corn silage as
their only roughage, and grain according to 4% fat-corrected milk (FCM)
production.
The feeding of CaC0.~-treated silage had no significant effect on milk, 4%
FCM, or per cent solids-not-fat (SNF) produced by the cows. The milk fat
percentage was lower in milk from cows fed CaCO~-treated silage (P < .10).
Voluntary dry matter (D.M.) consumption of normal corn silage was significantly
greater (P < .01) than that of Ca C0~-treated corn silage. The average body
weight gain was greater (P < .10) for cows fed normal corn silage.
Corn silage treated with CaCO~ (13.6 lb/ton) had a higher p H (3.92 vs.
3.73), more total organic acids (11.24 vs. 6.52% of D.M.), and a lower carotene
content (5.26 vs. 9.09 mg/lb D.M.) than normal corn silage.

Recent work with beef cattle suggests the
feeding value of corn silage can be increased by
treatment with high-calcium limestone when en-
siling (11, 12). Klosterman et al. (10) re-
ported that heifers fed corn silage treated with
1% calcium carbonate (CaCO~) gained 16%
faster than those fed the untreated silage. I t
has been proposed that the improved feeding
value of CaCO.~-treated silage is due to its in-
creased content of organic acids. I n laboratory
experiments the addition of 1% CaCO~ to
chopped whole plant corn cnsiled in glass jars
nearly doubled the organic acid production
(11).
The experiment reported here was initiated
to determine the feeding value of CaCOs-
treated corn silage for lactating dairy cows.
Byers et al. (6), in a recent study with dairy
cows, reported that corn silage treated with
1% ground limestone when ensiling had no
significant effect on milk production, milk fat
test, body weight change, or dry matter intake
of the animals.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Silages. Well-eared hybrid yellow corn in the
early dent stage of maturity was ensiled in two
identical 10- by 25-ft concrete stave silos on
September 13 and 14, 1962. Corn for both silos
was harvested from the same field with a field
Received for publication April 7, 1965.
1 Published with the approval of the Director of Illinois, furnished CCC calcium carbonate No. 4
the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station.
1315
chopper, and both silos were refilled on Sep-
tember 17, 1962. One silo was filled in the
usual manner, without any addition to the
corn silage. CaC03 was uniformly distributed
at the blower, using a calibrated mechanical
applicator, at a rate of 13.6 lb per ton of silage
going into the other silo." Approximately 31
tons of whole-plant corn silage was placed in
each silo.
Feeding trial. A single-reversal design with
7-wk periods, including a l-wk adjustment pe-
riod, was used in this experiment. Ten lactating
cows were divided into two groups balanced
according to milk production, stage of lacta-
tion, breed, and age. Each group consisted of a
Holstein, a Jersey, and three Guernseys, and
the treatments were assigned randomly to the
two groups. All animals were accustomed to
being fed corn silage as their only roughage for
3 wk before the experiment began. Throughout
the trial cows were individually fed the silages
ad libitum twice daily and weighbacks taken
daily.
Grain feeding level was initially 1 lb of grain
per 4 lb of 4% FCM produced. Three pounds
of additional grain were given to the pair of
2-yr-old Guernseys in the experiment. Subse-
quent grain adjustments were made every 14
days on the basis of the average production de-
cline for all cows on the experiment. The grain
" The Calcium Carbonate Company of Quincy,
(97.73% CaCO~ and 1.08% MgCO+).
1316 K. L. S I M K I N S , JR., B. R . BAUMGARDT. AND R. 1~. NIEDERMEIER

TABLE 1
Proximate analysis of silages
Composition of dry matter
Dry Crude Ether N-free Crude
matter protein extract extract fiber Ash
( % ) --
As ensiled
Control 28.6 8.5 3.1 65.8 17.4 5.2
Treated 28.4 8.2 3.1 64.0 17.8 6.9
As fed
Control 28.1 9.0 4.6 62.4 19.0 5.1
Treated 27.5 8.8 4.7 59.4 20.3 6.9

mixture had the following composition (in
pounds) : ground corn, 1,000 ; ground oats, 500 ;
soybean oil meal, 500; trace-mineralized salt,
20; steamed bone meal, 20; irradiated yeast (4
million unit), 0.5. The grain mixture contained
18.3% total protein.
Daily milk weights were recorded for all
cows. A composite sample of the AM and P~I
milk was collected weekly and analyzed for milk
fat by the Babcock procedure, solids-not-fat by
the Golding bead method (9), and protein, us-
ing the Orange G dye-binding method (17).
Animals were weighed on three consecutive
days at 9 A~ at the beginning and end of each
experimental period.
Chemical analysis. Composite samples of
fresh silage (following addition of CaCO~ in the
treated silage) and silage as fed were used for
proximate analyses according to standard
A.O.A.C. methods (1). Dry matter was deter-
mined on composite samples of silage as fed,
using the toluene distillation technique.
Carotene was determined, using A.O.A.C. pro-
cedures (1), and p H was measured with a glass
electrode p H meter. Silage organic acids were
determined by the method of Wiseman and
Irvin (18).
Rumen samples were taken by stomach tube
once during the 5th wk of each experimental
period, approximately 4 hr after the morning
feeding. Samples were filtered through several
layers of cheese cloth, and a 20-ml aliquot of
tureen liquor was stored ~t 4 C, using 0.5 ml
mercuric chloride as a preservative. Volatile
fatty acids (VFA) were analyzed by gas-liquid
chromatography, as previously described (2, 7).
Immediately preceding the rumen sampling
blood samples were taken from the jugular vein
into oxalated tubes. Protein-free filtrates were
prepared by the method of Folin and W u (8).
Blood sugar was determined by Benedict's
method (4) and ketones by the method de-
scribed by Behre (3) and Block (5). Blood
V F A were determined by gas-liquid chromatog-
raphy (2, 7).
The data were analyzed statistically by meth-
ods applicable to a single-reversal trial as out-
lined by Steel and Torrie (15).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Chemical composition of silages. The proxi-
mate analysis indicated that the control and
CaCO~-treated corn silages were very similar in
dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, crude
fiber, and nitrogen-free extract (Table 1). The
difference in ash content was expected, since
CaCO~ was added to the treated silage.
There were some significant differences in the
chemical quality of the silages as fed (Table 2).
The p H of CaCO~-treated silage was higher
than that of the control. This difference reflects
the neutralizing power of the CaCO~. I t has
been proposed that CaCO~ neutralizes some of
the acid produced in the fermentation process

TABLE 2
Chemical quality of silages
Organic acids
Acetic Lactic Total ~ pH Carotene
( % o f dry matter) (mg/Ib D.M.)
Control 1.60 4.82 ~ 6.52 ~ 3.73 ~* 9.09 ~
Treated 2.45 8.67 11.24 3.92 5.26
Statistically significant (P ~ .05).
~ Statistically significant (P ~ .01).
Total volatile fatty acids plus lactic acid.
 CARBONATED CORN SILAGE 1317

TABLE 3
Average daily response of lactating dairy cows
Silage fed
Response Control Treated
Milk production (lb) 34.8 35.7
4% FCM (lb) 36.2 36.0
Milk fa~ (%) 4.47 4.23 ~
SNF (%) 9.06 8.98
Milk protein (%) 3.52 3.43*
Total D.M. intake 30.2 27.2**
Silage D.M. intake 21.1 18.2"*
Total D.M. intake/100 lb B.W. 2.74 2.47**
Silage D.M. intake/100 lb B.W. 1..91 1.64"*
Body weight gain (lb/day) 0.45 0.11 ~
* Statistically significant (P ~ .05).
** Statistically significant (P ~ .01).
" Statistically significant (P ~ .10).
and allows the fermentation to either proceed
further, or at a faster rate, which results in the
production of additional organic acids (11). As
shown in Table 2, the total organic acid con-
centration in the treated silage was significantly
greater than that in the control. A n 80% in-
crease in the lactic acid content of the CaCO,-
treated silage was observed. This is in agree-
ment with results of several other workers who
found that limestone treatment of corn silage
increases its organic acid content (6, 12).
The control corn silage contained more caro-
tene than the treated; the latter had a darker-
brown appearance when fed. This is in con-
trast to the findings of Mohler et al. (13), who
reported that limestone-treated corn silage had
a much greener color and contained 3.5 times
more carotene than nontreated silage. Silage
temperatures during the fermentation process
were recorded by means of thermoeouples in
each silo; no differences were observed.
Feeding trial The average daily performance
of lactating dairy cows indicated that CaCO~
treatment of corn silage did not improve its
feeding value in this investigation (Table 3).
There were no significant differences between
groups in milk production, 4% FCM, and per
cent SNF in the milk. The per cent milk fat
was higher (P < .10) in the milk from cows
receiving the control silage. The per cent pro-
tein in the milk was also higher when cows were
fed control silage (P < .05). The average daily
gain was higher for cows fed control corn silage
(P < .10). The average grain fed per pounds
of 4% FCM produced was the same for both
groups (1:3.47). The average body weight for
cows receiving the control and treated silages
was also identical (1,111 lb). Differences in
body weight gain between groups can be ex-
plained by the differences in voluntary intake of
the silages.
The consumption of control corn silage was
significantly greater (P < .01) than that of
CaCO~-treated silage. A possible explanation
for the reduced consumption of the treated si-
lage is its higher content of organic acids, espe-
cially lactic acid. Thomas et al. (16) found that
adding high levels of lactic acid (575 g) to
wilted silage decreased silage consumption by
dairy heifers. I n the same paper it was re-
ported that average daily silage D.M. consump-
tion was not altered by addition of limestone
to the silage at feeding time. Therefore, the
lowered consumption of CaCO~-treated silage in
the present experiment probably was not due
directly to the added CaCO~. Montgomery et al.
(14) recently reported that acetic acid infused
intraruminally significantly decreased daily hay
consmnption. I t is reasonable to propose that
the decreased intake of CaCO~-treated silage is
due to a metabolic effect on the animals as a
result of the increased organic acid content of
the silage. It should be pointed out that other
workers have not found decreased consumption
due to addition of CaCO~ to corn silage. On the
contrary, Mohler et al. (13) reported that cattle
consumed 13% more limestone-treated corn si-
lage than normal corn silage. However, these
workers did not report rumen VFA.
Analysis of ruminal fluid showed there was a
significantly (P < .01) greater concentration of
total V F A in the rumen when cows were fed
treated silage (Table 4). Concentrations of
acetic, propionic, isobutyric, and valeric acids
were all significantly (P < .01) increased in the
tureen of cows fed treated silage. There were
no statistically significant differences in the per-
centage of Y F A ' s in the ruminal fluid from

TABLE
Effect of feeding CaCO~-treated silage on rumen VFA
Iso- Iso-
Acetic Propionic butyric Butyric Valeric valerlc Total
(weight %) (mg/lO0 ml)
Control 56.0 20.0 ].6 18.6 1.9 1.5 543**
Treated 55.9 21.4 1.5 17.5 1.8 1.6 656
** Statistically significant (P ~ .01}.
1318 g. L. SIMKINS, JR., B. R. BAUMGAI~DT, AND R. P. NIEDERMEIER
cows receiving the two silages. H o w e v e r , the
p e r cent p r o p i o n i c acid was h i g h e r w h e n cows
received the t r e a t e d silage i n n i n e out of t e n of
the a n i m a l s o n the e x p e r i m e n t . The h i g h e r p e r
cent p r o p i o n i c acid in the r u m e n could be re-
sponsible f o r the d e p r e s s i o n in milk f a t ob-
served w h e n cows received the t r e a t e d silage. A
decrease in milk f a t could become a p r o b l e m i f
cows are f e d C a C Q - t r e a t e d corn silage as t h e i r
only roughage.
The feeding of control or t r e a t e d silages h a d
no significant effect on blood sugar, ketones, or
acetate ( T a b l e 5). Blood s u g a r t e n d e d to be
TABLE 5
Effect of feeding CaCOJ-treated silage on blood
constituents
Sugar Ketones Acetate
(mg/lO0 ml)
Control 46.0 5.7 5.3
Treated 48.3 5.0 5.0
h i g h e r w h e n cows received the t r e a t e d silage a n d
this m a y h a v e been due to the increased lactic
a n d p r o p i o n i c acid c o n t e n t of the t r e a t e d silage.
A c c o r d i n g to the results of this e x p e r i m e n t ,
there are no a d v a n t a g e s to a d d i n g CaC0~ to
corn silage w h e n ensiling f o r l a c t a t i n g d a i r y
cows. B y e r s et al. (6), who conducted a n 11-wk
continuous feeding trial, also concluded t h e r e
were no distinct a d v a n t a g e s in feeding lime-
s t o n e - t r e a t e d silage to l a c t a t i n g d a i r y cows.
REFERENCES
(1) ASSOCIATIObT OF OFFICIAL AGRICULTURAL
CHEMISTS. 1960. Official Methods of Anal-
ysis. 9th ed. A.O.A.C. Washington, D.C.
(2) BAUMGARDT, B. R. 1964. Practical Obser-
vations on the Quantitative Analysis of
Free Volatile F a t t y Acids ( V F A ) in Aque-
ous Solutions by Gas-Liquid Chromatog-
raphy. Departmental Bull. No. 1. Dept.
of Dairy Science, Univ. of Wisconsin,
Madison.
(3) BEHRE, J. A., AND BENEDICT, S. R. 1926.
A Colorimetric Method for the Determina-
tion of Acetone Bodies in Blood and Urine.
J. Biol. Chem., 70: 487.
(4) BENEDICT, S. R. 1931. The Analysis of
Whole Blood. II. The Determination of
Sugar and of Saccharides. J. Biol. Chem.,
92 : 141.
(5) BLOCK, R. J., AND BOLLING, D. 1951. The
Amino Acid Composition of Proteins a~ld
Foods. 2nd ed. Charles C Thomas Pub-
lishers, Springfield, Ill.
(6) BYERS, J. H., DAVIS, C. L., AND BAYLOR,
C. E. 1964. Feeding Value of Limestone-
Treated Corn Silage for Lactating Dairy
Cows. J. Dairy Sci., 47: 1062.
(7) ERWVIN, E. S., MARCO, G. J., AND EMEICY,
E. M. 1961. Volatile F a t t y Acid Analyses
of Blood and Rumen Fluid by Gas Chro-
matography. J. Dairy Sci., 44: 1768.
(8) FOLIN, O., AND Wg, H. 1919. A System of
Blood Analysis. J. Biol. Chem., 38: 81.
(9) GOLDINO, N. S. 1959. A Solids-not-fat for
Milk Using Density Beads as Hydrometers.
J. Dairy Sci., 42: 899.
(10) KLOSTERMAN, E. W., JOHNSON, R. R., AND
CAHILL, V. R. 1962. Additions of Lime-
stone and Urea to Corn Silages. J. Animal
Sci., 21: 1002.
(11) KLOSTER~AN, E. W., JOHNSON, R. R., SCOTT,
H. W., MOXON, A. L., AND STAVERN, J. V.
1960. Whole P l a n t and Ground Ear Corn
Silages, Their Acid Content, Feeding Value
and Digestibility. J. Animal Sci., 19: 522.
(12) KLOSTERMAN, E. W., MOXON, h . L., JOHN-
SON, R. R., SCOTT, H. W., AND STAVERN,
J. V. 1961. Feeding Value for F a t t e n i n g
Cattle of Corn Silages Treated to Increase
Their Content of Organic Acids. J. Ani-
mal Sci., 20: 493.
(13) MOHLER, M. T., PER~Y, T. W., AND BEESON,
W. M. 1962. Limestone-Treated Corn Si-
lage vs. Regular Corn Silage with Various
Protein Supplements for Growing Beef
Calves. Purdue University. Research Progr.
Rept. 10. April.
(14) MONTGOMERY, M. J., SCHULTZ, L. H., AND
B.~U~IGARDT, B. R. 1963. Effect of Intra-
ruminal Infusion of Volatile F a t t y Acids
and Lactic Acid on Voluntary Hay Intake.
J. Dairy Sci., 46: 1380.
(15) STEEL, R. C. D., AND TORRIE, J. H. 1960.
Principles and Procedures of Statistics.
McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York.
(16) T~0MAS, J. W., MOORE, L. A., OKAMOT0, M.,
.~ND SYKES, J. F. 1961. A Study of Fac-
tors Affecting Rate of Intake of Heifers
Fed Silage. J. Dairy Sci., 44: 1471.
(17) UDY, D. C. 1950. A Rapid Method for
Estimating Total Protein in Milk. Nature,
178 : 314.
(18) WISE~IAN, H. G., AND IRVIN, H. M. 1957.
Determination of Organic Acids in Silage.
J. Agr. Food Chem., 5: 213.