Productive response of cows fed a diet including sunflower-ebo silage as a complementary crop in small-scale dairy systems

Misael Angeles-González, Melchor Rosas-Dávila, María Nayeli Marín-Santana, Jesús Israel Vega-García, Maria Danaee Celis-Alvarez, Carlos Manuel Arriaga-Jordán, Felipe López González

Abstract


Background: Small-scale dairy production systems play a vital role in the social economy, as they help alleviate rural poverty by providing a stable income for farming families and accounting for over 30% of national milk production. However, they face major challenges, particularly in terms of profitability and sustainability, largely due to their dependence on external inputs, and now climatic conditions are further complicating the situation for production units, particularly drought and a lack of irrigation water. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the productive performance of dairy cows fed three feeding strategies based on maize silage combined with sunflower-ebo silage in small-scale dairy production systems in the High Valleys of Central Mexico. Methodology: Six multiparous Holstein cows were arranged in a 3×3 Latin square design repeated twice. Three treatments comprising different combinations of maize silage and sunflower-ebo silage were evaluated: T1 = 20% maize silage + 80% sunflower-ebo silage; T2 = 30% maize silage + 70% sunflower-EBO silage; T3 = 40% maize silage + 60% sunflower-EBO silage. Results: About production performance, there were no statistically significant differences (P>0.05) between treatments for any of the variables assessed. As for the chemical composition of the milk, the mean fat content ranged from 42.10 to 43.10 g/kg, whilst the protein content ranged from 30.83 to 31.12 g/kg, and lactose between 46.57 and 46.95 g/kg; no significant differences were observed between treatments (P>0.05). Statistically significant differences (P<0.05) were found for PC. No statistically significant differences (P>0.05) were found for NDF, ADF, IVDMD and eEM. Conclusions: The use of alternative forage crops such as vetch (Vicia sativa L.) or sunflower (Helianthus annuus), in combination with maize silage, is a viable option for these production systems.  

Keywords


Silage; milk production; sunflower.

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References


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URN: http://www.revista.ccba.uady.mx/urn:ISSN:1870-0462-tsaes.v29i3.70243

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.56369/tsaes.7024

Copyright (c) 2026 Misael Angeles-González, Felipe López González, Melchor Rosas-Dávila, María Nayeli Marín-Santana, Jesús Israel Vega-García, Maria Danaee Celis-Alvarez, Carlos Manuel Arriaga-Jordán

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