Influence of higher fatty acids on the availability of magnesium in milking cows.

Abstract

The availability of dietary Mg for five lactating cows decreased in proportion to the amount of animal fat added to their winter ration. Previous workers have reported that increasing crude protein content of the herbage is associated with decreasing availability of Mg for the cow, and that the content of higher fatty acids in grass and hay increases with increasing crude protein content. It was suggested that nitrogen fertilizers increase the fat content of the herbage, thereby reducing the availability of Mg. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)