To understand feeding we first must first understand how dairy cattle utilize their nutrients. Dry matter is the composition of the folder after the moisture content has been extracted according to the scientific definition.
Different feeds in the farm have different dry matter content e.g. nappier grass has only 20% dry matter compared to Boma Rhodes hay which conxcbdtains 85% dry matter while dairy meal contains 90% dry matter i.e. 90kgs dry matter out of 100kgs. Dry matter content affects the amount of feed consumed by a cow. The cow consumes between 3-4% of the body weight of the dry matter e.g. a 500kg cow requires 20 kg dry matter a day. if you get the dry matter definition wrong you will fail in the concept of dry matter intake. Dry matter mostly contains nutrients like proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, minerals, and vitamins but it lacks water.
Dry matter insufficiency
Lack of enough dry matter in a day leads to emaciation, retarded growth, struggle in terms of fertility, and mostly struggle in terms of milk production. The dry matter may not contain all the nutrients required for it varies according to the type of feed it was obtained from, hence a farmer should study the dry matter content and supplement the feeds with the insufficient nutrients according to their needs.
