Inclusion of licuri meal in the diet of pasture dairy cows.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the inclusion of increasing levels of licuri meal as a substitute for soybean bran in the diet of pasture-based dairy cows and its effects on the intake, nutrient digestibility, and milk production and composition. Eight crossbred Holstein/Zebu cows were used in two 4 × 4 Latin square plots. The diets contained increasing percentage of licuri meal (0.0, 4.16, 7.09, and 9.45%) in the total diet, replacing soybean bran. The inclusion of licuri meal in the diet affected total dry matter intake and dry matter intake in relation to body weight, which presented a quadratic effect. The same behavior was observed for the consumption of EE, CP, TDN, and NDFap. The NFC consumption showed a linear decrease with the addition of the by-product in the diet. There was no influence of the inclusion of the licuri meal on the digestibility of the DM, CP, NFC, and TDN, while the digestibility of the NDFap and EE presented increasing linear effect. There was a reduction of milk production and food efficiency with the inclusion of increasing levels of the meal. The fat content in milk showed a linear increasing effect. Ditto for cholesterol. It is recommended to include not more than 7.00% of licuri meal for lactating cows with an average production of 20 kg day-1.