ARTICLE FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE November 2023 75 genetics [7,8] vaccination and grazing strategies [9]. To date, these strategies have not wholly addressed the global enteric methane challenge, whilst maintaining or increasing production output. Therefore, new approaches that have the capability to be effective under commercial farm conditions are actively being sought out. Dairy remains a vital contributor to global food production and therefore any new approach to address the environmental challenges must maintain or ideally improve the economic and social viability of this industry. This viability must be demonstrated at multiple different stages across the food supply chain and the different requirements at each stage should be considered. Effects on profitability and animal health and welfare would be critical considerations at the farm level for a new solution to the challenge of enteric methane emissions. Consumer demand for environmentally responsible products can help assist in enhancing the dairy industries profitability [10]. Mitigating enteric methane emissions is one aspect of meeting the demands of these consumers. However, complementary issues such as usage of antibiotics and synthetic compounds, and the sustainability of feed ingredients used for this purpose have also been identified as valuable to these consumers [11,12]. Therefore, a solution that is natural, non-antibiotic and can be sourced sustainably at scale from an underutilized raw material that is produced by a pre-existing agricultural industry could potentially meet these consumer demands if determined to be efficacious and cost effective. There is a growing body of evidence that dietary polyphenols have the potential to have an impact on the production efficiency, health and wellbeing of production animals. Polygain™ is a natural extract from sugarcane enriched with polyphenols and its effects have been studied across a range of production animal species [13,14,15,16]. These previous studies have indicated a significant and beneficial effect on feed conversion efficiency, improved growth rate, animal health and welfare outcomes. Beyond the effect on production efficiency, the question has been raised whether plant extracts that will contain a vast profile of polyphenols may have the ability to alter rumen fermentation and lower methane production in the rumen [17]. Recently, it was reported that Polygain™, polyphenol rich sugar cane extract was observed to have a significant effect on methane emissions and production outcomes in ruminants under controlled experimental conditions [18]. This previous study determined that 0.25% of total dry matter intake was a commercially viable and effective amount to be included in the diet of ruminants. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess whether any of the benefits to production outcomes or methane mitigation could be translated to a commercial dairy farm environment. Our hypothesis was that Polygain™ would (1) reduce enteric methane, (2) would not have any negative impact on animal production, and (3) would not have a negative impact on udder health. MATERIALS AND METHODS 1. Trial Site and Design The study took place on a commercial dairy farm located southeast of Victoria, Australia. Because this trial was conducted in a commercially operating dairy farm, cows were added to the herd throughout the trial period and were also moved to adjoining properties throughout the trial as part of normal management practices. Animals that required changes to management practices throughout the trial, such as changes to diet or relocation to other properties, were excluded from analysis. In total, 31 cows were observed to stay on the farm for the entire trial period without changes to management practices. The data collected from these cows were therefore suitable to be used for analysis. These animals were able to access the milking barn at all times of the day to be milked. A total of 4 automatic milking systems (LELY) were available to be used at all times throughout the trial and would be fed an allocation of their concentrate ration at this time. The animals visited the milking robots an average of 2.3 times per day throughout the baseline and trial phase of the study. There was no significant difference in the number of times the animals attended the milking parlor throughout the trial. All cows included in the trial were Holstein-Friesians selected from early, mid
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