Milk Urea Nitrogen or MUN is a good indicator of the efficiency of protein digestion in the ration. A higher MUN means a larger amount of feed protein wasted, and a higher nitrogen excretion through urine. On the other hand, in order to optimize microbial growth, a minimum concentration of ammonia is required in the rumen all day long. In the absence of ammonia, microbes could face a lack of nitrogen, which would deprive the cow of microbial protein. Hence, the optimal MUN concentration should be the lowest concentration which has no negative effect on milk production. A new study confirms the ideal range for milk urea nitrogen.
This article was written in collaboration with René Lacroix, Ph.D., Eng., Analyst – Data Value (Business Intelligence), R&D, Valacta.