Effects of a sorbitol-containing additive fed to dairy cows for 30 days postpartum.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of early postpartum supplementation of Rally®, a sorbitol-containing feed additive (RAL), on lactation performance and automatic milking system (AMS) metrics on a commercial dairy farm. Multiparous (MT) and primiparous (PP) Holstein cows were randomly assigned to either RAL supplementation (570 g/d RAL; RAL-MT, n = 75, RAL-PP, n = 34) or control (CTL-MT, n = 72; CTL-PP, n = 38). The RAL cows were supplemented from 1 to 30 d in milk via an automated feed dispenser in the AMS.