J.L. Firkins1, D.I. Harvatine, S. Ivan, and M.L. Eastridge
The Ohio State University Department of Animal Sciences
Introduction
Dairy cattle require forage to stimulate chewing during eating and rumination. Chewing, in turn, stimulates salivation, which provides the cow with buffers to neutralize organic acids produced during fermentation. Because fiber needed to stimulate chewing is so essential to maintain ruminal pH and, consequently, feed intake, fiber that is coarse enough to stimulate chewing is called "effective" fiber. The ability of a fiber source to stimulate chewing relative to a control forage is referred to as "effectiveness".