Rumen Degradable Protein (RDP) balance

RDP stands for Rumen Degradable Protein. This index indicates how much protein and energy becomes available in the rumen and whether the two are balanced. A positive RDP balance means that there is more protein available in the rumen in relation to the energy. A negative RDP balance indicates a relative shortage of rumen protein.

RDP balance is a very important characteristic of ration. RDP has a direct relationship with rumen fermentation, rumen acidification and the urea content in milk. RDP balance is one of the parameters that steers rumen fermentation in a certain direction.

Corn silage

Certain types of roughage typically always have a negative RDP balance. Corn silage is a typical example of this, with an average of -30 RDP/kg dry matter. This means that corn silage is a raw material that provides relatively high energy and relatively low protein in the rumen.

Grass silage

Grass silage is a product with a very diverse RDP content (from-20 to +130). In fact, every grass silage and every cut should be analyzed because both the proportion of fermentable energy and fermentable protein can vary enormously. Sunlight, temperature, fertilizer levels, mowing height, and dry matter content all have an enormous influence on the RDP content of grass.

Especially with high grass shares in the ration, RDP balance can be all-important for successful milk production.

A plus sign behind intestinal digestible protein and RDP balance

The CVB intestinal digestible protein/RDP balance2007 system indicates how the values for soluble crude protein, NDF digestibility and lactic acid, among other things, can be calculated. Eurofins Agro can measure these and therefore replace specific estimation formulas with a direct analysis. Subsequently, Eurofins Agro calculates the protein value with the calculation rules of the intestinal digestible protein /RDP balance 2007 system. This even more accurate determination includes intestinal digestible protein + and RDP balance+ on the report.