Text journal article Testo Articolo di rivista G. Terler Theresa Gruber Thomas Dieter Said Hartinger Quendrim Zebeli Alternative Forage Catch Crop Digestibility Feed Efficiency Performance application/pdf eng Effects of replacing rye silage with mixed rye-vetch-straw silage on feed intake, milk production, digestion processes, and blood metabolites in dairy cows 2025 Journal of Dairy Science © 2025 The Author(s) open access doi:10.3168/jds.2024-26060 Text Wissenschaftlicher Artikel Elsevier http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The high temperatures and extensive droughts during the last few years in Europe have jeopardized the production and quality of forages for ruminants. Estimates suggest that the yearly mean temperature in Europe's alpine regions may rise by up to 4°C until the end of the 21st century compared with the period from 1981 to 2010 (Kotlarski et al., 2023). The summer months seem to be particularly affected in terms of both increased temperature and decreased precipitation (Kotlarski et al., 2023). In Austria, forages from permanent grassland represent most of the forage resources in dairy cattle feeding (62%–84%; Ledinek et al., 2019). Permanent grassland is very sensitive to drought events, as recently indicated by a simulation study. Accordingly, a 3°C increase in air temperature and 0.3 mL/L greater atmospheric CO2 concentration combined with long dry periods led to a 50% decreased grassland yield (Schaumberger et al., 2022). For dairy cattle, forages are an essential part of their diet, supplying energy, protein, minerals, and most importantly physically effective NDF to maintain rumen health. Therefore, forage shortages cannot be compensated for by grains or nonforage fiber sources. https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:4706