Abstract: A method of increasing the production of milk in a ruminant in which a milk-production increasing amount of encapsulated choline is orally administered to a ruminant, with the choline encapsulated in an encapsulating composition that protects the choline against metabolism by bacteria in the rumen of the ruminant. An edible composition for increasing the production of milk in a ruminant in which a milk-production increasing effective amount of choline is encapsulated in an encapsulating composition that protects the choline against metabolism by bacteria in the rumen of the ruminant.