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Grass height as an indicator for supplementary feeding of continuously stocked dairy cows
Author(s) -
LEAVER J. D.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
grass and forage science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1365-2494
pISSN - 0142-5242
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2494.1982.tb01608.x
Subject(s) - hay , zoology , stocking , pasture , alfalfa hay , stocking rate , biology , mathematics , agronomy , rumen , food science , fermentation
Three groups of cows were continuously stocked on pasture and offered supplementary concentrates according to the herbage height measured weekly with a grass disc. Concentrates were offered when the mean herbage height fell below 9 cm for treatment A, 7 cm for treatment B and 5 cm for treatment C at a rate of 1 kg d ‐1 for each 0·2‐cm decline below these threshold levels. If the herbage height declined by more than 1·2 cm (8 kg concentrates d ‐1 ) hay was offered in addition ad libitum. The stocking rates for all three treatments were 5·2, 3·2 and 3·2 cows ha ‐1 for three successive 8‐week periods. For treatments A, B and C the mean concentrate DM intakes were 3·2, 1·2 and 1·2 kg d ‐1 (treatment A also received 0·2 kg hay DM d ‐1 ), and the mean daily milk yields were 17·2, 16·2 and 15·2 kg respectively. The increasing level of supplementary feeding from treatment C to A also resulted in an increase in liveweight and body condition score change, and a reduction in milk fat.