OptGraze - Optimal grazing strategy for dairy cows
End: jun 2017
Start: jan 2013
Project participants
Egil Prestløkken R. W. Mayes Kristin Sørheim Alemayehu Sagaye Konstantinos Zaralis| Status | Concluded |
| Start - end date | 07.01.2013 - 30.06.2017 |
| Project manager | Håvard Steinshamn |
| Total budget | 3875000 |
Publications in the project
Authors
Marte Sofie NeraasAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
We assessed milk production with 24 mid-lactation Norwegian Red dairy cows on a spring pasture dominated by timothy (Phleum pratense) for a period of 21 days using three pasture allocation techniques (n=8). Cows received weekly allowances at once (7 day-set-paddocking; 7SP), grazed 1/7 of 7SP allowance each day (daily-strip-grazing; 1SG), or grazed like 1SG but also had access to the previously grazed part of the paddock (daily-forward-grazing; 1FG). We hypothesized that 7SP would deteriorate sward quality and quantity over the grazing days whilst the other two treatments would provide balanced pasture quality and intake. These changes were expected to result in differences in milk yield and its components. However, changes in sward chemical composition (e.g. neutral netergent fiber, crude protein) over the grazing days in each week were not different among treatments (treatment × grazing day; P>0.05). Furthermore, no effect of treatments on milk yield and its components was observed. Nonetheless, the effects of grazing days over a week on milk yield and components were different among treatments (treatment × grazing day; P<0.05). These treatment by grazing day interaction effects, in the absence main effect of treatment, could be due to fluctuations in daily DMI among treatments over the grazing days in each week.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered