Publication Date
1997
Description
An experiment was conducted to determine the dry matter, energy, crude protein and fibre intake by dairy cows in late lactation when grazing perennial pasture offered at allocations of 15, 20, 30 and 40 kg DM/cow.day. The cows consistently selected a diet 10% higher in digestibility than that on offer. In contrast, cows selected diets with crude protein levels increasing from 22% to 40%, above that in pasture on offer, as pasture allocation increased. A similar pattern was observed for the intake of white clover (Trifolium repens L). The increase in the concentration of crude protein in the diet (as allocation increased) was due to the consumption of white clover and a decrease in the consumption of the dead components of the sward. On the other hand, the neutral detergent fibre content of the diet selected was lower than that on offer, and declined as pasture allocation increased.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Relationships Between the Nutrient Content of Irrigated Pasture on Offer and that Selected by Grazing Dairy Cows
An experiment was conducted to determine the dry matter, energy, crude protein and fibre intake by dairy cows in late lactation when grazing perennial pasture offered at allocations of 15, 20, 30 and 40 kg DM/cow.day. The cows consistently selected a diet 10% higher in digestibility than that on offer. In contrast, cows selected diets with crude protein levels increasing from 22% to 40%, above that in pasture on offer, as pasture allocation increased. A similar pattern was observed for the intake of white clover (Trifolium repens L). The increase in the concentration of crude protein in the diet (as allocation increased) was due to the consumption of white clover and a decrease in the consumption of the dead components of the sward. On the other hand, the neutral detergent fibre content of the diet selected was lower than that on offer, and declined as pasture allocation increased.
