Offered Papers Theme B: Grassland and the Environment
Description
Under European dairy cattle rearing conditions, whole plant maize silage is the main part of the dairy cow's diet especially during the winter season. Nevertheless maize production can be limited in some areas because summer rainfall is insufficient and so irrigation is necessary. Grain sorghum hybrids, and especially sweet sorghum types, are potentially of great interest to avoid this water consumption (Lemaire et al., 1996, Legarto, 2000). For this reason we evaluated in 2003 the benefits and limits of a sweet grain sorghum silage for dairy milk production, compared to an irrigated maize silage. We paid particularl attention to forage quality and yield, environmental effects and animal performance.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Evaluation of Sweet Grain Sorghum Silage for Dairy Cows as an Alternative to Irrigated Maize Silage
Under European dairy cattle rearing conditions, whole plant maize silage is the main part of the dairy cow's diet especially during the winter season. Nevertheless maize production can be limited in some areas because summer rainfall is insufficient and so irrigation is necessary. Grain sorghum hybrids, and especially sweet sorghum types, are potentially of great interest to avoid this water consumption (Lemaire et al., 1996, Legarto, 2000). For this reason we evaluated in 2003 the benefits and limits of a sweet grain sorghum silage for dairy milk production, compared to an irrigated maize silage. We paid particularl attention to forage quality and yield, environmental effects and animal performance.
