Beef Calf Production Using Year-Round Grazing on Tropical Grass Pasture in Summer Combined with Cool Temperate Grass Pasture in Winter

Beef Calf Production Using Year-Round Grazing on Tropical Grass Pasture in Summer Combined with Cool Temperate Grass Pasture in Winter

Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Fluegge) showed a poor quality with low crude protein in summer but blood biochemical levels of grazing beef cows were similar to drylot feeding cows except of concentration of urea nitrogen. Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam) showed very good quality with high crude protein (about 20 percentage) in winter. And so, suckler cows gained live weight in winter and suckling calves were showed very high growth rate (daily gain was about 1.0 kg). Total live weight gains of grazing cows were higher than those of drylot feeding cows. Postpartum reproductive performances of grazing cows were similar to drylot feeding cows. It was found that Japanese black cows were adapted to hot summer and were able to calving on pasture in cold winter was no problem in Kyusyu, Japan.