Publication Date
1989
Description
On commercial farms, grazing and forage stock management is especially complex because of the great number of variables that have to be controlled (animal performances, resource stocks ... ), of their inter-relationships and of weather perturbations. Our investigations consist in considering in which way and under which constraints farmers may ajust their forage resources, both in quantity and quality, to achieve desired animal performances. Therefore, it is very important to propose decision rules adapted to real farm conditions and control procedures to carry out these decisions during the year. For continuous stocking, it was suggested to describe the sward in terms of canopy height (Hodgson 1985, Parsons and Johnson, 1985). Some practical targets are given per season for different animals (Maxwell and Wright, 1987). For rotational grazing, usual targets depend on stocking-rate during a given period and on the duration of the rest period between two grazings. In fact, resource variability imposes some adjustements which modify the stocking rate. So, we believe that resource state, along the grazing period, has to be assessed and taken into account to a greater extent. Moreover, in many situations, forage stock management can interfere with grazing management. Therefore, we suggest some variables which concern simultaneously grazing and conservation to define and to manage the « forage system ». We use the example of a dairy herd in the southwest of France.
Citation
Duru, M; Fiorelli, J L.; Lardon, S; Moreau, J C.; and Osty, P L., "Forage Management: A Diagnosis Method" (2025). IGC Proceedings (1989-2023). 33.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1989/session11/33
Included in
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Forage Management: A Diagnosis Method
On commercial farms, grazing and forage stock management is especially complex because of the great number of variables that have to be controlled (animal performances, resource stocks ... ), of their inter-relationships and of weather perturbations. Our investigations consist in considering in which way and under which constraints farmers may ajust their forage resources, both in quantity and quality, to achieve desired animal performances. Therefore, it is very important to propose decision rules adapted to real farm conditions and control procedures to carry out these decisions during the year. For continuous stocking, it was suggested to describe the sward in terms of canopy height (Hodgson 1985, Parsons and Johnson, 1985). Some practical targets are given per season for different animals (Maxwell and Wright, 1987). For rotational grazing, usual targets depend on stocking-rate during a given period and on the duration of the rest period between two grazings. In fact, resource variability imposes some adjustements which modify the stocking rate. So, we believe that resource state, along the grazing period, has to be assessed and taken into account to a greater extent. Moreover, in many situations, forage stock management can interfere with grazing management. Therefore, we suggest some variables which concern simultaneously grazing and conservation to define and to manage the « forage system ». We use the example of a dairy herd in the southwest of France.
