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Effect of altering grazing interval during the grazing season on grass growth and utilisation and animal performance under rotational grazing by dairy cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

A.J. Dale
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co Down BT26 6DR, U.K E-mail:, andrewdale2000@yahoo.com
C.S. Mayne
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co Down BT26 6DR, U.K E-mail:, andrewdale2000@yahoo.com
C.P. Ferris
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co Down BT26 6DR, U.K E-mail:, andrewdale2000@yahoo.com
A.S. Laidlaw
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co Down BT26 6DR, U.K E-mail:, andrewdale2000@yahoo.com
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Extract

Grazed grass is often considered to be one of the cheapest feeds for dairy cows, the cost of grazed grass is largely determined by the yield of herbage produced and the efficiency of utilisation by the grazing animal. Recent farm surveys and an assessment of detailed costings suggest that alternative forages may be cheaper than grazed grass in some situations, particularly if herbage yields are low and utilisation is poor (Kilpatrick et al., 2002). The objective of this experiment was to examine the effect of altering the grazing interval, in a rotational grazing system, on grass growth and utilisation, and on animal performance.

Type
Theatre Presentations
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2004

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References

Kilpatrick, C., Keady, T.W.J., Cushnahan, A., and Murphy, J. (2002). Costs of forage on the Northern Ireland dairy farm. Occasional publication, Greenmount College Google Scholar