A comparison of grazing systems for dairy herd replacements

1970 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Leaver
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Dairy Herd ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Conventional System ◽  
Live Weight Gain ◽  
System A ◽  
Grazing System ◽  
Grazing Systems

SUMMARYAn experimental and a conventional grazing system for 7- and 19-month-old dairy replacements were compared during 136 days of the grazing season. In the experimental system A, 24 calves were rotationally grazed around paddocks followed by 24 pregnant heifers which ate the herbage residue left by the calves. The conventional system B consisted of 24 calves and 24 pregnant heifers maintained at the same overall stocking rate as in system A, but the calves and heifers grazed in completely separate rotations. Half the calves on each system were drenched with an anthelmintic at weekly intervals from mid-July onwards to estimate within systems the effect of gastrointestinal worms on live-weight gain.

Rearing of dairy cattle 5. The effect of stocking rate on animal and herbage production in a grazing system for calves and heifers

1974 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Leaver
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Young Female ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Progressive Decline ◽  
Live Weight Gain ◽  
Grazing System ◽  
Total Utilization ◽  
Female Cattle ◽  
Stocking Rates

SUMMARYA rotational system of grazing, in which Friesian calves grazed the paddock immediately in front of a group consisting of pregnant and non-pregnant young female cattle (heifers), was examined at stocking rates initially of 3·0, 3·5 and 4·0 replacement units per ha (a replacement unit = one calf + one heifer). The stocking rates were reduced towards the end of the season by removing pregnant heifers. Measurements were made of live-weight gains and herbage production and utilization. Increasing the stocking rate from 3·0 to 4·0 units/ha depressed live-weight gain in calves by 18% on average and in heifers by 32%. The stocking rate of 3·5 replacement units/ha produced the greatest amount of live-weight gain per ha. There was a progressive decline in herbage production and consequently live-weight gain from early to late season. Herbage production was also depressed by the increased stocking rate. Although the average utilization of herbage at each grazing was low, ranging from 27 to 37% in calves and 35 to 48% in heifers, the total utilization of herbage over the whole season was high, ranging from 88 to 96%.

Rearing of dairy cattle 6. The effect of length of grazing rotation on animal and herbage production in a grazing system for calves and heifers

1975 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Leaver
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Average Growth ◽  
Live Weight Gain ◽  
Total Percentage ◽  
Grazing System ◽  
Stocking Rates

SUMMARYA rigid system of grazing management was examined for 2 years using rotations of fixed length. Rotations of 21 and 35 days were compared at low (3 calves+ 3 heifers/ha) and high (4 calves+ 4 heifers/ha) stocking rates. The calves and heifers grazed the paddocks on a leader/follower basis.Average growth rates for the 21- and 35-day rotations were respectively 0·75 and 0·78 for calves and 0·78 and 0·83 kg/day for heifers, but these differences were not significant. The 35-day rotation produced 6% more live-weight gain and 4% more herbage dry matter/ha than the 21-day rotation. The high stocking rate produced 14% more live-weight gain but 3% less herbage dry matter/ha than the low stocking rate. The total percentage utilization of herbage dry matter for the whole season was similar for 35- and 21-day rotations, averaging 90%. There were no significant interactions between length of rotation and stocking rate.

scholarly journals Animal performance, production, and quality of Tanzania grass fertilized with nitrogen

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 3861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulysses Cecato ◽  
Josmar Almeida Junior ◽  
Fabíola Cristine de Almeida Rego ◽  
Sandra Galbeiro ◽  
Wagner Paris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Crude Protein ◽  
Average Daily Gain ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Neutral Detergent Fiber ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Animal Performance ◽  
Live Weight Gain ◽  
Daily Gain

This study aimed to assess forage production, animal performance, and the chemical composition of Tanzania grass pasture fertilized with 50, 100, 200, and 400 kg ha-1 of nitrogen. The variables analyzed were: leaf mass, daily accumulation rate, leaf/stem ratio, average daily gain, stocking rate, live weight gain per unit of area crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and in vitro dry matter digestibility of leaves. The pasture management maintained the pasture height at 50 cm by using a continuous grazing method with the adjustment of stocking rate. The experimental design was a randomized block with three replicates. The leaf mass increased linearly in response to nitrogen, with an increase of 1003 kg (34%) observed between a nitrogen content of 50 and 400 kg ha-1. Nitrogen did not affect the average daily gain, but increased the stocking rate and live weight gain ha-1. The value of crude protein and neutral detergent fiber were higher with increased nitrogen levels, whereas the leaf digestibility did not affect nitrogen use. The comparison of 50 and 400 kg ha-1 levels indicated that there was an average increase of 19.2% in the leaf crude protein. The increased application of nitrogen fertilizer in Tanzania grass improved the chemical composition and animal performance; with regard to studied variables, the dose of 200 kg ha-1 resulted in the greatest improvement.

Nitrogen response and stocking rate of Pennisetum clandestinum pastures: II. Cattle growth

1974 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. T. Mears ◽  
L. R. Humphreys
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Subcutaneous Fat ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Winter Period ◽  
Maximum Output ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Nitrogen Response ◽  
Eye Muscle ◽  
Live Weight Gain ◽  
Pennisetum Clandestinum

SummaryIndividual live-weight gain (LWG) of Angus weaner cattle continuously grazing (Pennisetum clandestinum) pasture was negatively and linearly related to stocking rate (SR) and independent of ammonium nitrate (N) application rate at similar grazing pressures.Live-weight gain varied from 380 to 1056 kg/ha according to N rate in 1970–1 and from 637 to 1477 kg/ha in 1971–2. Calculated SR giving maximum LWG/ha was 3·4, 4·7, 7·6 and 9·8 animals/ha for the 0, 134, 336 and 672kg N/ha treatments respectively in 1970–1 and 6·1, 5·7, 9·1 and 10·6 animals/ha for the same treatments in 1971–2. Highest response to applied N (1·9 and 3·4 kg LWG/kg additional N in successive years) occurred between N131 and N336; response was greater at low and intermediate SR than at high SR. Carcass weight, quality score, depth of subcutaneous fat and area of eye muscle were negatively related to SR; SR's giving maximum output per unit area caused a reduction of ca.25% in production per head and adversely affected carcass quality at 18 months of age.LWG/head was independent of feed availability in spring and summer and was positively related to availability of green kikuyu up to 600 kg D.M./head in the autumn/winter period.

The effect of systems of grassland management and winter feeding on the productivity of an 18-month grass-cereal beef system

1978 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-107
Author(s):  
J. B. Moran ◽  
W. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Grassland Management ◽  
Metabolizable Energy ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Field System ◽  
Grass Silage ◽  
Grazing System ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Stocking Rates

ABSTRACTExperiments in two successive years with 24 cattle compared a six-paddock grazing system with a simpler two-field system. In each system the whole area was cut for conservation once during the season. The two systems were stocked each at 3·9 or 6·5 cattle/ha. In the following winters the cattle were offered grass silage (1974) or dried lucerne pellets (1975) ad libitum with two levels of barley.Daily gains on pasture were depressed by the higher stocking rate but there was no difference between grazing systems. The yield of conserved grass was least on the high stocking rate two-field system. The estimated output of utilized metabolizable energy per hectare was highest on the high stocking rate paddock grazing system but the output from the low stocking rate two-field system was almost as high. It was concluded that the latter system was valuable in many practical situations. Cattle that had been grazed at low stocking rates finished earlier in winter. There was some evidence of winter compensation in cattle weight gain on diets with dried lucerne pellets but not on grass silage diets.

Animal production from naturalized and sown pastures at three stocking rates under coconuts in the Solomon Islands

1981 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 669-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Watson ◽  
P. C. Whiteman
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Solomon Islands ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Brachiaria Decumbens ◽  
Live Weight Gain ◽  
Natural Pasture ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Stocking Rates ◽  
Brachiaria Mutica

SUMMARYA grazing study, comparing a naturalized and a sown pasture at three stocking rates, was conducted under a uniform stand of 65-year-old coconuts on a fertile soil in the Russell Islands. In a plot trial on this site there was no significant response to application of up to 400 kg N/ha/year over 2 years to Brachiaria decumbens. Average daily transmission of photosynthetically active radiation through the coconut canopy was 60% of full sunlight. The sown pasture consisted initially of para (Brachiaria mutica), signal (B. decumbens) and koronivia (B. humidicola) with the legumes Centrosema pubescens, Pueraria phaseoloides and Stylosanthes guianensis. The main species in the naturalized pasture were Axonopus compressus, Mimosa pudica, C. pubescens and Colopogonium mucunoides. Pastures were set stocked in two replicates over 3 years at 1·5, 2·5 and 3·5 animals/ha. There was no significant difference in live-weight gain between pastures in any year. Live-weight gain per head declined linearly with increasing stocking rate. Highest live-weight gain was 437 kg/ha/year in the 1st year at 3·5 animals/ha. The planted grasses declined from 60% at the start of grazing to 6% 8 months later. A. compressus increased from 2 to 24% over 3 years in the sown pasture, and from 12 to 34% of yield in the natural pasture. M. pudica increased from 27 to 44% in the sown, and remained approximately constant at 37% in the natural pasture. G. pubescens increased at 2·5 animals/ha, but was replaced by P. phaseoloides at 1·5 animals/ha and by A. compressus and M. pudica at 3·5 animals/ha. There were no significant effects of pasture treatments or stocking rate on copra yields. Where there is a cover of naturalized grasses and legumes under coconuts, cultivation and planting of exotic species cannot be recommended. Major improvement will come from thorough weed control and maintaining stocking rates between 1·5 and 2·5 animals/ha.

A comparison between an early weaning and a more conventional system of rearing dairy calves

1959 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Castle ◽  
J. N. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Crude Protein ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Dairy Calves ◽  
Conventional System ◽  
Early Weaning ◽  
Live Weight Gain ◽  
Milk Substitute ◽  
Unlimited Access

1. Two groups of 12 Ayrshire heifer calves were reared from birth to 14 weeks on two contrasting systems.2. The conventionally reared group consumed 19 gal. of milk, 86 gal. of milk substitute and 195 lb. of calf meal (17·0% crude protein in dry matter) in 14 weeks whereas the early-weaned animals consumed 5 gal. of milk, 19 gal. of milk substitute and 259 lb. of early-weaning cubes (22·7% crude protein in dry matter) in the same period and were weaned from milk substitute at 5 weeks old. All the calves had unlimited access to dried grass (12·0% crude protein in dry matter).3. The mean live-weight gain of the calves on the conventional system was 1·26 lb./day and of the early-weaned animals, 1·20 lb./day. These values were not significantly different.4. None of the experimental calves had bloat or indigestion and there was only one minor outbreak of scour.5. At the present day prices of the foods, the early-weaning system was the cheaper system both per day and per pound of live-weight gain.

Grazing studies on the Guadalcanal Plains, Solomon Islands. 2. Effects of pasture mixtures and stocking rate on animal production and pasture components

1981 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Watson ◽  
P. C. Whiteman
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Solomon Islands ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Green Leaf ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Live Weight Gain ◽  
Dry Matter Digestibility ◽  
Stocking Rates

SummaryAnimal production was compared on three pastures, Brachiaria mutica (para), B. decumbens (signal) and Panicum maximum cv. Hamil (hamil) each sown with a common legume mixture of Centrosemapubescens (centro), Macroptilium atropurpureum cv. Siratro, and Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Endeavour (stylo), at four stocking rates, 1·8, 21·87, 31·86, and 41·85 animals/ha, over 4 years on the GuadalcanalPlains, Solomon Islands.Mean live-weight gain per head over the four stocking rates and 4 years on para pastures was 01·847, on signal pastures 01·838, and on hamil pastures 01·828 kg/head/day. Mean production per hectare at the optimum stocking rates were: para at 3.6 animals/ha, 607 kg; signal at 31·86 animals/ha, 442 kg; hamil at 21·87 animals/ha, 362 kg/ha/year.The high stocking rates of 31·86 and 41·85 animals/ha caused the hamil pastures to decline to the stage where they were destocked in the 4th year of grazing.Superior production on para pastures was not simply related to green dry matter (GDM) on offer. In the 1st year of grazing, GDM was highest in hamil pastures, but in the 2nd year highest in para, and in the 3rd year mean yields were similar in all pastures, but were very low at the 31·86 and 41·85 animals/ha stocking rate in the hamil pastures.Para pastures maintained highest legume contents. The quadratic relationship between live-weight gain/head and legume content was significant over all pastures and stocking rates. Live-weight gain (LWG) per head increased up to 15% legume content, after which there was little change. Yield of green leaf, percentage green leaf, and sward bulk density did not appear to be related to LWG/head. Para pastures had lower values for all these components than the other pastures.Chemical factors contributed to the higher animal production from para pastures. Para leaf maintained consistently higher in vitro dry-matter digestibility values. Na content of para averaged 01·812%, whereas other species were 01·801 to 01·802%, and below the critical level (01·805%) for animal intake. N and S in leaf material, and Cu in total tops were also consistently higher in para grass.Results of this grazing trial suggest that selection of grass species on the basis of quality including dry-matter digestibility and mineral content, on ability to persist with increasing stocking rate, on compatibility with legumes, and on growth habit are more important than selection for dry-matter yield.

Effect of stocking rate on Rhodes grass-stylo pasture in the northern guinea savanna zone of Nigeria 2. pasture and sheep. Performance

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-63
Author(s):  
O. S. Onifade ◽  
I. F. Adu ◽  
J. O. Akinola
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Rhodes Grass ◽  
Green Material ◽  
Live Weight Gain ◽  
Grazing Period ◽  
Stocking Rates ◽  
Stem Leaf

Mixed pastures of Rhodes grass (Chloris gavana cv. Callide) and Stylo (Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Cook) were evaluated at five stocking rate, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 rams/ha over five grazing periods at Shika, Nigeria. The pastures were continuously grazed for 154 to 210 days beginning from late ruiny into dry season (August 10 April). Dry matter yields of stem, leaf, stem + leaf of C. gayana, green material and total herbage declined (P<0.01) as stocking rate and grazing days increased. However, the differences in yields of green material and leaf of C. Igayana at P4 and 30 rams/ha were not significant over the grazing periods. Daily live weight gain (g/headd) was negatively and linearly related to stocking rate. Mean live weight gains at the lowest and highest stocking rates were + 52 and -1 g/head/d in the second grazing season and 62 and 24 g/head/d in the fifth grazing period. Mean live weight production/ha and optimum stocking rates (OSR) in the first, second, third, fourth and fifth grazing periods were: 61.2kg, 17.8 sheep/ha; 155.5kg; 20.4 sheep/ha; 186.2kg, 24.9 sheep/ha; 129.4kg, 21.2 sheep/ha and 200.2kg, 26.0 sheep/ha, respectively. A curvilinear relationship was obtained between live weight gain ha and stocking rate. This study indicated that sheep at the highest and lowest stocking rates will need supplementary feeds after 100 and 128 days, respectively, if grazing commenced just before the end of the rain.

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