Grazed pasture parameters. III. Relationships of pasture and animal parameters in, and general discussion of a stocking rate and grazing management experiment with dairy cows

1966 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Management System ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Production Parameters ◽  
Grazed Pasture ◽  
Stocking Rates

1. Pasture parameters have been correlated with animal production parameters from a trial in which two management systems (‘controlled’ and ‘uncontrolled’ grazing), each at two stocking rates (0.95 and 1.19 cows/acre), were compared.2. Per acre butterfat production was positively related to percentage utilization of available D.M., but negatively related to yield of available D.M.3. Per cow butterfat production was significantly and positively correlated with yield of available D.M. in the two months after calving (August and September) and in the penultimate month of lacta-tion (April), but this correlation was not significant in other months.4. It is concluded that management system was as important as stocking rate in increasing the utilization of pasture and animal production from pasture.

The design and interpretation of experiments to study animal production from grazed pasture

1968 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. Owen ◽  
W. J. Ridgman
Keyword(s):  
Simple Model ◽  
Unit Area ◽  
Personal Communication ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Grazed Pasture ◽  
Stocking Rates ◽  
Pasture Productivity

SUMMARYExperiments designed to assess differences between treatments in pasture productivity as measured by the production of animals are complicated by the stocking rates chosen. The paper attempts toderive a simple model relating production per animal and production per unit area to stocking rate for meat animals, based on biological considerations.A method is proposed which would allow meaningful grazing experiments to be carried out employing only one stocking rate, thus considerably reducing the expense of this type of experimentation.The model is applied to some recent data obtained by Hodgson (1966) and Appleton (1967, personal communication).

The inter-relationships of grazing method and stocking rate in the efficiency of pasture utilization by dairy cattle

1963 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. P. McMeekan ◽  
M. J. Walshe
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Vanishing Point ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Rotational Grazing ◽  
Continuous Grazing ◽  
Grazing System ◽  
Stocking Rates

1. A large-scale grazing management study comparing rotational grazing and continuous grazing with dairy cows at two stocking rates over four complete production seasons is described.2. The four treatments were: (i) controlled grazing, light stocking rate; (ii) controlled grazing, heavy stocking rate; (iii) uncontrolled grazing, light stocking rate; (iv) uncontrolled grazing, heavy stocking rate.Each treatment involved 40 cows for a first 2-year phase and 42 cows for the following 2 years. Each herd had a normal age distribution pattern and seven 2-year-old first lactation heifers (17% of total herd) were introduced each year to maintain this pattern.3. Stocking rate was the more important factor affecting the efficiency of pasture utilization as measured by per acre output of milk and butterfat. In general, high stocking was associated with higher outputs per acre despite lower yields per animal.4. Grazing method was of less importance. In general, controlled rotational grazing was superior to uncontrolled continuous grazing, both per animal and per acre, but the average influence even of these extremes of management was only half that of stocking rate.5. Significant interactions between stocking rate and grazing method existed. Under continuous grazing a point was reached where production per acre declined to the vanishing point with increased stocking rate due to excessive depression of per cow yield: this point was not reached under rotational grazing at the same high stocking levels.6. The results suggest that optimum stocking rate under rotational grazing occurs at a level some 5–10% higher than under continuous grazing. A depression of 10–12% in per cow yield, compared with more lenient grazing, corresponds with optimum stocking level irrespective of the grazing system. This estimate is suggested as a guide line in applying the principles involved.

scholarly journals COMMENTS ON THE GRAZING MANAGEMENT SESSION

1984 ◽  
pp. 207-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Milligan
Keyword(s):  
Management System ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Critical Levels ◽  
Research Environment ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Stocking Rates ◽  
Better Than

This collection of papers does four significant things: 1. It concentrates on hill country. 2. Precisely defines the research environment in pasture levels and animal production terms. One can clearly see the consequences in animal production at different times of the year when pre-grazing and residual herbage levels are defined and varied and to see the effects of different grazing systems at these pasture levels. Much better than high vs low stocking rates. 3. Attempts to set pature targets as well as animal production targets. 4. Defines critical pasture DM levels both below which pasture production is reduced, and above which control is lost. The proximity to these critical levels will, for a farmer, more precisely define the grazing management system he should adopt and the levels of animal production he should be able to achieve

The effects of stocking rate and nitrogen fertilizer on the productivity of irrigated perennial pasture grazed by dairy cows. 2. Animal production

1980 ◽  
Vol 20 (106) ◽  
pp. 537 ◽  
Author(s):  
KR King ◽  
CR Stockdale
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Nitrogen Fertilizer ◽  
Protein Production ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Milk Products ◽  
Maximum Production ◽  
Total Milk ◽  
Stocking Rates

The relation between the stocking rate of dairy cows and their production from irrigated perennial pasture, with and without nitrogen (N) fertilizer, was studied over 2 years at Kyabram, Victoria. Pastures were rotationally grazed at stocking rates ranging from 4.4 to 8.6 cows ha-1. In each year, N treatments were topdressed four times at a rate of 56 kg N ha-1. For every additional cow per ha, production per ha decreased by 260 and 329 kg of milk, 12.3 and 15.5 kg of butterfat, and 10.7 and 14.5 kg of protein for years 1 and 2, respectively. In year one, the highest production of milk and butterfat (17,900 and 847 kg ha-1, respectively) was from cows stocked at 8.6 cows ha-1, and for protein (597 kg ha-1) from 7.6 cows ha-1. In year 2, production per ha of all milk products maximized and then declined. Maximum production of milk and butterfat (14,180 and 675 kg ha-1, respectively) was at 6.6 cows ha-1, and protein (508 kg ha-1) at 5.9 cows ha-1. Increasing stocking rate also reduced the liveweight of cows at all times. Topdressing with N fertilizer had no effect on total milk or butterfat production per cow, but consistently increased protein production. The range in response increased from 2 to 7 kg protein per cow at 4.4 and 8.6 cows ha-1, respectively. Application of N fertilizer increased liveweight per cow, with greater increases occurring at high stocking rates. In year 2, the efficiency of butterfat production over the whole year was 29.9, 29.3 and 37.0 kg of DM (pasture and supplements) per kg of butterfat produced for 4.4, 6.6 and 8.6 cows ha-1, respectively.

Grazed pasture parameters. II. Pasture dry-matter use in a stocking rate and grazing management experiment with dairy cows

1966 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Dairy Cow ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Dry Matter Intake ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Rotational Grazing ◽  
Grazed Pasture

1. Dry-matter intake, pasture utilization and grazing pressure were studied over 3 years on a small-scale replica of a dairy cow grazing management x stocking rate trial.2. The four treatments were:(i) Controlled rotational grazing, light stocking rate (0.95 cow/acre).(ii) Controlled rotational grazing, heavy stocking rate (1.19 cow/acre).(iii) Uncontrolled, set stocked grazing, light stocking rate (0.95 cow/acre).(iv) Uncontrolled, set stocked grazing, heavy stocking rate (1.19 cows/acre).3. Mean D.M. intakes were: (i) 29, (ii) 21, (iii) 28 and (iv) 21 lb./cow per day. D.M. intake was reduced on average by 7 ± 2.1 lb./cow per day at the higher level of stocking.

scholarly journals MANAGEMENT INFLUENCES ON SHEEP BEHAVIOUR, DUNG DISTRIBUTION AND SOIL PHOSPHATE

1985 ◽  
pp. 127-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.S. Thorrold ◽  
K.F. O'Connor ◽  
J.G.H. White
Keyword(s):  
Plant Uptake ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Nutrient Cycle ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Olsen P ◽  
Animal Distribution ◽  
Resting Behaviour ◽  
Stocking Rates

The behaviour of Merino wether hoggets grazing an existing management experiment at Tara Hills High Country Research Station was studied during summer 198111982. The experiment compared three stocking rates and three management systems (continuous, two paddock intermittent grazing, six paddock rotational). The daytime distribution and activity of the hoggets, dung distribution, and Olsen-P levels of topsoils were recorded on ten altitudinal strata within each of the nine treatment areas. Dung frequency was more closely correlated to grazing distribution than to either resting or total animal distribution. This is contrary to the generally accepted belief that dung accumulation is associated with resting behaviour. Increasing stocking ra?e !ed ?o a more even grazing and dung distribution. Subdivision by itself did not improve the evenness of distribution although it may have enhanced the stocking rate influence. There was little correlation between dung frequency and soil Olsen- P levels, especially outside the night camp areas. This indicates the importance of factors such as plant uptake and herbage consumption in the phosphate nutrient cycle. Olsen-P levels were consistently higher in the high stocking rate paddocks relative to the low stocking rate. Levels in the medium stocking rate fluctuated between these two. The implications of these findings in regard to the effects of intensification of farming in the high country on nutrient cycling and fertiliser requirements are discussed. Keywords: animal behaviour, dung distribution, tussock grasslands, phosphate, grazing management.

Effect of stocking rate, fodder conservation and grazing management on the performance of wether sheep in south-west Victoria. 1. Wool production

1975 ◽  
Vol 15 (73) ◽  
pp. 173 ◽  
Author(s):  
AH Bishop ◽  
HA Birrell
Keyword(s):  
Major Effect ◽  
Factorial Experiment ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Maximum Response ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Wool Production ◽  
The Third ◽  
South West ◽  
Stocking Rates

In a 4 x 4 x 3 factorial experiment lasting three years, the effects of stocking rate, fodder conservation and three grazing management systems (continuous, deferred and rotational) on the wool production of wethers grazing perennial pasture were assessed. The hay conserved on the plots was fed to the sheep in such a way that the quantities made and fed would balance over a period of years. At the highest rate of stocking some oats were fed in adverse seasons. Stocking rate had the major effect on wool production in all years. Improving wool production by fodder conservation was shown to depend on stocking rate, grazing management and the seasonal conditions. In some instances fodder conservation was shown to interact with stocking rate in a manner such that the maximum response tended to occur when smaller proportions of area were conserved as stocking rate increased. The implications of this interaction are discussed. Fodder conservation increased wool production in the continuous and rotationally grazed systems in all years, but did not in two of the three years with deferred grazing. The biggest increases in wool production due to fodder conservation occurred in the third year, the driest on record when a drought reserve was used. Wool production was also influenced by the grazing management. In alt-years there was a consistent interaction with stocking rate in which the highest wool production was produced in the rotational system at high stocking rates and in the deferred system at low stocking rates.

Post-experimental modelling of grazing systems to improve profit and environmental outcomes using AusFarm

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (9) ◽  
pp. 1849 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. M. Broadfoot ◽  
W. B. Badgery ◽  
G. D. Millar
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Experimental Modelling ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Sheep Production ◽  
Flexible Management ◽  
Stocking Rates

Assessments of grazing systems are often constrained by the decisions regarding the management of the grazing systems, including stocking rate, and also the seasonal conditions that occur during the assessment period. These constraints have led to sometimes conflicting results about comparisons of grazing management systems. This paper examines 1-, 4- and 20-paddock (1P, 4P and 20P) grazing management systems to determine how the intensity of grazing management on native pastures influences the financial performance of sheep production systems. The performance of the grazing systems, as part of the Orange EverGraze research experiment, was initially examined using the biophysical data over the 4 years of the experiment and then a more detailed analysis over a longer timeframe was undertaken using the AusFarm simulation modelling software. Flexible management strategies to optimise ewe numbers, sale time of lambs, and adjust ewe numbers based on season, were also assessed to determine which management systems are the most profitable and sustainable. There was higher profit for the 20P grazing system than the 1P system during the experiment. However, when stocking rates were held constant at optimum levels and systems were simulated over 40 years, there was no difference between grazing systems. Modelling strategies used to vary stocking rates showed that flexible management options are better based on optimising ewe numbers and the sale time of lambs rather than changing ewe numbers between years. The sustainability of modelled systems was also assessed using frequency of events where the average herbage mass (0.8 t DM/ha) or ground cover (80%) in autumn dropped below levels that are associated with degradation. Degradation events occurred more so with increasing ewe number than lamb sale time. Overall, the most sustainable systems, when considering profitability and environmental issues, had a stocking rate of 4.2 ewes per ha, with lambs sold in February (2 or 18). Higher stocking rates (5.3 ewes/ha) would need to be run for more intensive grazing management to have higher profitability.

Simplified rotational grazing management of dairy cows: effects of rates of stocking and concentrate

1991 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Hoden ◽  
J. L. Peyraud ◽  
A. Muller ◽  
L. Delaby ◽  
P. Faverdin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Milk Yield ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Rotational Grazing ◽  
Yield Improvement ◽  
Concentrate Supplementation ◽  
Stocking Rates

SUMMARYAn experiment was carried out in Normandy between 1986 and 1988 over c. 6 months in each year, using a simplified rotational grazing technique (two paddocks in spring, four in autumn) with a total of 162 high-yielding cows (mean milk yield of 30·0 kg/day at turn-out). Three stocking rates, designated control (C: 2·3 cows/ha over the total area of the system), moderate (M: 2·6 cows/ha = 115% of C) and high (H: 3·0 cows/ha = 130% of C), were compared at two rates of concentrate supplement, 3·7 kg/cow per day and 0·5 kg/cow per day. Individual milk yield differed by a non-significant 5% between the extreme stocking rates (21·3 v. 20·3 kg fat-corrected milk (FCM) for treatments C and H, respectively). Milk production/ha was 23% greater in the H treatment (9816 v. 7970 kg FCM for H and C, respectively). Concentrate supplementation led, on average, to a 9% milk yield improvement (21·8 v. 20·0 kg FCM for high and low rates, respectively), i.e. a mean efficiency of 0·6 kg FCM/kg supplement. This response tended to be greater in the higher-yielding cows and for the high stocking rate. The sward measurements contributed to a better understanding of herbage utilization by the cows.

Management of grazing systems

1989 ◽  
pp. 117-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Hodgson
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Pastoral Systems ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Alternative Means ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Stocking Rates

Recent assessments of the relative importance of stocking rate. stocking policy and grazing management on the output from pastoral systems are used as a starting point to argue the need for objective pasture assessments to aid control of livestock enterprises to meet production targets. Variations in stocking rates, stocking policy and other management practices all provide alternative means of control of pasture conditions which are the major determinants of pasture and animal performance. Understanding of the influence of pasture conditions on systems performance should provide a better basis for management control and for Communication between farmers, extension officers and researchers. Keywords: Stocking rate, pasture condition, pasture cover

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