Feed conversion efficiency of regenerative compared with conventional dryland sheep production systems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33584/jnzg.2026.88.3903Abstract
The feed conversion efficiency of a regenerative dryland sheep production system was compared with a conventional system at two soil Olsen P levels (10–15 and 20–25 mg/kg) in Years 3 (2023–24) and 4 (2024–25) of an on-going experiment at Lincoln University. There were four 1.936-ha farmlets, each stocked with mixed-age Bohepe ewes and their progeny. The two systems were not different in dry matter (DM) intake (average 7.30 t/ha per year) and there was no effect of
soil P fertility. However, the feed conversion efficiency for the Regenerative system was lower by 29 kg of liveweight gain/t of DM intake in Year 3 and by 20 kg of liveweight gain/t of DM intake in Year 4. In Year 3, the DM intake for the Regenerative system was composed of 0.24 t/ha less crude protein (CP), 0.76 t/ha more neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and a 5.3:1 lower CP-to-metabolisable energy (ME) ratio. In Year 4, it comprised 1.31 t/ha less legume, 0.26 t/ha less CP and 2.6:1 less CP:ME. These results show that the Regenerative system produced less sheep liveweight gain from a similar quantity of lower quality feed consumed than the Conventional system.
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