Key pasture and milksolids production indicators from two Waikato farmlets differing in inputs, stocking rate, pasture allowance and nitrate leaching
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33584/jnzg.2016.78.519Abstract
Two DairyNZ farmlets, differing in nitrogen fertiliser inputs, cow genetic merit and autumn/winter grazing management, with stocking rates of 2.6 ('Future') and 3.2 ('Current') cows/ha, were compared for pasture residual and quality over 4 years. Target intakes for lactating cows were 18 and 16 kg DM/cow/day, respectively, with target grazing residuals of 3.5-4 cm (1500 kg DM/ha in late winter/spring, 7-8 clicks on the rising plate meter) for both herds. Measurement of grazing residuals, pasture quality and botanical composition identified small differences between farmlets. Grazing residuals on the Future farmlet averaged 0.2 cm (0.4 clicks on rising plate meter, RPM) (P<0.01) higher than on the Current farmlet with the difference being 0.35 cm in late spring (P<0.01), 0.2 cm in summer (P<0.05), 0.3 cm in autumn (P<0.05) and not significantly different in winter and early spring. The metabolisable energy (ME) content of the pasture on the Future farmlet was on average 0.2 MJ ME/kg DM (P=0.06) lower than the Current farmlet over the 4 years (11.6 and 11.8 MJ ME/kg DM, respectively), with the difference being significant (P<0.05) in early spring. Despite lower annual pasture production, pasture allowance per cow was higher on the Future farmlet which resulted in higher pasture intakes and milksolids production per cow, though lower production per hectare. The results showed that grazing residuals and pasture quality did not decline markedly with increasing pasture allowance. Keywords: pasture, grazing residual, pasture allowance, pasture quality, milksolidsDownloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Rights granted to the New Zealand Grassland Association through this agreement are non-exclusive. You are free to publish the work(s) elsewhere and no ownership is assumed by the NZGA when storing or curating an electronic version of the work(s). The author(s) will receive no monetary return from the Association for the use of material contained in the manuscript. If I am one of several co-authors, I hereby confirm that I am authorized by my co-authors to grant this Licence as their agent on their behalf. For the avoidance of doubt, this includes the rights to supply the article in electronic and online forms and systems.