Winter rotation length effect on pasture production and animal performance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33584/jnzg.2017.79.572Abstract
Abstract Data comparing pasture production in winter pastures subject to 16, 48 or 72-day rotation lengths were recovered from experiments at Massey University to support teaching of grazing management. 'Farmlets' with 16 breeding ewes on 0.8 ha were run from 2011- 2016, and herbage production estimated from metabolic energy budgeting (MEB). The data illustrate: the roles of pasture cover and animal body weight as buffers to neutralise the impact of weather variability, the use of controlled cover release via the grazing rotation to partially meet winter feed deficit, and the potential value of MEB in systems research. Grass grown from May to September (early pregnancy to mid-lactation) was 3850, 4220 and 4840 kg DM/ha for 16, 48 and 72- day rotations, respectively. As a result of a reduction in herbage accumulation and the premature release of autumn-saved pasture to animals, the 16-day rotation failed to overwinter the animals in five of the 6 years, the exception being a winter with high pasture growth. Keywords: winter rotation length, pasture growth rate, teaching pedagogyDownloads
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