Effects of grazing system on production and parasitism of dairy breed heifers and steers grazing wet marginal grasslands
- 1 April 2006
- journal article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Animal Science
- Vol. 82 (2), 201-211
- https://doi.org/10.1079/asc200520
Abstract
Production and endoparasitism of first grazing season Holstein heifers and steers were investigated over two grazing seasons. Studies were conducted on low-lying peaty soil. In year 2000, 40 animals were included in a 2×2 factorial, replicated experiment with two sexes (steers v. heifers) and two stocking rates (SR): normal v. low (840 v. 420 kg live weight per ha at turn-out) in a set stocking grazing system. Mean grass heights over the entire season were 6·3±4·8 cm (mean±s.d.) at normal SR and 9·8±6·1 cm at low SR. Mean daily live-weight gain during grazing was significantly (Pv. heifers), two grazing systems (set stocking and two-paddock rotation) and four replicates. Pasture quality was low, 570 g digestible organic matter per kg organic matter and 139 g crude protein per kg dry matter on average, independent of grazing system. Mean daily live-weight gain was not significantly affected by grazing system. A tendency (P=0·07) to lower daily gain for the heifers than for steers was observed (427±161 g v. 474±138 g). Lower levels of pasture contamination with parasites were observed in the paddocks without grazing up to mid July but otherwise rotation did not prevent parasite infections. It is concluded that first grazing season steers and heifers have the same potential for growth when grazing marginal areas with low pasture quality. Set stocking or the two-paddock rotation scheme did not affect productivity or level of parasite infection at the end of season. Parasite infections became a problem at high SR. SR is an important factor for both daily live-weight gain per animal and total production per ha. However, due to the very heterogeneous structure of marginal areas there is a need for other indicators than kg live weight per ha at turn-out in order to define a clear relationship between stocking rate and production.Keywords
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- Continuous and rotational grazing of dairy cows – the interactions of grazing system with level of milk yield, sward height and concentrate levelGrass and Forage Science, 2003
- Dairy bull calves as a resource for organic beef production: a farm survey in DenmarkLivestock Production Science, 2002
- Performance of light vs heavy steers grazing Plains Old World bluestem at three stocking rates.Journal of Animal Science, 2001
- The role of parasite epidemiology in the management of grazing cattleInternational Journal for Parasitology, 1999
- The effect of repeated moves to clean pasture on the build up of gastrointestinal nematode infections in calvesVeterinary Parasitology, 1998
- Effect of breed type, sex, method of rearing and winter nutrition on lifetime performance and carcass composition in a 20-month beef system: grazing performanceAnimal Science, 1996
- Influence of sex and reproductive status on susceptibility of ruminants to nematode parasitismInternational Journal for Parasitology, 1993
- Ingestive behavior of beef heifers within grazing sessionsApplied Animal Behaviour Science, 1989
- Grazing pressure and acquisition of Ostertagia ostertagi in calvesVeterinary Parasitology, 1988
- Epidemiology of bovine dictyocaulosis in DenmarkVeterinary Parasitology, 1980