The effect of level of concentrate supplementation given with grass silage during the winter on the total lactation performance of autumn-calving dairy cows
- 1 February 1984
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in The Journal of Agricultural Science
- Vol. 102 (1), 163-179
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021859600041605
Abstract
Summary: A total of 140 British Friesian cows in their second or later lactation and with a mean calving date of 27 October (s.D. 18 days) were used in a randomized-block experiment over a 3-year period. The experiment was designed to examine the effects of level of concentrate given during the winter period, in addition to ad libitum access to grass silage, on total lactation performance. The silage had a mean dry-matter content and digestible organic matter in the dry matter of 206 and 698 g/kg respectively and the mean inputs of concentrates on the five treatments were 0–64, 0–89, 1–14, 1–38 and 1·59 t/cow (treatments 1–5 respectively). Sixteen replicates per treatment were housed in individual stalls during the winter period in order to facilitate the measurement of silage intake and the remaining animals in each year were maintained as a single group.All animals in each year grazed together as a single group at pasture at a mean stocking rate of 6–0 cows/ha and without supplementary concentrates.Level of concentrate supplementation had a significant linear effect on the intake of silage dry matter with the relationship between total intake of silage dry matter over the winter period (kg, y) and concentrate dry matter input (kg, x) being described by equation (1)Keywords
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- The relationship between yield of milk solids of dairy cows and response to change in plane of nutritionThe Journal of Agricultural Science, 1981
- THE INFLUENCE OF LEVEL AND PATTERN OF CONCENTRATE INPUT ON MILK OUTPUTPublished by Elsevier BV ,1981
- The effect of level and system of concentrate allocation to January/February calving cows on total lactation performanceAnimal Science, 1980
- The optimum level of protein in the supplement for dairy cows with access to grass silageAnimal Science, 1979
- The effect of protein content on the response of lactating cows to level of concentrate feedingAnimal Science, 1977
- Effect of concentrate level and stocking rate on performance of dairy cows calving in late winterAnimal Science, 1976
- Liveweight change and fertility in the lactating dairy cow: a reviewPublished by Wiley ,1973
- The associative effect of level of energy and protein intake in the dairy cowJournal of Dairy Research, 1970
- The assessment of a crop husbandry technique in terms of animal productionAnimal Science, 1963
- 724. Levels of feeding of concentrates for dairy heifers before and after calvingJournal of Dairy Research, 1958