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Maximising Annual Intake of Grazed Grass for Beef Production.
Humphreys, James O'Riordan, Edward G. O'Kiely, Padraig
Humphreys, James
O'Riordan, Edward G.
O'Kiely, Padraig
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2001-06-01
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Humphreys, J., O'Riordan, E.G., O'Kiely, P., Maximising Annual Intake of Grazed Grass for Beef Production, End of Project Reports, Teagasc, 2001.
Abstract
Grass is by far the most important crop grown in Ireland.Well-managed
grassland supports high levels of animal performance, and the
production of high quality produce. Grazed grass is a relatively cheap
feed source for beef production (O'Kiely, 1994). Grazed grass does
not always match feed requirements in efficient beef production systems.
Supply tends to exceed demand in the late spring and summer
whereas deficiencies in feed supply occur in late autumn and during
the winter and early spring. The objective of the present series of
experiments was to examine the potential to increase the utilization
of grazed grass in beef production systems.There are two aspects to
this: one relates to the utilization of grass in situ; the second relates
to the strategic approach to grass utilization, i.e. matching feed
requirements with supply of grazed grass and silage conservation
during the year.
The first two experiments presented in this report examine the utilization
of grass in situ. The effects of pre-grazing pasture mass and
nitrogen (N) fertilization on the production and subsequently the utilization
and digestibility of the grass under grazing by cattle were
examined. A third experiment and examines the effect of pre-grazing
pasture mass on performance of beef cattle during a grazing season.
The fourth experiment investigates the role of perennial ryegrass
cultivars in supplying grass for grazing during the spring, and for the
production of high nutritive value first cut silage.