The effect of stocking upon a comparison of break and rotational paddock grazing for dairy cows

摘要

Summary The differences between milk, butterfat, and herbage yields per acre at overall stocking rates of 1.15 and 1.52 cows per acre were compared with the differences between the effects of break and rotational paddock grazing. Twenty-one pairs of identical-twin cows were divided into three treatment groups. Treatment 1 cows were paddock grazed at the lower overall stocking rate; treatment 2 and 3 cows were break arid paddock grazed respectively, at the higher overall stocking rate. The average grazing concentrations for treatments 1 to 3 were 10, 106, and 14 cows per acre, respectively. The breaks for treatment 2 cows were moved forward twice daily and the cows in treatments 1 and 3 were given a fresh paddock each day. The experiment started on 4 October 1957, and finished fifteen weeks later on 16 January. This was the main period of spring pasture growth. There was no intention of testing the three treatments under conditions when it might be desirable to ration out feed when it is scarce. Neither ra...