The performance of grazing dairy cows offered concentrates on a ‘feed-to-yield’ basis, whengrazed grass is assumed to sustain either a ‘high’, ‘medium’ or ‘low’ milk yield

摘要

Implications This study suggests that increasing the proportion of grazed grass in the diet of dairy cows will reduce dailymilk yields and increase the amount of concentrate feed required for milk production in a ‘feed-to-yield’ dairy system.Introduction Concentrate feed is frequently offered on a ‘feed-to-yield’ basis in dairy-cow grazing systems, withallowances being determined based on the difference between an individual cow’s actual milk yield and the milk yieldassumed to be sustained from grazed grass. However, there is little information available on the impact of the valueadopted for the assumed milk yield sustained from grazed grass on concentrate requirements and cow performance. Thus,this study examined the effects of assumed milk yield sustained from grazed grass (MFG) on the performance of grazingdairy cows allocated concentrates on a feed-to-yield basis throughout the grazing season.