The effects of spring feeding strategy on pasture productivity, sward quality, and animal performance within intensive pasture-based dairy systems.

The objective of this research was to evaluate how different feeding strategies based on various pasture availability (PA) treatments within intensive seasonal production systems affected pasture production and utilization, sward quality, and the milk production, body weight (BW), and body condition score (BCS) of dairy cows. The performance data were obtained from a 3-yr experiment conducted previously (2018-2020, inclusive). In total, records from 208 spring-calving dairy cows were available for analysis. The animals were randomly allocated to 1 of 3 PA grazing treatments in spring that varied in average pasture cover (measured as herbage mass available above 3.5 cm) that was established via different pasture management strategies in the previous autumn. Thus, the opening average pasture cover across all paddocks on February 1 was 1,100 kg of dry matter (DM)/ha for high pasture availability (HPA), 880 for medium pasture availability (MPA), and 650 for low pasture availability (LPA), respectively. The measurements were taken over an 8-wk period during the first grazing rotation in spring, commencing on February 16 (±2 d) and finishing when all paddocks were grazed once on April 12 (±5 d). Paddocks that were part of the HPA treatment showed the highest pregrazing herbage masses and pregrazing sward heights (1,645 kg of DM/ha and 8.2 cm, respectively) compared with MPA (1,412 kg of DM/ha and 7.5 cm, respectively) and LPA (1,170 kg of DM/ha and 6.9 cm, respectively). Owing to the differences in PA, daily herbage allowance was greatest for HPA (11.7 kg of DM/cow), intermediate for MPA (10.2 kg of DM/cow), and lowest for LPA (8.8 kg of DM/cow), with the remaining feed deficit composed of additional daily grass silage supplementation (0.8, 1.5, and 2.8 kg of DM/cow for HPA, MPA, and LPA, respectively), while the daily concentrate and daily total feed allowance were equal between treatments during spring (2.7 and 15.0 kg of DM/cow). Despite salient differences in fresh pasture used, complementing pasture intake with grass silage did not affect daily or cumulative milk, solids-corrected milk, fat, or protein yield or milk constituents. Similarly, BW and BCS were also unaffected by PA treatment. The results highlight the importance of high spring pasture utilization and grazing efficiency achievable with higher pregrazing herbage masses, which also allow larger animal intakes from grazed pasture as the cheapest feed source during spring. Moreover, targeting an adequate pasture supply at the commencement of calving increases the grazing days per hectare and lowers the requirement for supplementary feed on farm, particularly when facing increasing variability in climatic conditions.

An evaluation of detailed animal characteristics influencing the lactation production efficiency of spring-calving, pasture-based dairy cattle.

Selection for feed efficiency, the ratio of output (e.g., milk yield) to feed intake, has traditionally been limited on commercial dairy farms by the necessity for detailed individual animal intake and performance data within large animal populations. The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the effects of individual animal characteristics (animal breed, genetic potential, milk production, body weight (BW), daily total dry matter intake (TDMI), and energy balance) on a cost-effective production efficiency parameter calculated as the annual fat and protein (milk solids) production per unit of mid-lactation BW (MSperBWlact). A total of 1,788 individual animal intake records measured at various stages of lactation (early, mid, and late lactation) from 207 Holstein-Friesian and 200 Jersey × Holstein-Friesian cows were used. The derived efficiency traits included daily kilograms of milk solids produced per 100 kg of BW (dMSperBWint) and daily kilograms of milk solids produced per kilogram of TDMI (dMSperTDMI). The TDMI per 100 kg of BW was also calculated (TDMI/BWint) at each stage of lactation. Animals were subsequently either ranked as the top 25% (Heff) or bottom 25% (Leff) based on their lactation production efficiency (MSperBWlact). Dairy cow breed significantly affected animal characteristics over the entire lactation and during specific periods of intake measurements. Jersey crossbred animals produced more milk, based on a lower TDMI, and achieved an increased intake per kilogram of BW. Similarly, Heff produced more milk over longer lactations, weighed less, were older, and achieved a higher TDMI compared with the Leff animals. Both Jersey × Holstein-Friesian and Heff cows achieved superior production efficiency due to lower maintenance energy requirements, and consequentially increased milk solids production per kilogram of BW and per kilogram of TDMI at all stages of lactation. Indeed, within breed, Heff animals weighed 20 kg less and produced 15% more milk solids over the total lactation than Leff. In addition, Heff achieved increased daily milk solids yield (+0.16 kg) and milk solids yield per kilogram of TDMI (+ 0.23 kg/kg DM) during intake measurement periods. Moreover, the strong and consistently positive correlations between MSperBWlact and detailed production efficiency traits (dMSperBWint, dMSperTDMI) reported here demonstrate that MSperBWlact is a robust measure that can be applied within commercial grazing dairy systems to increase the selection intensity for highly efficient animals.

Effect of 3 autumn pasture management strategies applied to 2 farm system intensities on the productivity of spring-calving, pasture-based dairy systems.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of altering autumn pasture availability and farm system intensity on the productivity of spring-calving dairy cows during autumn. A total of 144 Holstein-Friesian and Holstein-Friesian × Jersey crossbred dairy cows were randomly assigned to 2 whole farm system (FS) intensities and 3 autumn pasture availability (PA; measured above 3.5 cm) treatments in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement. The 2 farm systems consisted of a medium intensity (MI: 2.75 cows/ha, target postgrazing sward height of 4.0-4.5 cm) and high intensity system (HI: 3.25 cows/ha, target postgrazing sward height of 3.5-4.0 cm, + 1.8 kg of concentrate dry matter [(DM)/cow per day]. Within each farm system treatment, cows were further subdivided into 3 different PA management strategies: high PA (HPA), medium PA (MPA), and low PA (LPA). The experimental period lasted for 11 wk from September 1 to housing of all animals on November 20 (±2 d) over 3 yr (2017-2019, inclusive). To establish the different average pasture covers for each PA treatment during autumn and in particular at the end of the grazing season, grazing rotation length was extended by +13 and +7 d for HPA and MPA, respectively, beyond that required by LPA (37 d). There were no significant FS × PA interactions for any of the pasture, dry matter intake, or milk production and composition variables analyzed. There were also no differences in pregrazing sward characteristics or sward nutritive value between FS with the exception of daily herbage allowance, which was reduced for HI system (12.2 vs. 14.2 kg of DM/cow). Milk and milk solid yield were greater for HI groups (15.9 and 1.55 kg/cow per day, respectively) compared with MI (15.4 and 1.50 kg/cow per day, respectively). Mean paddock pregrazing herbage mass was significantly higher with increased PA ranging from a mean of 1,297 kg of DM/ha for LPA to 1,718 and 2,111 kg of DM/ha of available pasture for MPA and HPA, respectively. Despite large differences in pregrazing herbage mass, there was no difference in cumulative pasture production and only modest differences in grazing efficiency and sward nutritive value between PA treatments. On average, closing pasture covers were 420, 650, and 870 kg of DM/ha for LPA, MPA, and HPA, respectively, on December 1. In addition to maintaining similar grazing season lengths and achieving big differences in availability of pasture on farm into late autumn, PA treatment had no significant effect on dry matter intake, milk production, and body condition score during the study period. The results of this study indicate that greater cow performance and pasture utilization can be achieved through a greater daily concentrate allocation along with an increased stocking rate. Moreover, the potential to adapt grazing management practices to increase the average autumn pasture cover in intensive grazing systems is highlighted. In addition, a high dependence on high-quality grazed pasture during late autumn can be ensured without compromising grazing season length while also allowing additional pasture to be available for the subsequent spring.