Performance of Dairy Cows Offered Grass Silage Produced within Either a Three- or Four-Harvest System When Supplemented with Concentrates on a Feed-to-Yield Basis

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dc.contributor.authorCraig, Aimee
dc.contributor.authorGordon, Alan Wesley
dc.contributor.authorFerris, Conrad
dc.date.accessioned2023-02-07T09:13:25Z
dc.date.available2023-02-07T09:13:25Z
dc.date.issued2023-01-07
dc.descriptionPublication history: Accepted - 4 January 2023; Published online - 7 January 2023
dc.description.abstractMore frequent harvesting of grass swards provides an opportunity to improve the nutritive value of grass silage. This study investigated the effect of offering silages produced within either a three- (3H) or four-harvest (4H) system on dairy cow performance when concentrate supplements were offered according to the individual cow’s milk yield (feed-to-yield). Cows (n = 80) were allocated to either 3H or 4H at calving and remained on experiment for 25 weeks. Within both treatments, cows were offered silage from each harvest consecutively in proportion to the dry matter (DM) yield for each harvest. Silage was offered as a mixed ration with concentrate added at a rate of 8 kg/cow/day. Additional concentrates were offered on a feed-to-yield basis. Herbage yields were reduced in the 4H system, but 4H silage contained higher metabolisable energy and crude protein content compared to 3H. Cows offered the 4H silage had greater silage DM intake, milk yield and milk protein content, while milk fat content was greater in cows offered 3H silages. In conclusion, increasing harvesting frequency from three to four harvests per year can improve silage feed value, silage intakes and milk yields when concentrates are offered on a feed-to-yield basis.
dc.description.sponsorshipThis project was funded by Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland, and by AgriSearch (Farmers Levy).
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12518/517
dc.identifier.citationCraig, A.-L., Gordon, A.W. and Ferris, C.P. (2023) ‘Performance of Dairy Cows Offered Grass Silage Produced within Either a Three- or Four-Harvest System When Supplemented with Concentrates on a Feed-to-Yield Basis’, Animals. MDPI AG. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13020228.
dc.identifier.issn2076-2615
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.3390/ani13020228
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherMDPI
dc.rights© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
dc.subjectdairy cattle
dc.subjectmulti-harvest silage
dc.subjectsilage feed value
dc.subjectsilage systems
dc.subjectprecision feeding
dc.titlePerformance of Dairy Cows Offered Grass Silage Produced within Either a Three- or Four-Harvest System When Supplemented with Concentrates on a Feed-to-Yield Basis
dc.typeArticle
dcterms.dateAccepted2023-01-04
dcterms.dateSubmitted2022-12-06

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