GRAZING MANAGEMENT FOR DAIRY CATTLE

Many studies in recent years have stressed that grassland provides the greater part of the feed requirements of ruminant livestock in temperate lands, that a large proportion of this is supplied as grazing (83, 122) and that in this form it is the cheapest source of feed for ruminants (25, 38, 40). Several authors have contrasted the production estimated to be available from pasture with the much lower proportion—about 50% (74, 116)—harvested by the animal. For these reasons the efficiency of grass utilization under grazing conditions has received intensive study in the past 20 years and many of the principles of grazing management have been elucidated. Consideration of grazing management involves a study of the needs of the animals to be catered for, the sequence of grass crops which may be grown over the season, including the influence of special-purpose pastures and of fertilizer treatment on the yield and seasonal distribution of production, and the effective conservation of surplus herbage. In this review, however, attention is concentrated on the problems concerned in grazing management for the dairy cow during the main growing period of the year. The object of grazing management may be defined as 'to ensure a large supply of nutritious grazing over the growing season at a low cost and to utilize it in such a manner that physical waste of herbage and inefficient utilization by the animal are minimized and the productive capacity of the sward is maintained'. It is a complex subject, involving many interrelated factors including botanical, animal and per-acre considerations. These are briefly outlined before the available experimental data in grazing management practices are considered.