A comparison of first-, second- and third-cut timothy silages in the diets of finishing beef bulls

Arto Kalevi Huuskonen,Maiju Pesonen

doi:10.23986/afsci.60413

Abstract

The objective of the present experiment was to study the effects of the third-cut grass silage compared with the first- and second-cut silages on intake, performance and carcass characteristics of finishing bulls. A feeding experiment comprised 45 Simmental bulls which were fed a total mixed ration ad libitum. The three dietary treatments included either first-, second- or third-cut grass silage (550 g kg-1 dry matter), rolled barley (435 g kg-1 dry matter) and a mineral-vitamin mixture (15 g kg-1 dry matter). Dry matter and energy intakes and growth rates of the bulls increased when either first- or third-cut silages were used instead of the second-cut silage. This was probably due to differences in digestibility, which was the lowest in the second-cut silage. There were no differences in intake or growth between the first- and third-cut silage-based rations. No significant differences in carcass traits among the feeding treatments were observed.

Highlights

Grass silage is the basic component of diets for growing cattle in Northern Europe
The third-cut silage had 16 and 10% higher SDMI index compared to the first- and second-cut silages, respectively
Due to the rainy weather conditions during the first cut, the dry matter (DM) concentration of the first-cut silage was clearly lower compared to the second- and third-cut silages. This difference affected the SDMI index as the meta-analysis by Huhtanen et al (2007) implied that SDMI is independently affected by silage DM concentration

Summary

Introduction

Grass silage is the basic component of diets for growing cattle in Northern Europe. The nutritive value of grass silage depends of the stage of growth at harvesting and the changes in the chemical composition during ensiling (Huhtanen et al 2007). Early-cut grass produces highly digestible primary growth for silage, but the digestibility of the second cut tends to be lower (Rinne 2000, Kuoppala 2010). A three-cut strategy, which provides better utilisation of the entire growing season than a two-cut strategy (Hyrkäs et al 2015), is becoming more common in northern Finland. Hyrkäs et al (2015) reported that over the whole growing season under. Three cuts provided higher average digestibility than two cuts.

Methods

Results

Conclusion