A Comparison of Three Pasture Plans with Grasses for Dairy Cows

Abstract

Summary A comparison of three pasture management plans was made for periods of 3 yr. with pasture forage that was mostly grasses. The one-day rotational grazing management plan resulted in more total digestible nutrients consumed by the cows from the pasture forage when compared with the ten-day rotational grazing management plan. These differences were not significant at any time during the experimental periods. The soiling management plan also resulted in more total digestible nutrients being obtained from pasture when compared to the ten-day rotational management plan, but these differences were not significant. When the effect of years is removed, the average feed costs of producing 100 lb. of milk by the cows on the ten-day rotational, one-day rotational, and soiling management systems were $1.19, $1.29, and $1.55, respectively. It can be concluded that with a pasture mixture made up largely of grasses in these trials, the ten-day rotational grazing system resulted in a lower feed cost per 100 lb. of milk than did the one-day rotational grazing or soilage management systems.