A comparison of perennial ryegrass‐ and tall fescue‐based swards with or without a cropping component for dairy production: Animal production, herbage characteristics and financial performance from a 3‐year farmlet trial

Abstract

Perennial ryegrass/white clover swards have some limitations in temperate grazed dairying systems. This study tested the hypothesis that farmlets based on alternative species would be equally or more profitable than those perennial ryegrass‐based, and would produce more herbage in summer‐dry conditions. Six farmlets were established; three with perennial ryegrass‐ and three with tall fescue‐based swards. For each grass species, one farmlet was solely based on grass‐clover swards while the other two had either chicory‐red clover or lucerne crops planted on 20%–25% of the area. Animal‐ and herbage performance‐related variables were measured for 3 years, and calculated financial performance was evaluated. Using tall fescue improved total annual herbage yield compared with perennial ryegrass, but animal production and operating profit were lower. This was likely due to the reduced yield and nutritive value of tall fescue during spring and an associated decline in daily milksolids production. The deficit in spring milksolids production was never recovered, despite greater herbage production from tall fescue during summer/autumn. Incorporating chicory‐red clover or lucerne crops reduced both annual herbage and milksolids production. This reduced farm income, while increasing operating expenses as the farmlets required crop renewal and more purchased supplementary feed to maintain feed supply. Under the conditions of this study (i.e., partial irrigation, high nitrogen supply), changing the forage base from perennial ryegrass to tall fescue did not improve animal production or profitability, nor did incorporation of crops on 20%–25% of the farmlet area.

Optionen der Grünlandbewirtschaftung im Klimawandel: Bewertung der Weidewirtschaft und Prüfung von Weidelgras, Rohrschwingel und Lieschgras.

“…Protein contents did not differ significantly between LoPe and FeAr which confirms the findings of and of Lee et al (2018) We found that the protein contents developed differently in time for LoPe and FeAr mixtures: in late summer and autumn the protein contents of LoPe were higher than those of FeAr (Figure 1).…”

“…However, the net energy content in LoPe mixtures, although containing PoPr and HoLa which have a lower content of net energy , was higher than that of FeAr and PhPr mixtures. In this respect the results of the presented experiment are comparable to those with single-species swards with LoPe, FeAr and PhPr Davies and Morgan, 1982;Lee et al, 2018).…”

“…1) FeAr based diets result in a lower milk production compared to LoPe (Lee at al., 2018). It has been shown that cows fed with fresh FeAr have a lower feed intake and milk production than cows fed with fresh LoPe (Lutten and Remmelink, 1984).…”

Feed quality of modern varieties of Festuca arundinacea and Phleum pratense as an alternative to Lolium perenne in intensively managed grassland with different defoliation schemes

“…Davies and Morgan (1982) compared FeAr, LoPe and PhPr and found the highest in-vitro digestibility of 70% for LoPe (11.2 MJ ME/kg DM) but only 62% in-vitro digestibility and 9.9 MJ ME/kg DM for FeAr. Lee et al (2018) in a three-year field trial found that LoPe had a significantly higher content of metabolizable energy (ME) (12.1 MJ/kg DM) than FeAr (11.8 MJ/kg DM). Kalzendorf and Hinrichsen (2017) found for pure swards of LoPe in the first, second and third cut a content of net energy of always more than 6.3 MJ/kg DM while the net energy content of FeAr at each cut was below 6.0 MJ/kg DM.…”

Effects of Pasture Type on Metabolism, Liver and Kidney Function, Antioxidant Status, and Plant Secondary Compounds in Plasma of Grazing, Jersey Dairy Cattle During Mid-lactation

“…Most pastures utilized for dairy production in temperate environments are primarily composed of perennial ryegrass and white clover (Lee et al, 2018). These pastures provide highquality forage predominantly during the cool season but are characterized by low taxonomic and phytochemical diversity, presenting limited benefits to the cows and the environment (Distel et al, 2020).…”