Dairy cow performance and labour inputs associated with two silage feeding systems

Ferris, C.P.; Frost, J. P.; Binnie, R. C.; Patterson, D. C.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2494.2006.00534.x

Cited by 24 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The complete diets and the forage components of the rations with the easy feed systems were offered ad libitum. Full details of each of these two feeding systems (easy feed and complete diet) have been described by Ferris et al (2006). In year 1, 32 and 48 cows were offered food via the easy feed system and complete diet system respectively (16 of the cows offered the complete diet were used in serial nutrient utilisation studies as described Ferris, Patterson, McCoy and Kilpatrick elsewhere), while in year 2, 40 cows were offered food via each of the two feeding systems.…”

Section: Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of offering dairy cows diets differing in phosphorus concentration over four successive lactations: 1. Food intake, milk production, tissue changes and blood metabolites

Ferris

Patterson

McCoy

et al. 2010

Animal

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The loss of phosphates from dairy farms contributes to the eutrophication of waterways. Whilst reducing the phosphorus (P) content of dairy cow diets has the potential to help reduce phosphate losses, diets containing inadequate dietary P may have a negative effect on cow health and performance. To address this issue, 100 winter-calving Holstein-Friesian dairy cows were offered diets containing either 'high' or 'low' levels of dietary P. The experiment was conducted over a 4-year period, with 80 primiparous cows commencing the study in year 1, while a further 20 primiparous cows commenced the study in year 2. Rations offered during the winter comprised grass silage, maize silage (70 : 30 dry matter (DM) basis, approximately) and concentrates (10.0 to 12.0 kg/cow per day). During the summer periods in years 1 and 2, half of the cows grazed both day and night, while the remaining cows grazed by day, and were housed by night and offered grass silage. During years 3 and 4, all cows grazed both day and night during the summer period. Concentrate feed levels during the summer periods were 3.0 to 4.0 kg/cow per day. Different dietary P levels were achieved by offering concentrates containing either high or low P levels during the winter period (approximately 7.0 or 4.4 g P/kg DM respectively), and during the summer period (approximately 6.8 or 3.6 g P/kg DM, respectively). Total ration P levels averaged 4.9 and 3.6 g P/kg DM for the 'high' and 'low' P winter diets respectively, and 4.2 and 3.6 g P/kg DM for the 'high' and 'low' P summer diets respectively. A total of 95, 70, 50 and 22 cows completed each of lactations 1 to 4 respectively. Dietary P level had no significant effect on food intake, milk output or milk composition ( P . 0.05). Plasma P concentrations were significantly lower with cows offered the 'low' P diet in each of lactations 1 to 4 ( P , 0.05). In each of lactations 3 and 4, cows offered the 'low' P diet tended to have lower condition scores and live weights than those offered the 'high' P diet. The results of this experiment highlight that the P content of dairy cow diets can be substantially reduced with no detrimental effect on dairy cow performance.Keywords: dairy cows, phosphorus, food intake, milk, blood Implications Phosphorus (P) of agricultural origin (primarily from fertiliser and feeds) contributes to eutrophication of waterways. A 4-year experiment was conducted to examine the longterm impact of reducing the P content of dairy cow concentrates on cow performance. Neither food intake, milk production or cow fertility were affected when dietary P levels were reduced by approximately 25% over this 4-year period. Reducing the P content of dairy cow diets has the potential to reduce P loss to the environment.

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Section: Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of offering dairy cows diets differing in phosphorus concentration over four successive lactations: 1. Food intake, milk production, tissue changes and blood metabolites

Ferris

Patterson

McCoy

et al. 2010

Animal

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“…Maseda et al (2004) reported that this simplification plays an important role in meeting the life-quality demands made by farmers and their families. These simplifications trigger changes in work patterns by cutting the number of on-farm work tasks and the daily number of hours at work (Ferris et al, 2006).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The volume of work has increased and the number of workers has decreased in the agricultural production systems, especially in familiar agriculture (Ferris et al, 2006;Madelrieux & Dedieu, 2008;Hostiou & Dedieu, 2009). These changes were not different in dairy production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Room for manoeuvre in time of the workforce in dairy production systems

et al. 2012

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-The objective of this study was to characterize and to analyze the room for manoeuvre in time in dairy production systems (DPS). Two interviews were conducted in twenty DPS in the Northern region of Paraná, Brazil, with the following objectives: to know the management and practices involving the herd, the land area and the commercialization; and to qualify and evaluate the work organization. In order to build the variables, the repertory grid method was used, and for the typology, the graphic methodology of Bertin adapted to small samples was used. The results showed that the room for manoeuvre in time of the DPS, quantified in hours available per year, varied between the farmers and was related to routine work and seasonal work durations, as well as the autonomy of farmers to perform both works. The routine work was related to the number of cows, but was also explained by the herd management, by the transport equipment for the feed and by the workforce composition. Four types of work organization were identified between sampled DPS, based on room for manoeuvre in time and how they were built. Knowing the room for manoeuvre time and its variables, it is possible to guide the farmers to adjust their dairy production system in order to have more time available for other activities or to develop the dairy production system.

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“…As the agricultural working population and the number of farms have continued to fall, increasing work productivity has remained the key to farm competitiveness (Ferris et al, 2006;Aubron et al, 2009). In France, work perceptions are evolving too: farmers are increasingly focused on being free, having holidays or freeing up time to spend on private activities and the family (Dufour and Dedieu, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A method for assessing work productivity and flexibility in livestock farms

Hostiou¹,

Dedieu²

2012

Animal

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Changes affecting livestock farming systems have made farm work a central concern for both the sector and for farmers themselves. Increased pressure on farms to be competitive and productive together with farmers' demand for greater autonomy, holidays or time to spend on private activities and the family converge to underline the two key dimensions of work -productivity and flexibility -required for the assessment of work organization. This paper proposes a method called the QuaeWork (QUAlification and Evaluation of Work in livestock farms) to assess work productivity and flexibility on a farm, and its use to identify how livestock management can contribute to work organization on dairy farms. The QuaeWork method was set up through an iterative process combining surveys conducted with farmers in two regions of France, discussions with different experts and literature review. The QuaeWork was applied on a sample of seven dairy farms in the southern Massif Central in France to identify patterns of how livestock management contributes to work organization. The QuaeWork was used to analyse work organization over the year through a systemic approach to the farm, integrating interactions between herd and land management, workforce composition, equipment facilities and combinations of activities through a characterization of 'who does what, when and for how long'. The criteria for assessing work productivity were work duration (routine work, seasonal work) and work efficiency (per livestock unit or hectare of utilized agricultural area). The criteria for assessing work flexibility were room for manoeuvre and adjustments to internal and external events. The three main patterns of livestock management practices to work organization were identified. In pattern-1, farmers used indoor stable feeding practices with delegated work, with moderate room for manoeuvre and efficiency. In pattern-3, farmers used simplified milking, reproduction and breeding practices to seasonalize work and make it efficient with consistent room for manoeuvre. The method suggests social sustainability criteria to assess work productivity and flexibility, which are important for making reasoned decisions on livestock farm changes, especially innovations. Researchers could usefully exploit the QuaeWork to integrate work objectives (productivity, flexibility) into technical and economic goals.

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Dairy cow performance and labour inputs associated with two silage feeding systems

Cited by 24 publications

References 16 publications

Effect of offering dairy cows diets differing in phosphorus concentration over four successive lactations: 1. Food intake, milk production, tissue changes and blood metabolites

Effect of offering dairy cows diets differing in phosphorus concentration over four successive lactations: 1. Food intake, milk production, tissue changes and blood metabolites

Room for manoeuvre in time of the workforce in dairy production systems

A method for assessing work productivity and flexibility in livestock farms

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