Farm systems - Impact of stocking rate on dairy farm efficiency

Macdonald, Kevin; Penno, J.W.; Nicholas, Phillipa; Lile, J.A.; Coulter, M.; Lancaster, J.A.S.

doi:10.33584/jnzg.2001.63.2403

Cited by 27 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…The results of this analysis indicate that as SR increases, total DMI per 100 kg of BW is reduced as a similar amount of energy is partitioned to body tissue, resulting in reduced energy availability for milk production and reduced MS production per 100 kg of BW. Similarly, Macdonald et al (2001) previously observed that as individual animal DMI is reduced at higher SR and milk production per cow is reduced, an increasing proportion of the feed eaten is used for maintenance and pregnancy, thus reducing gross feed efficiency of milk production. The results of this study also indicate that the net feed efficiency (UFL of NEI; MS production per UFL available for production after maintenance) increases at higher SR and reflects the reduced utilization of energy for BW gain of animals at higher SR reported previously by McCarthy et al (2012).…”

Section: Effect Of Sr CD and S On Dha Milk Production Bw Bcs Anmentioning

confidence: 70%

Effect of stocking rate and calving date on dry matter intake, milk production, body weight, and body condition score in spring-calving, grass-fed dairy cows

McCarthy

Horan

et al. 2014

Journal of Dairy Science

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The primary objective of the study was to quantify the effect of stocking rate (SR) and calving date (CD) on milk production, dry matter intake (DMI), energy balance (EB), and milk production efficiency over 4 consecutive years (2009 to 2012). Two groups of Holstein-Friesian dairy cows with different mean CD were established from within the existing research herd at Moorepark (Teagasc, Ireland). Animals were assigned to either an early calving (mean CD February 14) treatment or a late calving (mean CD March 2) treatment. Animals within each CD treatment were randomly allocated to 1 of 3 whole-farm SR treatments: low (LSR; 2.51 cows/ha), medium (MSR; 2.92 cows/ha), and high (HSR; 3.28 cows/ha), and animals remained on the same farmlet for the duration of the study. Individual animal DMI was estimated 3 times per year at grass using the n-alkane technique in March (spring), May (summer), and September (autumn), corresponding to, on average, 45, 132, and 258 d in milk, respectively. A total of 138 spring-calving dairy cows were used during each year of the study. The effects of SR, CD, season, and their interaction were studied using mixed models. Individual animal milk production, body weight, body condition score, and the efficiency of milk production were significantly decreased as SR increased due to a reduction in herbage availability. The existence of CD × SR × season interactions for production, DMI, and EB indicate that delaying the herd mean CD can be an effective strategy to minimize the reduction in animal performance, particularly in spring at higher SR. This study further confirms the benefits of a new approach to the evaluation of herbage allowance known as the individual herbage allowance, which encompasses the 3 main factors restricting DMI in rotational grazing; namely, the average daily herbage allowance of the group, the intake capacity of the individual animal within the group, and the relative intake capacity of the animal within the competing herd.

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Section: Effect Of Sr CD and S On Dha Milk Production Bw Bcs Anmentioning

confidence: 70%

Effect of stocking rate and calving date on dry matter intake, milk production, body weight, and body condition score in spring-calving, grass-fed dairy cows

McCarthy

Horan

et al. 2014

Journal of Dairy Science

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“…The decrease in mean post‐grazing pasture mass with increased stocking rate (from 2·5 to 3·8 cows ha −1 ) for CMS treatments is in line with the earlier findings of Macdonald et al . () who evaluated the impact of stocking rate in pasture‐based systems on dairy‐farm efficiency. However, post‐grazing pasture mass for AMS and HSR was similar, despite the intermediate AMS stocking rate (3·1 cows ha −1 ) between CMS treatments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even though supplement was used to fill feed deficits, our findings and those of Macdonald et al . () suggest that either the level, or quality of, supplement offered under current grazing management guidelines was insufficient to maintain post‐grazing residuals or that the amount of pasture actually on offer was less than that estimated. This could be due to an underestimation of the energetic requirements of dairy cattle, an overestimation of supplement utilization, or that cows prefer pasture over supplement, with resulting supplement wastage and poor utilization.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison of conventional and automatic milking system pasture utilization and pre‐ and post‐grazing pasture mass

Clark

Fariña

García

et al. 2015

Grass and Forage Science

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Automatic milking systems (AMS) present an opportunity for dairy farmers to not only improve their lifestyle and conditions of work, but also save on labour costs and/or increase the time available to focus on overall farm management. However, the viability of AMS will rely on achieving high levels of pasture utilization. Well‐established pasture management principles are implemented on many conventional milking system (CMS) farms and high levels of pasture utilization are achieved; however, the ability to follow these same principles on AMS is unknown. This study compared levels of pasture utilization and pre‐ and post‐grazing pasture mass between AMS and CMS farms at the same site when managed by the same pasture management principles. From 1 March 2007 to 29 February 2008, pre‐ and post‐grazing compressed height, milk yield and milk composition data were collected for two CMS farms and one AMS farm at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Camden, Australia. Despite differences in pre‐ and post‐ grazing pasture mass between milking systems, pre‐grazing mass was predominantly maintained within the bounds of 2200 and 2500 kg DM ha−1 and post‐grazing mass between 1400 and 1500 kg DM ha−1 (5–6 cm height). Similar levels of pasture utilization (mean 13 500 kg DM ha−1 year−1) were recorded between AMS and CMS farms. These findings highlight the ability to follow established grazing management principles and achieve high levels of pasture utilization on pasture‐based AMS farms.

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“…A range of allowances were allocated to each strain at which they were expected to be farmed successfully, ranging from moderate feed restriction up to generous feeding levels (4.5 to 7.0 t of DM/cow per yr; Table 2). Evidence from a previous experiment (Macdonald et al, 2001) indicated that the economically optimum CSR was between 85 and 90 kg of BW/t of DM. Thus, the CSR for this experiment were set to range below and above this optimum point.…”

Section: Feed Allowancesmentioning

confidence: 92%

A Comparison of Three Strains of Holstein-Friesian Grazed on Pasture and Managed Under Different Feed Allowances

Macdonald

Verkerk

Thorrold

et al. 2008

Journal of Dairy Science

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This experiment compared Holstein-Friesian (HF) cows of New Zealand (NZ) origin representative of genetics present in the 1970s (NZ70; n = 45) and 1990s (NZ90; n = 60), and a group of HF cows of North American origin with 1990s genetics (NA90; n = 60), which were managed in grazing systems with a range of feeding allowances (4.5 to 7.0 t/cow per yr) over 3 yr. The NZ70 cows had the lowest Breeding Worth genetic index and the lowest breeding values for yields of fat, protein, and milk volume; the NZ90 and NA90 cows were selected to have similar breeding values for milk traits and were representative of cows of high genetic merit in the 1990s. The NZ90 cows had a higher milk protein concentration (3.71%) than either the NA90 (3.43%) or the NZ70 cows (3.41%), and a higher milk fat concentration (4.86%) than the NA90 cows (4.26%) with a level similar to the NZ70 cows (4.65%). The NZ90 cows produced significantly greater yields of fat, protein, and lactose than the NA90 and NZ70 cows. The NZ70 cows had the lowest mean annual body weight (473 kg) but the highest body condition score (BCS; 5.06). Days in milk were the same for the 2 NZ strains (286 d in milk), both of which were greater than the NA90 cows (252 d in milk). There was no genotype x environment interaction for combined milk fat and protein yield (milksolids), with NZ90 producing 52 kg/cow more than the NA90 at all feeding levels. The NZ70 strain had the highest seasonal average BCS (5.06), followed by the NZ90 (4.51) and the NA90 (4.13) strains on a 1 to 10 scale. Body condition score increased with higher feeding levels in the 2 NZ strains, but not in the NA strain. The first-parity cows commenced luteal activity 11 d later than older cows (parities 2 and 3), and the NA90 cows commenced luteal activity 4 and 10 d earlier than the NZ70 and NZ90 cows. Earlier estrus activity did not result in a higher in-calf rate. The NZ70 and NZ90 cows had similar in-calf rates (pregnancy diagnosed to 6 wk; 69%), which were higher than those achieved by NA90 cows (54%). Results showed that the NA90 strain used in this experiment was not suitable for traditional NZ grazing systems. Grazing systems need to be modified if the NA90 strain is to be successfully farmed in NZ. The data reported here show that the NA90 cows require large amounts of feed, but this will not prevent them from having a lower BCS than the NZ strains. Combined with poor reproductive performance, this means that NA90 cows are less productive than NZ HF in pasture-based seasonal calving systems with low levels of supplementation.

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Farm systems - Impact of stocking rate on dairy farm efficiency

Cited by 27 publications

References 1 publication

Effect of stocking rate and calving date on dry matter intake, milk production, body weight, and body condition score in spring-calving, grass-fed dairy cows

Effect of stocking rate and calving date on dry matter intake, milk production, body weight, and body condition score in spring-calving, grass-fed dairy cows

A comparison of conventional and automatic milking system pasture utilization and pre‐ and post‐grazing pasture mass

A Comparison of Three Strains of Holstein-Friesian Grazed on Pasture and Managed Under Different Feed Allowances

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