Nutritive value of pasture. V. Pasture grass conservation: the influence of artificial drying on the digestibility of pasture herbage

Abstract

The recognition of the protein-concentrated and highly digestible character of young leafy pasturage has led to proposals for conserving such herbage by artificial drying for feeding to farm animals during winter as a substitute for oil cakes. Before contemplating the adoption of such proposals on a commercial scale, however, it was necessary to demonstrate that young pasturage could be dried artificially without losing its highly digestible nature.That this is possible is clear from the results brought forward in this communication. It has been shown that young grass does not suffer any depression in respect of digestibility when it is dried (a) at the temperature of steam, or (b) by direct heat in a kiln.

Nutritive value of lucerne. III. The composition, digestibility and nutritive value of lucerne hay, lucerne meal (English and American) and lucerne leaf meal (American)

“…Pasture herbage at its best has been shown to contain more than 20 per cent, of digestible protein and 70 per cent, of starch equivalent (dry-matter basis). Dried grass cakes made from pasture herbage cut at intervals of a week to a fortnight have been used successfully to replace oil cakes in the winter feeding of dairy cows and fattening bullocks (6). As the intervals between successive cuts is lengthened, the yield of grass is increased, and the concentrate obtained by artificial drying takes on a more suitable "balance."…”

Nutritive value of pasture. VIII. The influence of intensive fertilising on the yield and composition of good permanent pasture (seasons 1 and 2) (With three diagrams.)

“…The data for the productivity of the pasture in 1930 have a special significance in connection with the proposals which have been put forward for conserving the produce of pastures (4). From November 1929 to October 1930, the A sub-plots averaged more than 3 | tons of dry matter per acre, a striking figure when considered in conjunction with the fact that the dry matter of monthly-mown herbage possesses the characteristics of high digestibility and nutritive value such as are associated with concentrated foods.…”

Nutritive value of lucerne. I. Preliminary studies of yield, composition and nutritive value (Season 1932)

“…Its reputation for enduring drought, arising from the depth to which its roots penetrate the soil, should render it of great value for supplementing pasture during the dry part of the season, particularly, as occasionally is the case, when drought is so prolonged and severe that pastures present a bare and scorched appearance. Further, if the artificial drying of young grass for use as a concentrate in winter feeding is to be placed on a commercial footing, as has been suggested on the basis of the Cambridge pasture investigations (4), it would be an advantage if this process were to go hand in hand with lucerne-drying, since such a combination of interests would constitute an insurance against a possible uneconomical working of the drying plant in seasons when grass is relatively scarce as a consequence of drought.…”