Survey of management practices of dairy cows grazing kale in Canterbury

Judson, H. G.; Edwards, Grant

doi:10.33584/jnzg.2008.70.2704

Cited by 16 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The high DM utilization of kale is consistent with other studies (Keogh et al, 2009b;Rugoho et al, 2014), but above the mean of 80% found in a survey of dairy cows herds in Canterbury (Judson and Edwards, 2008). The lower DM utilization of grass probably reflects an ungrazeable barrier of grass sheath and stem material at the base of the canopy.…”

supporting

confidence: 90%

“…As a result, we found no evidence that offering kale or grass twice a day leads to greater utilization as a result of wide and shallow breaks, which are thought to reduce trampling under wet soil conditions during winter. Judson and Edwards (2008) suggested that the high utilization of kale would potentially result in reduced diet quality as stem of lower ME content is included into the diet. This would particularly be the case for high-yielding crops of giant type cultivars, such as 'Gruner,' with a higher stem-to-leaf ratio (e.g., 80% stem; Chakwizira et al, 2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dry matter intake, body condition score, and grazing behavior of nonlactating, pregnant dairy cows fed kale or grass once versus twice daily during winter

Rugoho

Edwards

2018

Journal of Dairy Science

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The objective of this study was to examine the effect of wintering pregnant, nonlactating dairy cows outdoors on either kale or grass, fed in 1 [11 kg dry matter (DM) of kale or grass + 3 kg DM of baled barley straw offered in the morning] or 2 allocations (5.5 kg DM of kale or grass grazed + 1.5 kg DM of barley straw offered morning and afternoon) per day. The body condition score (BCS) gain over the 47-d winter feeding period was higher for grass-fed (0.5 BCS units) than kale-fed cows (0.3 BCS units), but was unaffected by feeding frequency. Forage DM utilization was higher for kale-fed (97%) than grass-fed cows (76%), leading to higher estimated dry matter intake (DMI) in kale-fed (10.7 kg of DM/cow per day) than grass-fed cows (7.7 kg of DM/cow per day). Forage DM utilization and estimated DMI were not affected by feeding frequency. Prehension bite rate was greater for grass-fed (37.3 bites/min) than kale-fed cows (7.6 bites/min), but more mastication bites were required for kale-fed cows. Cumulative DMI after 2, 3, and 6 h was greater in cows allocated forage once than twice a day and for kale than grass after 3 and 6 h. Mean eating time was greater for cows offered forage once (477 min) than twice (414 min) per day. In conclusion, increasing feeding frequency from once to twice per day decreased the intake rate within the first 6 h after allocation, but did not affect total daily DMI, DM utilization or BCS gain. Thus, moving cows more frequently would not have any significant advantage. It may increase labor requirements, thereby creating a more challenging wintering management than feeding once per day.

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confidence: 99%

Dry matter intake, body condition score, and grazing behavior of nonlactating, pregnant dairy cows fed kale or grass once versus twice daily during winter

Rugoho

Edwards

2018

Journal of Dairy Science

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“…The increase in NO 3 –N concentration along the stem length, from the top to bottom of the stem (Figure ) means that the current push for high feed utilization (Judson and Edwards, ) may force the animals to graze most of the bottom stem, thereby inadvertently exposing them to the highest NO 3 –N concentrations in the plant. There is a need therefore to find a balance between acceptable feed utilization and exposing animals to nitrate poisoning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of nitrogen rate on nitrate–nitrogen accumulation in forage kale and rape crops

Chakwizira

Johnstone

Fletcher

et al. 2014

Grass and Forage Science

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Nitrogen fertilizer is applied to supplement soil nitrogen supply to maximize forage brassica crop dry‐matter production. However, nitrogen fertilizer applications in excess of that required to maximize growth result in potentially toxic nitrate–nitrogen (NO3–N) concentrations in grazeable plant tissues. Three experiments, two for forage kale at Lincoln (Canterbury) and one for forage rape at Hastings (Hawke's Bay) in New Zealand were grown under different rates of nitrogen (0–500 kg N ha−1) to determine the effect of different rates of nitrogen on NO3–N content of different plant parts of the crops. One of the kale experiments was grown with either full irrigation or no rain and no irrigation over summer, hereafter referred to as summer drought. The NO3–N concentration on a whole plant (weighted average) basis increased from 0·1 mg g−1 dry matter for the control plots to 2·30 mg g−1 for the 500 kg N ha−1 plots for forage kale. It increased from 0·99 for the control plots to 3·37 mg g−1 for the 200 kg N ha−1 plots for forage rape crops. However, NO3–N concentration increased with N supply under the summer‐drought plots from an average of 0·33 mg g−1 when ≤120 kg N ha−1 was applied to 2·30 mg g−1 for the 240 kg N ha−1 treatments but was unaffected by N supply under irrigation. The NO3–N concentrations were higher in the stems and the petiole (which included the midrib of the leaf) than leaves in all three experiments. The NO3–N concentration was highest at the bottom of the kale stem and decreased towards the top. We recommend N application rates based on soil tests results, and for conditions similar to the current studies up to 300 kg N ha−1 under irrigation and adjusted lower N rates for regions prone to dry summers.

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“…There are a number of potential sources of error when estimating an average feed intake, including accuracy of crop or pasture yield assessments, errors in field area or grazing days, uncertainty of supplementary feed allocation, or under/over estimation of feed utilisation. A survey of dry cows grazing kale in Canterbury, NZ revealed that DMI is typically lower than targeted by farmers, which the authors attributed to inaccuracy in feed allocation (Judson & Edwards 2008). Supplementary feed wastage can range from 4 to 46% in good weather conditions, and is increased in wet weather and with increasing feed allocation (Stockdale 2010), so the 88% utilisation estimated by surveyed farmers here may be an over estimation, although the mean crop utilisation of 83% is similar to the 80% reported by Judson and Edwards (2008).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A survey of dry cows grazing kale in Canterbury, NZ revealed that DMI is typically lower than targeted by farmers, which the authors attributed to inaccuracy in feed allocation (Judson & Edwards 2008). Supplementary feed wastage can range from 4 to 46% in good weather conditions, and is increased in wet weather and with increasing feed allocation (Stockdale 2010), so the 88% utilisation estimated by surveyed farmers here may be an over estimation, although the mean crop utilisation of 83% is similar to the 80% reported by Judson and Edwards (2008). More accurate feed allocation combined with Lwt monitoring may help improve heifer performance on farms.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Commercial practice of out-wintering dairy heifers in Great Britain

Atkins

Walley

Sinclair

2020

Journal of NZ Grasslands

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The majority of dairy cattle in Great Britain (GB) are housed during winter but replacement heifers are out-wintered on some farms, a practice that may reduce the need for high capital-cost housing and facilitate herd expansion. Dairy farmers that were out-wintering replacement heifers in GB in 2012 were surveyed to determine current practice and attitudes. A typical system involved heifers strip grazing pasture or a crop, with baled grass silage as supplementary feed; strongly resembling outdoor wintering systems in New Zealand. Many used more than one grazed forage; predominantly, pasture on 68%, kale on 53% and fodder beet on 33% of farms. Supplementary feed was 44% of the diet in younger, and 35% in older heifers. Although farms were approximately three times larger than the national average and 60% were expanding, expanding herd size was not the primary reason for out-wintering, with the main reasons being to reduce cost and improve animal health and welfare. Farmers that out-wintered heifers typically reported good animal average dairy gain of 0.6 kg/d and high body condition, however, this contrasts with some measured performance in GB. Farmers may benefit from accurate feed allocation and monitoring heifer live weight during winter to ensure high performance.

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Survey of management practices of dairy cows grazing kale in Canterbury

Cited by 16 publications

References 2 publications

Dry matter intake, body condition score, and grazing behavior of nonlactating, pregnant dairy cows fed kale or grass once versus twice daily during winter

Dry matter intake, body condition score, and grazing behavior of nonlactating, pregnant dairy cows fed kale or grass once versus twice daily during winter

Effects of nitrogen rate on nitrate–nitrogen accumulation in forage kale and rape crops

Commercial practice of out-wintering dairy heifers in Great Britain

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