The diet ingested by sheep grazing swards differing in white clover and perennial ryegrass content

Milne, J. A.; Hodgson, J.; Thompson, R.; Souter, W. G.; Barthram, G. T.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2494.1982.tb01598.x

Cited by 120 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…I), which may reflect the increased weed content of the diet as sward clover content increases. Milne et al (1982) reported clover selection in a vertical plane from within the grazed stratum of swards after I, 2, and 3 weeks regrowth. Intercept, and hence degree of selection, increased with the longer regrowth periods.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This superiority, together with the ability to fix nitrogen, has led to recommendations to increase the white clover content of New Zealand pasture and hence the nutrition of all classes of livestock (Ulyatt et al 1976). Milne et al (1982) deliberately created -swards that differed in their vertical distribution of white clover, but there.is little information on the effect of manipulation of the horizontal distribution of white clover on diet selection, or of the influence of other sward components. This study investigates the effect of the horizontal distribution of white clover on diet selection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Composition of the diet of sheep grazing swards of differing white clover content and spatial distribution

Clark¹,

Harris²

1985

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

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Thirty swards containing either alternating strips of pure grass and pure clover or mixed grass and clover were developed by herbicide treatment to give nominal white clover proportions of 10, 30, 50, 70, and 90%. Diet selection was estimated in 3 periods using both oesophageally fistulated sheep and pre-and post-grazing cuts to determine the effect of spatial distribution and white clover content of the sward on diet content. Clover in the sward varied from 1.1 to 90.4%. White clover was intensely selected in Period 1 in both mixed and strip swards because clover leaves overtopped a canopy of mainly dead grass. There was no evidence for preferential selection of clover from mixed swards in Periods 2 and 3, but preference was shown on the strip swards. Preference for weed species was marked, with some being grazed to ground level. There was no correlation for either grass or clover between preference and sward content on mixed plots. This implies that sheep were grazing to optimise energy intake. On strip plots, preference for white clover decreased above 50% sward content suggesting that some form of nutritional constraint may have been important. Sheep showed a strong preference to graze on the clover strips in the strip swards and appeared to discriminate in favour of clover within this strip. High levels of white clover are needed in mixed swards if clover is to make an important contribution to animal nutrition, but the provision of strips of clover is unlikely to be economic.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Composition of the diet of sheep grazing swards of differing white clover content and spatial distribution

Clark¹,

Harris²

1985

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

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“…Grazing ruminants vary bite mass, bite rate and grazing time in response to changes in sward conditions (Hodgson 1981;Milne et al 1982;Penning et al 1991;Gibb et al 1997). Bite mass, for example, increases with increased sward height and bulk density, ranging from 0.25 to 4 g DM in cattle offered micro-swards of lucerne (Medicago sativa) and paspalum (Paspalum dilatatum) (Ungar 1996) and the rate of biting is related to the ease of prehensions, herbage shear force and bite mass, as smaller mouthfuls often lead to an increase in bite rate.…”

Section: Factors Limiting Intake Of Grazing Cowsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges of feeding dairy cows in Australia and New Zealand

Wales¹,

Kolver

2017

Anim. Prod. Sci.

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Abstract. There is a continuing evolution of feeding systems in both Australian and New Zealand dairy industries and this presents challenges for the future. Since the turn of the century, the two countries have diverged in industry growth characteristics, with Australian dairying having contracted, with 10% less milk being produced because of 20% fewer cows producing 15% more per cow, whereas New Zealand dairying has expanded, producing 83% more milk driven by a 54% increase in cow numbers and a 31% increase in milk production per cow. Solutions to optimise feed efficiency included the common themes of (1) growing more forage on farm, (2) increasing its utilisation and (3) more efficient use of supplements resulting in increases in DM intake, and they remain relevant. In New Zealand, many of the recent research activities have aimed at improving feed supply while limiting environmental impacts driven by increasing societal concern surrounding the environmental footprint of a growing and intensifying agricultural sector. In Australia, many of the recent research activities have aimed at improving feed efficiency, with a focus on understanding situations where partial mixed ration feeding systems (Australian Farm Systems 3 and 4) are sustainable. Simply growing more feed on farm can no longer be a sole objective; farms must be operated with a view to reduce the environmental footprint, with New Zealand dairy farmers increasingly needing to farm within nitrogen limits. The present review revisits and reinforces many of the concepts developed in previous reviews, but also examines the evolution of feeding systems in both countries and opportunities to improve feed efficiency and profit, while satisfying public expectations around environmental stewardship. We also identify some of the gaps in the current knowledge that warrant further research.

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“…Diet and sward composition (above 4 cm) were similar (Table 4). In temperate swards, there is evidence suggesting that the diet of oesophageally fistulated animals may reflect the composition of the top strata of the sward, indicating substantially unselective grazing (Milne et al 1982;Illius et al 1992;Clark 1993;Montossi et al 1994). Though oesophageally fistulated animals were older than the experimental lambs, this is unlikely to have materially affected diet selection (Hodgson & Rodriguez 1971).…”

Section: Diet Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herbage intake, ingestive behaviour and diet selection, and effects of condensed tannins upon body and wool growth in lambs grazingLolium perenneandHolcus lanatusswards in summer

Montossi

Hodgson

1997

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

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A comparative study was undertaken in New Zealand to investigate the effects of low concentrations of condensed tannins (CT) on diet selection, herbage intake, and performance in lambs grazing on four 0.2 ha paddocks each of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) or Yorkshire fog (Holcus lanatus) with less than 10% white clover (Trifolium repens), continuously grazed at a constant height of approximately 6 cm from December 1992 to March 1993. The effects of CT on rumen metabolism and animal production were assessed by twice daily oral administration of polyethylene glycol (PEG; MW 4000) to half of the lambs on each sward.Bite weight was greater for Yorkshire fog swards than for ryegrass swards during January (111 vs 85 ± 5 mg OM/bite, P < 0.01), but not in December. In both December and January, grazing, A96080Received 14 November 1996; accepted 11 August 1997 ruminating, and idling times were similar between swards, while in January, the rate of biting in ryegrass swards was higher than in Yorkshire fog swards (64 vs 61 ± 1 bites/min, P < 0.05). The organic matter digestibility (OMD) of the herbage selected was higher in ryegrass swards in December (81 vs 78 ± 0.04 %, P < 0.01), but not in January (80 vs 79 ± 0.05 %). The herbage intake achieved by lambs grazing ryegrass swards was 23% higher than that achieved on Yorkshire fog swards in December (990 vs 800 ± 36 g OM/lamb/day, P < 0.05) whereas, in January, herbage intakes did not differ significantly. Lambs grazing on ryegrass swards had higher clean wool growth (1147 vs 1085 ± 15 ng/cm 2 per day, P < 0.10) and carcass weight (17.5 vs 16.3 ± 0.22 kg, P < 0.05) than lambs grazing on Yorkshire fog swards. The stocking rate maintained on ryegrass plots was 25% greater than on Yorkshire fog plots.Low concentrations of CT were recorded in the diets of sheep on ryegrass and Yorkshire fog swards (< 0.2% on a DM basis). The low levels of CT had no significant effects on diet selection, herbage intake, grazing behaviour patterns, or lamb performance. However, the lambs grazing on Yorkshire fog swards showed small and nonpersistent responses to CT in terms of wool growth and liveweight gain. The results of this study indicate that: (i) under high fertility conditions and intensive management, perennial ryegrass/white clover swards appear to have higher feeding value than Yorkshire fog/white clover swards for lamb production and (ii) the low CT concentrations (< 0.2% in the DM) observed in both swards did not influence lamb performance significantly.

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The diet ingested by sheep grazing swards differing in white clover and perennial ryegrass content

Cited by 120 publications

References 6 publications

Composition of the diet of sheep grazing swards of differing white clover content and spatial distribution

Composition of the diet of sheep grazing swards of differing white clover content and spatial distribution

Challenges of feeding dairy cows in Australia and New Zealand

Herbage intake, ingestive behaviour and diet selection, and effects of condensed tannins upon body and wool growth in lambs grazingLolium perenneandHolcus lanatusswards in summer

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