J. Anim Sci.
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gekara, J.
Right arrow Articles by Townsend, E. C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Gekara, J.
Right arrow Articles by Townsend, E. C.

Journal of Animal Science, Vol 79, Issue 3 745-752, Copyright © 2001 by American Society of Animal Science

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Influence of pasture sward height and concentrate supplementation on intake, digestibility, and grazing time of lactating beef cows

J. Gekara, E. C. Prigge, W. B. Bryan, M. Schettini, E. L. Nestor and E. C. Townsend
Division of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown 26506-6108, USA.

To establish the effect of sward height (SH) and concentrate supplementation on performance of grazing cattle, 24 crossbred Angus beef cows (535 kg BW) and calves (114 kg BW) were grouped by weight and calving date. They were randomly assigned to two SH treatments, either 4 to 8 cm or 8 to 11 cm, and fed three levels of supplement, high, low, or none, consisting of 6.24, 3.12, and 0 kg x animal(-1) x d(-1), respectively. The experiment was repeated over three 15-d periods in 1996: May (P1), June/July (P2), and August (P3). No SH x supplement level x period or SH x supplement level interactions (P > 0.10) were evident for responses tested. Cows on lower SH had greater (P < 0.08) DMI but spent an additional 1.3 h/d (P < 0.01) grazing compared with cows on higher SH. Sward height had no influence (P > 0.10) on forage DM digestibility (DMD). Forage DMI, DMD, and grazing time (GT) decreased (P < 0.05) as supplementation increased. Nonetheless, supplemented cows consumed more total DMI (P < 0.08) than unsupplemented cows. Cows consumed 2.4 kg/d more forage DM (P < 0.01) in P1 and P2 than in P3. Cows grazed 1.3 h/d (P < 0.01) less in P1 than in P2 and P3. Grazing efficiency (DMI/h GT) declined as supplementation increased and grazing season advanced to P3 (P < 0.01). Decreased forage DMI and grazing efficiency with increasing supplementation suggests that supplemented cattle should be able to maintain productivity while grazing at SH lower than unsupplemented cattle.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J ANIM SCIHome page
O. J. Gekara, E. C. Prigge, W. B. Bryan, E. L. Nestor, and G. Seidel
Influence of sward height, daily timing of concentrate supplementation, and restricted time for grazing on forage utilization by lactating beef cows
J Anim Sci, June 1, 2005; 83(6): 1435 - 1444.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2001 by the American Society of Animal Science.