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The effect of stage of grass maturity at harvesting and restricting fermentation on the intake of grass silage by beef cattle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2021

L.E.R. Dawson ,
R.W.J. Steen  and
C.P. Ferris
L.E.R. Dawson
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down, BT26 6DR
R.W.J. Steen
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down, BT26 6DR
C.P. Ferris
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down, BT26 6DR
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Extract

In recent years there has been an improvement in the genetic potential of dairy cattle through intensive breeding programs and of beef cattle through a shift from native beef breeds to Continental breeds. These potential improvements can only be realised if increased intakes can be achieved. If conserved forages are to meet these higher nutrient requirements then the intake of conserved forages should be maximised. Two potential methods by which silage intake can be increased are by increasing silage digestibility through more frequent harvesting of grass (Gordon, 1989) or by restricting fermentation of the resulting silage (Doherty and Mayne, 1996). The objective of the current study was to examine the relative effects of digestibility and restricting fermentation on the intake of silage with the aim of establishing the optimum approach to achieving higher nutrient intakes from ensiled forages.

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Programme
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 1998 , 1998 , pp. 43
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 1998

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References

Doherty, J.G. and Mayne, C.S. 1996. The effect of concentrate type and supplementary lactic acid or soya oil on milk production characteristics in dairy cows offered grass silages of contrasting fermentation type. Animal Science 62: 187–198.10.1017/S135772980001448XCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steen, R.W.J., Gordon, F.J., Dawson, L.E.R., Park, R.S., Mayne, C.S., Agnew, R.E., Kilpatrick, D.J. and Porter, M.G. 1997. Factors affecting the intake of grass silage by cattle and prediction of silage intake. Animal Science (in press).10.1017/S1357729800008894CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gordon, F.J. (1989). The principle of making and storing high quality, high intake silage. In: Mayne, C.S. (ed.). Silage for Milk Production, Occasional Symposium of the British Grassland Society No. 23, pp. 3–41.Google Scholar