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Dairy Breed, Grass-Birdsfoot Trefoil Mixture, And Pasture Nutrition Effects On Intake, Feed Efficiency, And Grazing Adaptation, Michael Greenland
Dairy Breed, Grass-Birdsfoot Trefoil Mixture, And Pasture Nutrition Effects On Intake, Feed Efficiency, And Grazing Adaptation, Michael Greenland
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Dairy cattle have lower dry matter intake (DMI) on pastures thus leading to less weight gain and milk production than feedlot cows. This study was conducted to determine whether different dairy breeds are better adapted to lower or higher quality pastures as measured in DMI and feed efficiency. The eight treatments consisted of Jersey, Holstein, Holstein-Jersey crossbreds, and 3-breed crossbreds (Montbéliarde-Swedish Red-Holstein) heifers on grass monocultures and grass-BFT mixtures. We observed greater DMI on grass-BFT mixtures. Among breeds, Holstein had the greatest DMI, then the two crossbreds, and Jersey had the least. Feed efficiency was most favorable for Jersey, less …