Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Forages For Horses Programmes, G. W. Wilson, R. L. Hendershot, J. Hoorman

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

A survey by the American Horse Council in 1996 showed there were 6.9 million horses in the USA with 1.9 million horse owners and 7.1 million people involved in allied industries. The value of the USA horse industry to the gross national product is $25.3 billion. Nationally, 2.2 % of households own a horse but 4.9 % of households want to own a horse. Ohio's horse industry has 192,000 horses (7th nationally) and generates $776 million per year. Most of the 48,500 homes with horses in Ohio have 2-5 horses with 1-2 ha of land. Many exercise lots and high-use …

Forages For Horses, J. C. Fisher, D. H. Samples, R. A. Sherman

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

According to the 1997 Census of Agriculture, Ohio had 11,668 horse farms. An OSU survey estimated nearly 250,000 horses in Ohio. The large number of horses in the state has prompted many questions from producers to Extension personnel on the topic of improving forage resources. While many horse producers are proficient at equine management, they have not had formal training in forage production and management. Often, traditional agronomic programs don't target this audience. Many horse producers do not have the land mass, and/or experience to utilise large mechanical equipment for renovation and management

Use Of Forage Legumes To Restore Overgrazed Natural Grasslands In Uganda, Elly N. Sabiiti, S. Mugasi, F. B. Bareeba

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

The natural grasslands of Uganda support over 95 % of the country's livestock. They are also used by wildlife and protect soil resources from heat and erosion. Unfortunately, the pastoral/agro-pastoral communities which derive their livelihoods from these grasslands have in turn degraded them through overgrazing and uncontrolled burning, thus lowering their productivity (pasture and animal production) and biodiversity. The natural grasses (e.g. Panicum maximum, Brachiaria brizantha, Setaria anceps, Themeda triandra) mature rapidly and lose quality. Furthermore, the indigenous legumes (e.g. Neonotonia wightii, Desmodium adcsendens, Indigofera errecta) are less persistent and productive to maintain feed quality and hence animal …

Portuguese Society Of Pastures And Forages, J. Potes, E. V. Lourenço, T. Carita

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

The Portuguese Society of Pastures and Forages (SPPF) was born from a course on pastures and forages held in the National Plant Breeding Station of Elvas (where the headquarters of SPPF are located) in 1979. It was organised by the head of the Pastures and Forages Department, David Gomes Crespo, who was the first and founder member. According to Abreu et al. (1999), the structure established was that of a Scientific Society and was considered by the Government as a Service of Public Interest. It gathered inspiration from the British Grassland Society, the Association Francaise pour la Production Fourragére, …

Year-Round Forage Systems For Beef Cows And Calves, J. P. Fontenot, W. M. Clapham, W. S. Swecker, Jr. D. Fiske, J. B. Hall, J. H. Fike, G. Scaglia

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Beef cow systems in the USA are based on forages with little or no concentrates fed. Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb. L.) is one of the important pasture forages in the lower Northeast and upper South (Allen et al., 2001). Limited research has been conducted on year-round all forage systems based on cool season forages. Stockpiling tall fescue in late summer-early fall provides good quality forage that is usually grazed rather than harvested. Forage systems including tall fescue and clover (Trifolium repens L.) produced excellent performance in beef cows and calves, with minimum inputs (Allen et al …

Annual Legumes As An Alternative For Animal Feeding In Cuba, María Felicia Díaz, C. Padilla, E. Lon Wo, M. Castro, R. S. Herrera, R. O. Martínez

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Studies conducted in Cuba have demonstrated the importance of the agronomic and nutritional performance of the species Vigna unguiculata (cowpea), Canavalia ensiformis (jackbean), Stizolobium niveum (mucuna), Lablab purpureus (dolicho) and Glycine max (soybean) as feed sources for non-ruminant species. Under Cuban tropical conditions, and with minimum agricultural inputs, jackbean, dolicho and mucuna have attained forage yields between 4 and 6 t dry matter (DM)/ha and grain yields between 2.57 and 3.41 t/ha and cowpea and soybean have given yields of between 1 and 2 t/ha (Díaz 2000). This study was carried out to determine the chemical composition of grains and …

A Rapid Estimation Of Nitrogen Bound To Neutral Detergent Fibre In Forages By Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy, Jérôme Bindelle, G. Sinnaeve, P. Dardenne, P. Leterme, A. Buldgen

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is widely used as a rapid method for the evaluation of the chemical composition or the nutritive value of foodstuffs (Givens et al., 1997). The determination of the neutral detergent fibre (NDF) bound N (NDF-N), which is highly variable in forages (Shayo & Udén, 1999), is expensive. The purpose of this study was to test the use of NIRS in the prediction of NDF-N in various forages.

Effects Of Particle Size In Forage Samples For Protein Breakdown Studies, G. Pichard, C. Tapia

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Coupling ruminal processes of hydrolysis and synthesis continues to be a research issue where more progress is needed. This requires the development of good protein assessment methods, particularly when representing the breakdown processes that occur in fresh pastures eaten by herbivores. Laboratory analyses need to deal with small and homogeneous samples, but the mechanical reduction of particle size may not reflect the actual digestion kinetics occurring when the original fresh forage is consumed. Such physical traits may alter the release of non-structural compounds and the penetration of microbial enzymes (Boudon et al., 2002). The objective of this work was …

Effects Of Forage Species And Stage Of Maturity On In Situ Disappearance Of Organic Matter And Fibre Fractions, H. S. Hussein

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Nutrient utilisation by ruminants is altered by the forage species and its maturity. Maturity is the major factor affecting forage morphology and quality. Forage quality is reduced with maturity due to a decrease in the leaf:stem ratio and an increase in fibre components (Ugherughe, 1986). Improving forage utilisation by ruminants depends on accurate measurements of their nutritive value by using in vitro and in situ methods. The objective of this study was to assess the nutritive value (i.e., extent of in situ disappearance of organic matter [OM], neutral detergent fibre [NDF], and acid detergent fibre [ADF]) of four grass species …

Ruminal Proteolysis In Forages With Distinct Endopeptidases Activities, G. Pichard, C. Tapia, R. Larraín

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Improving livestock efficiency in utilization of nitrogen resources continues to be a major environmental and economic objective. Zhu et al. (1999) have shown that plant endopeptidases are activated as a response to cutting stress. Previous work in our laboratory explored over 300 entries of forage genotypes and found a broad diversity in enzymatic activity by means of hydrolysis in gelatine and direct autolysis assays in forage tissues. The objective of this work was to assess if the species previously identified as having high or low endopeptidase activity, would behave consistently when exposed to ruminal microbial proteolysis.

Ruminal Proteolysis In Forages With Distinct Endopeptidases Activities, G. Pichard, C. Tapia, R. Larrain

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Improving livestock efficiency in utilisation of nitrogen resources continues to be a major environmental and economic objective. Zhu et al. (1999) have shown that plant endopeptidases are activated as a response to cutting stress. Previous work in our laboratory explored over 300 entries of forage genotypes and found a broad diversity in enzymatic activity by means of hydrolysis in gelatine and direct autolysis assays in forage tissues. The objective of this work was to assess if the species previously identified as having high or low endopeptidase activity, would behave consistently when exposed to ruminal microbial proteolysis.

Effects Of Particle Size In Forage Samples For Protein Breakdown Studies, G. Pichard, C. Tapia

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Coupling ruminal processes of hydrolysis and synthesis continues to be a research issue where more progress is needed. This requires the development of good protein assessment methods, particularly when representing the breakdown processes that occur in fresh pastures eaten by herbivores. Laboratory analyses need to deal with small and homogeneous samples, but the mechanical reduction of particle size may not reflect the actual digestion kinetics occurring when the original fresh forage is consumed. Such physical traits may alter the release of non-structural compounds and the penetration of microbial enzymes (Boudon et al., 2002). The objective of this work was …

Use Of Alkanes To Estimate Dry Matter Intake Of Beef Steers Grazing High Quality Pastures, G. Scaglia, H. T. Boland, I. Lopez-Guerrero, R. K. Shanklin, J. P. Fontenot

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Pastures remain the most important source of nutrients for ruminant livestock and nutrition is critical to optimize animal production. The daily quantity of dry matter that is consumed by an animal is a critical measurement to make nutritional inferences about feed and subsequent animal response. Researchers are facing the dilemma that, while estimates of individual animal performance are readily obtained, it is still difficult to estimate the herbage intake of individual animals. The objectives of this experiment were to estimate forage intake in beef steers grazing tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa)/tall fescue pastures …

Recent Developments In Methods To Characterise The Chemical And Biological Parameters Of Grass Silage, R. S. Park, R. E. Agnew, M. G. Porter

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Key points

1. Chemical analysis of forages is expensive, time consuming, environmentally unfriendly and relates poorly to the feed value for production purposes.
2. In vivo characterisation of animal feed is not a feasible option in terms of cost and analysis time.
3. NIRS is a rapid, non destructive, environmentally friendly, multi-analytical technique which can estimate the nutritive value of the feed.
4. NIRS predictive equations developed on a master instrument can be transferred to local and international sites.
5. Future assessment of forages necessitates rapid, stable, instrumentation for ‘in field’ studies.