Lecture 8: Livestock production from pasture Flashcards
1
Q
factors considered nutritive value of pastures
A
- digestibility (actually extract nutrients from food matter),
- metabolizable energy,
- protein content,
- legume %,
- ratio of dead/green
2
Q
what impacts the quality of pastures
A
- temp,
- light,
- plant maturity,
- species,
- botanical composition,
- grazing management
3
Q
what s the preferred pasture plant to cows and sheep
A
- clovers
- plants with more green leaves than stems
4
Q
why should you graze cows before sheep
A
- cows are taller, more selective
- will eat specific plants and will only eat taller ones
- sheep are less picky and will eat lower to ground and eat remains
5
Q
why is it good for animals to be selective
A
- they will eat the most nutritious plants first
- this means the overall digestibility of all FOO will usually be less than the digestibility avg of what the animals are actually eating in the pasture
6
Q
What are the 4 principles of feed budgeting
A
- what is the aim for the animals?
- what energy do they need for this? -> pregnant? condition?
- what can they eat? /how much possible
- feeding to match the deficit or surplus (what nutrients need to be in diet)
7
Q
what is the set stocking method for grazing management?
A
- no movement from pasture, continuous grazing
8
Q
what is the rotational grazing method for grazing management?
A
- rotation between paddocks to rest pasture
9
Q
what is the break grazing method for grazing management?
A
- access to a portion of pasture for few days, then new section of same pasture
10
Q
what is the cell grazing method for grazing management?
A
- high intensity rotational system with large number of paddocks and short grazing intervals
11
Q
what are the negatives/risks of pastures
A
- anti-nutritional factors due to toxins and disorders from pasture plants
- alkaloids -> fungal endophytes grows in grasses (dizziness)
- metabolic disorders
- photosensitivity -> exposure to sunlight causes dermatitis, sunburn
- Phyto-oestrogens -> includes subterranean clovers, Lucerne. permanently impair fertility
