Comparison of autumn/winter with spring pasture for growing beef cattle

T.C. Reid

Agricultural Research Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Whangarei

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production. 1986, 46: 145-148

A series of 4 herbage allowance trials was conducted over 2 years with beef cattle on a well-drained site in Northland. Two trials were conducted in autumn/winter (April-July) and 2 in spring (October and November).

Analysis of the data, for each seasonal period combined over the 2 years, showed large differences in the relationships between daily live- weight gain and herbage allowance between the 2 seasons. At the same allowance, beef cattle grew faster in spring than in autumn/winter. Relationships between allowance and daily live-weight gain were:

Autumn/winter: LWG = 0.48-1.37* 0.65 allowance Spring: LWG = 1.09-2.82* 0.45 allowance

These differences were not associated with differences in in vitro digestibility (70 to 78% in all trials) or N concentrations. Allowances required for maintenance were lower in spring than in autumn/winter and potential growth rates in spring approximately double those in autumn.

Keywords: NZSAPAB; Cattle; live-weight gain; herbage allowance; winter; spring

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Last Updated 18-03-1997