Increasing per cow milk solids production in a pasture-based dairy
system by manipulating the diet: A review.
N.J. Edwards, W.J. Parker
Department of Agricultural and Horticultural Systems Management,
Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 1994,
54: 267-274
Research suggests that the genetic potential for milksolids (MS)
production by New Zealand dairy cows is considerably under-exploited under
current grazing conditions. There is also a growing awareness that only
small improvements in MS production per cow can be achieved with pasture-only
systems on high producing New Zealand dairy farms (i.e. those producing
315kg MS/cow or 1,000kg MS/ha). The review identifies nutritional
limitations of a pasture-based diet as one of the barriers to further
increases in per cow MS production. It is argued that further increases
in per cow production on New Zealand's high producing (in terms of per cow MS
production) dairy farms is contingent upon the need to balance the pasture-
based diet for protein, carbohydrates, fibre, minerals and vitamins through
strategic use of feedstuffs. One of the keys to successfully balancing a
pasture-based diet is to obtain better data on the nutritional status of pasture
throughout the year so that the most economic feedstuffs which will balance
the ration can be identified.
Keywords: NZSAPAB;
dairy nutrition; milksolids production; pastoral systems; supplements.
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Last Updated 25-01-1997
