The accurate measurement of herbage mass is essential for feed budgeting and the management of sustainable and profitable grazing systems. There are many techniques available to estimate herbage mass in pastoral systems, and these vary in accuracy, c...
During the first hours after the allocation of a grazing strip (first grazing session, GS), dairy cows eat most of the daily dry matter (DM) available. There are few studies that analyze how the grazing-down process changes the characteristics of the...
Accurate estimation of herbage mass is crucial for managing pastoral livestock systems. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) sensors shows promise for high-resolution estimations of pasture herbage mass...
The objective of this study was to assess the relative importance of herbage nutritive value (NV), herbage quantity and climate-related factors in determining daily performance per cow in a pasture-based dairy farm. Data on milk production, live weig...
This study focuses on calibrating and validating models for hyperspectral canopy reflectance data that are useful to predict the nutritive value of ryegrass-white clover mixed herbage available to the grazing cow. Hyperspectral measurements and herba...
A study was carried out to evaluate the within-session grazing dynamics on bite mass, number of bites and herbage intake in dairy cows, combining acoustic detection of prehension events with hand-plucking estimates of bite mass. Nine lactating cows w...
Due to its extremely harsh environment, including high altitude, hypoxia, long cold season, and strong ultraviolet radiation in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP), herbage species and nutritional value of the pasture may differ considerably from e...
Autumn grazing management aims to accumulate herbage for defoliation prior to a decrease in growth rates for the extension of the grazing season. The current study investigated the impact of building different target herbage masses (THMs) in autumn a...
Accumulating herbage mass to facilitate the extension of the grazing season in autumn is commonly practised. The objective of the current study was to investigate the effect of accumulating varying target herbage masses (THM) in autumn and imposing d...
Zinc (Zn) deficiency in soils not only reduces the productivity of forage crops, but also results in inadequate dietary zinc intake for livestock. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of different rates and methods of applying ZnSO4...
An accurate dry matter intake (DMI) measurement method is of great importance for determining the performance of dairy cows. While n-alkane technique is commonly used to estimate the DMI of ruminants, the protocols used to measure alkanes are complex...
Accurate estimation of individual herbage intake in grazing ruminants is essential for improving feeding efficiency and animal performance, yet it remains challenging under field conditions. This study evaluated the association between live weight dy...
Sensor technologies that measure grazing and ruminating behaviour as well as physical activities of individual cows are intended to be included in precision pasture management. One of the advantages of sensor data is they can be analysed to support f...
To estimate how native herbage of three different phenological periods modify rumen performance and milk quality of yak grazing alpine meadow. In this study, milk composition and the diversity of the rumen microbial community were measured in 12 full...
Sensor-based phenotyping technologies may offer a non-destructive, high-throughput and efficient assessment of herbage yield (HY) to replace current inefficient phenotyping methods. This paper assesses the feasibility of combining normalised differen...
Pasture management is an important topic for dairy farms with grazing systems. Herbage mass (HM) is a key measure, and estimations of HM content in pastures allow for informed decisions in pasture management. A common method of estimating the HM cont...
The effects of two levels of manure application (184 and 275 kg N ha−1 year−1) on herbage yield, quality, and wintering ability during the cropping of a dwarf genotype of late-heading (DL) Napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) oversown with Ita...
In precision grazing, pasture allocation decisions are made continuously to ensure demand-based feed allowance and efficient grassland utilization. The aim of this study was to evaluate existing prediction models that determine feed scarcity based on...
The pasture–animal interface of warm-season perennial grass–legume mixed pastures has never been investigated in forage-based equine systems. Therefore, this 2-year study investigated the herbage and animal responses under 84-day continuo...
Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) used in pastoral systems has the attributes required of a forage species to reduce animal urinary nitrogen loading to soil, increase milk production, and enhance milk fatty acid profile to improve pastoral farm systems...
Under the combined effect of stocking rate and grazing season, it is very significant to ascertain whether there is a quantitative relationship between plant community characteristics, chemical composition of forage, and grazing behaviors of Tibetan...
In Mediterranean grasslands, the composition of vegetation and its nutritional quality for animals are strongly affected by the climatic conditions prevailing during winter and spring. Therefore, these seasonal ecosystems provide an opportunity to ex...
The objective of this work was to evaluate whether changes in time of herbage allocation and herbage mass (HM) (low (L) or medium (M)) modify the diurnal pattern of urinary nitrogen (N) concentration and ruminal ammonia (NH3) of lactating dairy cows....
The purpose of this field study was to assess the impact of meat and bone meal (MBM) on maize. The experimental procedures were as follows: (1) without fertilization; (2) inorganic nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus; (3) 1.0 Mg·ha−1 MBM...
The economics of grazing dairy cows offered a range of herbage allowances and fed supplements as a partial mixed ration (PMR) were examined where profit was defined as the margin between total milk income and the cost of pasture plus PMR supplement....
The aim of this research was to assess differences in the quantity and quality of herbage and invertebrate generalist predator abundance among permanent and temporary pastures. Two permanent pastures and four temporary ley pastures (either one year o...
Rising platemeters are commonly used in Ireland and New Zealand for managing intensive pastures. To assess the applicability of a commercial rising platemeter operating with a microsonic sensor to estimate herbage mass with its own equation, the obje...
Sheep liveweight and liveweight change are vital tools both for commercial and research farm management. However, they can be unreliable when collection procedures are not standardized or when there are varying time delays between sheep removal from...
Sward structure affects herbage growth, pasture species dynamics, and herbage utilization. Defoliation management has a major impact on sward structure. In particular, tiller size-tiller density compensations allow for the maintenance of herbage grow...
We assessed the effects of high-intensity and low-frequency (HILF) vs. low-intensity and high-frequency (LIHF) grazing on herbage production and performance of beef cattle grazing sorghum pastures. The experimental design was a complete randomized bl...
Understanding the importance of grassland management is crucial for predicting the effects on forage production, pasture and ecosystem stability. Studies about the impact of grassland management in temperate humid environments on soil, erosion and ab...
Pasture micro-nutrient concentrations are often deficient for herbage productivity and the health of livestock. The aim of this study was to investigate soil and herbage micro-nutrient content and the effects on yield on the three pasture systems of...
Sheep (Ovis aries) liveweight and liveweight change can contain errors when collection procedures are not standardized, or when there are varying time delays between removal from grazing and weighing. A two-stage study was conducted to determine the...
Italian ryegrass is one of the most important temperate forage grasses on a global basis. Improvement of both dry matter yield and quality of herbage have been major objectives of pasture grass breeding over the last century. F1 and F2 progeny sets d...
The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term effects of daily herbage allowance (DHA, defined as the product of pre-grazing herbage mass and offered area per animal) on pasture conditions and milk production of Holstein-Friesian dairy cows. F...
Ruminant production systems frequently rely on grassland utilization and conservation of herbage as hay or silage. Conservation affects the crude protein (CP) composition and protein value, which is particularly recognized during ensiling. The aim of...
Investing labor time in herbage measurements is important for precision pasture management. In this study, the labor input of three smart herbage measurement tools—multispectral imagery linked to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a semi-automat...
Nitrogen (N) management affects herbage production and chemical composition; however, information on the impact of tropical herbage on N and carbohydrate fractions is scarce. A two-year study was conducted to investigate the potential use of pintoi p...
This study evaluated different herbage allowances from mid to late pregnancy on pre- and postpartum physiological responses, milk production, and the performance of Nellore cows and the preweaning growth of their female offspring. Sixty multiparous N...
The response of crop yields to fertilizers is a long-standing topic of agricultural production. Currently, in dairy-pasture systems, nitrogen (N) fertilizer is used as a management tool that is said to be directly proportional to pasture yield. We ev...
A 7 year experiment (2008–2014) evaluated cattle grazing intensity (sward height) effects on herbage mass, forage quality, and greenhouse gas emissions in continuously stocked pastures containing the tropical ‘Marandu’ palisade gras...
Legume–cereal mixtures are pivotal in yielding a more balanced forage composition compared to the sole crops, due to the well-adjusted equilibrium of carbohydrate and protein. However, great attention is required in choosing the optimal ratio o...
Pasture intensification through higher stocking rates, nitrogen fertilization and intensified grazing management in beef cattle production optimizes pasture use by increasing the forage harvested. We aimed to assess its effects on the morphogenesis a...
Grassland and pasture management increasingly requires timely and reliable decision support to address changing environmental conditions, optimize grazing capacity, and improve herbage production. Although digital technologies such as the Internet of...
This two-year study evaluated the effect of Pennisetum purpureum genotypes under rainfed or irrigated conditions, during the dry and rainy seasons, on herbage, leaf, and stem dry matter (DM) accumulation rates, nutritive value, and carbohydrate and p...
Sabah snake grass or Clinacanthus nutans has drawn public interest having significant economic benefits attributable to the presence of phytochemicals and several interesting bioactive constituents that may differ according to harvesting age and harv...
The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of three forms of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and their effect on the yield, chemical and microbiological quality of perennial ryegrass herbage and silage. Two types of titanium dioxide nanoparticle...
The analysis of multispectral imagery (MSI) acquired by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and mobile near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) used on-site has become increasingly promising for timely assessments of grassland to support farm manage...
Teosinte (Euchlaena mexicana L.) is a popular herbage crop in Nepal. Although farmers produce teosinte seeds, management for maximizing seed yield is unknown. A study was undertaken to investigate teosinte seed yield in order to explore the seed prod...
The aim of this study was to measure methane emissions (CH4) and herbage intake, and, on the basis of these results, obtain the methane yield (MY, methane yield as g CH4/kg dry matter intake (DMI) and Ym, methane yield as a percentage of Gross Energy...
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