A Nutritional Investigation of Major Feed Types and Feed Rations Used in Medium-Scale Dairy Production Systems in Sri Lanka.

In this paper, the nutritional quality, digestibility, and chemical composition of major feed types as well as the use of those feeds in rations by medium-scale dairy farmers in the Kurunegala district of Sri Lanka were studied. Nine dairy farms were visited fortnightly over a five-month period to identify the feeds that were commonly used. All farms operated under a stall-feeding system in which a manually mixed ration (MMR) was fed 2-3 times daily.

The Influence of Rotational Length, along with Pre- and Post-Grazing Measures on Nutritional Composition of Pasture during Winter and Spring on New Zealand Dairy Farms.

The quality of ryegrass−clover pasture was investigated between August (winter: start of calving) and November (spring: end of breeding) on pasture-based dairy farms (>85% of total feed from pasture) that had short (n = 2, Farms A and B; winter ~30 days, spring ~20−25 days) or long (n = 2, Farms C and D; winter ~35 days, spring ~25−30 days) grazing rotations to determine whether quality was affected by grazing rotation length (RT). Weekly assessments of pasture growth and herbage quality were made using a standardised electronic rising plate meter, and near-infrared spectroscopy, respectively. Data were subjected to repeated measure mixed model analysis, in which herbage quality was the outcome variable.