Milk production and methane emissions from dairy cows fed silages from different grassland species and harvesting frequencies.

The aim of this study was to examine how silages from different grassland species and harvesting frequencies affect feed intake, milk production, and methane (CH) emission in dairy cows. We hypothesized that cows consuming silages of more frequent harvest, grass species with greater OM digestibility and legumes with lower NDFom concentration would have greater silage DMI and milk yield and thereby lower CH yield and intensity. Forty Norwegian Red cows were allocated to 5 treatments in a cyclic changeover design with four 21-d periods (14 d of adaptation, 7 d of data collection).

Effect of grassland cutting frequency, species mixture, wilting and fermentation pattern of grass silages on in vitro methane yield.

Mitigating enteric methane (CH) emissions is crucial as ruminants account for 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. We hypothesised that less frequent harvesting, use of crops with lower WSC concentration, ensiling at low crop dry matter (DM) and extensive lactic acid fermentation would reduce in vitro CH production. Timothy (T), timothy + red clover mixture (T + RC) or perennial ryegrass (RG), cut either two or three times per season, was wilted to 22.