SIMPLIFIED ROTATIONAL GRAZING MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY-COWS - EFFECTS OF RATES OF STOCKING AND CONCENTRATE

An experiment was carried out in Normandy between 1986 and 1988 over c. 6 months in each year, using a simplified rotational grazing technique (two paddocks in spring, four in autumn) with a total of 162 high-yielding cows (mean milk yield of 30.0 kg/day at turn-out). Three stocking rates, designated control (C: 2.3 cows/ha over the total area of the system), moderate (M: 2.6 cows/ha = 115% of C) and high (H: 3.0 cows/ha = 130% of C), were compared at two rates of concentrate supplement, 3.7 kg/cow per day and 0.5 kg/cow per day. Individual milk yield differed by a non-significant 5% between the extreme stocking rates (21.3 v. 20.3 kg fat-corrected milk (FCM) for treatments C and H, respectively). Milk production/ha was 23% greater in the H treatment (9816 v. 7970 kg FCM for H and C, respectively). Concentrate supplementation led, on average, to a 9% milk yield improvement (21.8 v. 20.0 kg FCM for high and low rates, respectively), i.e. a mean efficiency of 0.6 kg FCM/kg supplement. This response tended to be greater in the higher-yielding cows and for the high stocking rate. The sward measurements contributed to a better understanding of herbage utilization by the cows.