Table 3.
Botanical and chemical compositions of pasture samples (raw means ± SD).
| Item | Farm | |
|---|---|---|
| A | B | |
| Botanical Composition | ||
| Nonedible biomass,1 % DM | 12.8 ± 1.2 | 11.5 ± 1.3 |
| Poaceae, % DM of edible biomass | 64.5 ± 3.9 | 63.8 ± 1.3 |
| Lolium spp., % DM of Poaceae | 70.8 ± 2.6 | 65.1 ± 0.6 |
| Other Poaceae,2 % DM of Poaceae | 29.2 ± 2.6 | 34.9 ± 0.6 |
| Fabaceae, % DM of edible biomass | 22.8 ± 4.2 | 19.2 ± 4.1 |
| Trifolium spp., % DM of Fabaceae | 71.1 ± 4.3 | 61.3 ± 3.8 |
| Other Fabaceae,3 % DM of Fabaceae | 28.9 ± 4.3 | 38.7 ± 3.8 |
| Other species,4 % DM of edible biomass | 12.7 ± 1.1 | 16.9 ± 3.0 |
| Chemical Composition | ||
| DM, % | 23.8 ± 1.3 | 22.6 ± 0.6 |
| Crude Protein, % of DM | 17.5 ± 0.5 | 17.2 ± 0.5 |
| Ether extract, % of DM | 2.3 ± 0.1 | 2.5 ± 0.1 |
| NDF, % of DM | 47.8 ± 2.0 | 47.2 ± 1.1 |
| ADF, % of DM | 22.3 ± 1.3 | 25.7 ± 3.0 |
| NEL, MJ/kg of DM | 5.4 ± 0.5 | 5.4 ± 0.2 |
1 Nonedible species, mature plants, and dead materials. 2 Bromus spp., Arrhenatherum elatius, Avena spp., Dactylis glomerata, Hordeum spp., Festuca spp., Agrostis spp., Phleum spp., Poa spp., Agropyron spp., and Trisetum spp. 3 Medicago spp., Lotus corniculatus, Vicia spp., Hedysarum coronarium, Onobrychis viciifolia, and Anthyllis vulneraria. 4 Carduus spp., Cichorium spp., Calendula arvensis, Chrysanthemum coronarium, Mentha spp., Achillea spp., Borago officinalis, Taraxacum spp., Foeniculum vulgare, Cirsium spp., and Plantago spp. DM, dry matter; NDF, neutral detergent fiber; ADF, acid detergent fiber; NEL, net energy of lactation; SD, standard deviation.