Table 2.
Dry matter (DM) %, organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) % in DM, and metabolisable energy (MJ/kg DM) of herbage grazed by cows during spring, summer, and autumn in 2017/18 and 2018/19 milking year.
| Milking Year | Farmlet 1 | Season | OM% | DM% | CP% | ADF% | NDF% | ME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | LIRG + PL | Spring | 89.7 | 16.9 | 19.6 | 22.2 | 35.6 | 12.3 |
| Summer | 87.5 | 16.5 | 20.8 | 24.0 | 34.0 | 11.7 | ||
| Autumn | 86.9 | 12.3 | 25.3 | 21.4 | 32.7 | 11.8 | ||
| Whole year | 88.0 | 15.2 | 21.9 | 22.5 | 34.1 | 11.9 | ||
| LIRG | Spring | 91.2 | 19.2 | 18.2 | 23.3 | 41.6 | 12.4 | |
| Summer | 90.3 | 20.4 | 21.4 | 24.8 | 42.5 | 11.7 | ||
| Autumn | 89.5 | 15.2 | 26.0 | 24.2 | 42.9 | 12.0 | ||
| Whole year | 90.3 | 18.3 | 21.9 | 24.1 | 42.3 | 12.1 | ||
| HIRG | Spring | 90.7 | 19.7 | 18.3 | 23.3 | 41.9 | 12.2 | |
| Summer | 90.0 | 19.6 | 22.0 | 24.9 | 43.1 | 11.6 | ||
| Autumn | 89.8 | 15.6 | 26.3 | 24.7 | 44.6 | 11.8 | ||
| Whole year | 90.2 | 18.3 | 22.2 | 24.3 | 43.2 | 11.8 | ||
| LSD farmlet | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 0.2 | ||
| LSD season | 1.4 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 4.3 | 0.5 | ||
| P farmlet | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.558 | 0.008 | <0.001 | 0.100 | ||
| P season | 0.039 | 0.082 | 0.004 | 0.318 | 0.965 | 0.040 | ||
| 2018/19 | LIRG + PL | Spring | 90.4 | 18.3 | 21.4 | 20.9 | 37.3 | 12.6 |
| Summer | 89.3 | 15.3 | 19.3 | 22.3 | 30.5 | 11.9 | ||
| Autumn | 89.0 | 12.0 | 25.3 | 21.3 | 31.6 | 12.2 | ||
| Whole year | 89.5 | 15.2 | 22.0 | 21.5 | 33.1 | 12.2 | ||
| LIRG | Spring | 90.4 | 18.8 | 22.6 | 22.3 | 40.7 | 12.5 | |
| Summer | 90.7 | 16.3 | 22.3 | 23.9 | 41.1 | 12.0 | ||
| Autumn | 91.0 | 14.7 | 24.6 | 23.9 | 42.2 | 12.2 | ||
| Whole year | 90.7 | 16.6 | 23.2 | 23.4 | 41.3 | 12.2 | ||
| HIRG | Spring | 90.7 | 19.8 | 21.3 | 22.1 | 40.4 | 12.6 | |
| Summer | 90.2 | 16.5 | 23.8 | 23.5 | 40.2 | 11.9 | ||
| Autumn | 90.9 | 15.1 | 25.8 | 23.3 | 41.4 | 12.2 | ||
| Whole year | 90.6 | 17.2 | 23.6 | 23.0 | 40.6 | 12.2 | ||
| LSD farmlet | 0.6 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 4.2 | 0.3 | ||
| LSD season | 1.7 | 4.5 | 6.0 | 3.7 | 8.8 | 0.8 | ||
| P farmlet | <0.001 | 0.026 | 0.141 | 0.015 | <0.001 | 0.991 | ||
| P season | 0.798 | 0.059 | 0.335 | 0.543 | 0.784 | 0.141 |
1 LIRG + PL = lower input system on ryegrass + plantain (perennial ryegrass, Italian ryegrass, white clover, and plantain diverse mix, and plantain–white clover mix sward, 3.5 cow/ha, and 150 kg nitrogen/ha/year); LIRG = lower input system on ryegrass (perennial ryegrass–white clover mix sward, 3.5 cow/ha, and 150 kg nitrogen/ha/year); HIRG = higher input system on ryegrass (perennial ryegrass–white clover mix sward, 5.0 cow/ha, and 300 kg nitrogen/ha/year).