Journal article
Effect of climate variability on pasture-based dairy feeding systems in south-east Australia
Ş Özkan, J Hill, B Cullen
Animal Production Science | Published : 2015
DOI: 10.1071/AN14493
Abstract
The Australian dairy industry relies primarily on pasture for its feed supply. However, the variability in climate affects plant growth, leading to uncertainty in dryland pasture supply. This paper models the impact of climate variability on pasture production and examines the potential of two pasture-based dairy feeding systems: (1) to experience winter deficits; (2) to carry forward the conserved pasture surpluses as silage for future use; and (3) to conserve pasture surpluses as hay. The two dairy feeding systems examined were a traditional perennial ryegrass-based feeding system (ryegrass max.-RM) and a system that incorporated double cropping into the perennial ryegrass pasture base (co..
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Funding Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the assistance and data provided by the Project 3030 team. The primary author would like to thank the Turkish Ministry of National Education, and the Department of Agriculture and Food Systems at the University of Melbourne for the financial support received to produce this paper as part of her PhD thesis entitled 'A systems approach evaluating alternative dairy feeding strategies in south-east Australia'.