Nutrition
For 100 cows – how much land do I need?
It depends on how much grass your farm can grow. A cow needs about 5 t of grass dry matter for grazing/ silage for a full year. Farm growing 10 t grass – 50 ha required (stocking rate 2.0 LU/ha). Farm growing 12 t grass – 42 ha required (stocking rate 2.4 LU/ha). Farm growing 14 t grass – 36 ha required (stocking rate 2.75 LU/ha).
How much does a milking cow eat?
A milking cow will eat about 17 kg dry matter per day.
How much meal does a cow need?
Cows will be in negative energy balance after calving and need meal to try and minimise this body loss after calving. Where adequate grass is available approx. 250 kg meal would be sufficient. Meal fed for the remainder of lactation is usually to fill for grass deficits and extent the grazing rotation in autumn.
What is the ideal grass for cows in summer?
Grazing low covers in summer will restrict cow intake, grazing high covers in summer will limit energy intake as this grass contains more Stemmy material. The optimum cover is about 1,400 kg as this contains mostly leaf which is highly digestible.