Fresh herbage for dairy cattle: the key to a sustainable food chain

Proceedings of the Frontis Workshop on Fresh herbage for dairy cattle: the key to a sustainable food chain, Wageningen, The Netherlands, April 2005

Editors:
A. Elgersma
Crop and Weed Ecology Group, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

J. Dijkstra and S. Tamminga
Animal Nutrition Group, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Series editor:
R.J. Bogers
Frontis – Wageningen International Nucleus for Strategic Expertise
Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands

About the book | Table of Contents

Product quality and a sustainable food chain of ruminant products are largely determined by animal nutrition, in which forage is the major feed source. Forages and grasslands play a unique role in agriculture because they contribute through animals to our food supply and to the abatement of environmental problems. Interest in grassland management and grass utilization for dairy production in temperate and subtropical regions has recently led to considerable research efforts. In the past this research often emphasized on plant and animal aspects separately. However, the interrelationship between pasture and the grazing ruminant is a dynamic, two-way process. Many people are not aware of these complex relations, and scientists often focus on either soil-plant interactions, plant production, animal nutrition, animal production or product quality issues.

This book contains the contributions of active researchers and leading experts in the field of grassland management and grass utilization. Chapters are arranged in an order that allows progressive development within the food chain, moving from the big picture to basic principles of grassland management and effects on herbage quality, intake and nutrient flows.

Click here for printed version of the Wageningen UR Frontis Series,
available from Springer Science+Business Media (former Kluwer Academic Publishers)