Thanks to the rather favourable weather conditions of the last few days and an abnormally high grass growth this winter, we were able to put our cows out in the first plot, with an average grass height of 8.3cm. The soil conditions allowed us to put the cows out to grass early, but it remains limited and the least significant rainfall will probably force us to put the dairy cows back in the barn all day.

Before taking our cattle out, a few preparations are in order !

  • A feed transition at the trough: reduction in the amount of dry matter distributed/cow by 40%
  • Magnesium supplementation: 50g/cow
  • Measurements of the height and grass samples from the plot concerned

 

How and why are grass samples taken before the XXXL cows enter the field ?

prélèvement herbe
© INRAE / A. Bachelet

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