The aim of this paper was to study the mineral contents of a predefined herbage according to its origin, and to compare them with reference values. The fresh herbage from the first seasonal harvest consisted of mixed a populations with, at least, 50% gramineae, without ryegrass dominance and their growth stage was at begin of…
Free-living equids spend the greater part of the day grazing – roughly sixteen hours out of every twenty four. With two to three rationed portions of roughage a day, the behaviour of conventionally fed domestic horses is strongly affected. The aim of the present paper was to examine whether a different number of feeds influenced…
In the framework of the current revision of the Swiss Fertilizer Guidelines (SFG) the guide values for nutrient excretion of pigs were checked and adapted to current production practice. The principle used for calculating excretions is input in feed minus retention in in the growth of piglets and young sows. For fattening pigs all the…
In a whole-system study in lowland of Central Switzerland from 2007 to 2010 compared the performance, efficiency, land productivity and profitability of indoor-feeding (SH) dairy production with that of pasture-based feeding (VW) dairy production. In the present study the net contribution of these systems to human food protein and energy supply was analysed. Depending on…
Outdoor exercise areas in loose cattle housing systems represent close-to-the-ground emission sources. Previously, outdoor exercise areas were not taken into account when calculating the minimum distance to residential zones. The aim of these studies was to highlight any possible effect of outdoor exercise areas with solid flooring on odour impact. For this, the odour impact…
Although catch crops contribute to additional feed production, they are also considered to be difficult to ensile. In a trial, the ensilability and silage quality of the two standard mixtures 101 and 106 as well as mixtures with black oats, sorghum and foxtail millet were investigated. In addition to variants without an additive, we also…
In the framework of the current revision of the Swiss Fertilizer Guidelines (SFG) the guide values for nutrient excretion and forage consumption of dairy cows were checked and adapted to current production practice. The principle used for calculating excretions is input in feed minus retention in milk, calf and growth. A model based on the…
This study investigated differences between phenotypes of daughters of artificial insemination (AI)-bulls and daughters of natural service (NS)- bulls, respectively, on organic dairy farms in Switzerland. Organic rules recommend the use of natural mating. Therefore it is of interest whether those two groups of phenotypes show different characteristics on organic farms. Only farms using both…
Power maize silage (WPMC) – a mixture of whole-plant maize and cobs used in cattle fattening – has different characteristics from whole-plant maize (WPM). A digestibility test was carried out to determine the nutritional value of WPMC, study the influence of the composition of the ration and verify the application of equations predicting digestibility. Four…
The current Swiss guide values for nutrient excretions and forage consumption of suckling cows which are used for the compulsory nutrient balance are from 2001. In the meantime suckling cow production has changed and strongly gained in importance. In the framework of the ongoing revision of the Fertilizer Guidelines these guide values are therefore adapted…
The effectiveness of two different diarrhoeaprevention diets was tested using 192 newly weaned Large White pigs. The control diet contained 175 g crude protein (CP), 42 g ADF, 116 g NDF and 13.9 MJ digestible energy (DE) per kg. The ‘SM’ and ‘AP’ experimental diets comprising 20% whole carob pods plus 8% straw meal and…
In a natural environment, equids spend over 16 hours a day grazing. Stabled horses are traditionally fed 2–3 times a day with limited amount of forage. This may lead to disturbances of the digestive system and/or behavioral problems. The aim of this study was to investigate whether intake decreases when using a net covering the…
An advisory method developed in France was adapted for the application in Canton Jura and Bernese Jura to improve the profitability of dairy farms. Using this newly developed advisory instrument, an interdisciplinary team aimed to offer comprehensive consultancy. Data from 64 dairy farms was collected regarding environmental factors, management practices and related economic performance. Multivariate…
Silage preparation is an important feed-conservation method in the mountain area of Switzerland. To determine the ensilability of various typical plant populations in the mountain area, four plant populations were investigated on a laboratory scale, and grass silages from 31 commercial farms from the Ybrig-Einsiedeln mountain region were collected and analysed. According to the fermentability…
Pork fat is a major constituent of many meat products and its quality therefore of high relevance for meat processors. The most important fat quality characteristics – oxidative stability and consistency – are well described by the amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and the iodine value. In Switzerland, these two traits are even part…
Summering fattening cattle on alpine pastures has the advantage of utilising the whey and optimising the number of animals on said pastures. The LACTOBEEF project followed two mountain stockbreeders from the Gruyère Pays d’Enhaut Regional Nature Park. Traditionally, these stockbreeders fatten pigs on their whey and raise dairy heifers. The trial addresses the economic consequences…
Establishing an autumn vegetation cover following the grain harvests is common practice in the farming community. Although certain beekeepers look forward to this foraging opportunity, others suspect a weakening of the bee colonies after they forage on these cover crops, and fear the premature exhaustion of the winter bees. The experiment presented here attempts to…
Whey is present in large quantities in the alpine-cheese production zones, and represents a source of energy that should be utilised. The quality of the meat from 96 beef cattle which either consumed or did not consume this by-product was compared in two trials carried out 2012 and 2013. The animals, with an average live…
The aim of this study was to compare the supply of grass and the intake of three herds (test variants) over the 2012 and 2013 grazing seasons. The first herd received no supplement (control group G), whilst the other two benefited respectively from a barley (B) and whey (W) supplement. The quantity of grass offered…
In alpine-cheese production areas, whey represents an important source of available energy which is both largely untapped and problematic for the environment if it is not properly disposed of. Its utilisation by beef cattle was studied in two trials, each comprising 48 heifers and steers belonging to different breeds or crosses of beef breeds, and…
Mountain pasture areas in Switzerland are faced with a dual challenge: halting the advance of the forest, and dealing with the whey which is a by-product of alpine cheesemaking. Beef cattle could contribute to the sustainability of mountain pastures by increasing pasture pressure and reducing environmental impact through the use of the whey in situ.…
The effects of varying feeding regimes on chewing behaviour and faecal particle size distribution were investigated in an experiment with 23 lactating Swiss Fleckvieh cows. The herd was located at an organic dairy farm with a low concentrate feeding regime as required by the regulations of the organic association Bio Suisse. In a two factorial…
Molasses from the manufacture of beet sugar enables an improvement in the fermentation quality of beet-pulp silages. An in vivo trial with sheep was carried out at Agroscope Posieux in order to ascertain the digestibility of molassed pulp silages. Adult wethers (n = 4 per treatment; 83.9 ± 9.3 kg average weight) were given rations…
During the sugar production in 2014, around 4 % molasses was added to the pressed sugar-beet pulp in both the Aarberg and Frauenfeld sugar refineries. In the present survey, we investigated the influence of higher additions of molasses on silage quality and aerobic stability. Zero, 7 or 14 % molasses was added to the pressed…
In the project Opti-Milk (2000–2004), the technical feasibility of the fullgrazing strategy with seasonal calving in spring (low-cost strategy) for dairy farms on the Swiss Plateau was shown. The good economic prospects of the strategy based on budgets and predicted costs during the project could be verified with an analysis of the total costs on…
In the project Opti-Milk (2000–2004), the technical feasibility of the highoutput strategy for dairy farms on the Swiss Plateau was shown. The good economic prospects of the strategy based on budgets and predicted costs during the project could be verified with an analysis of the total costs on dairy farms from 1999 to 2011. The…
Experiments with various mixtures containing triticale, oats and forage peas were carried out at Agroscope Posieux in 2012 and 2013. The crops were harvested on two dates, chopped, and ensiled in laboratory silos. In addition, the influence of a chemical silage additive on lactic acid fermentation as well as the aerobic stability was studied for…
Requiring few inputs, protein plant–immature cereal mixtures can guarantee forage stocks in times of shortage. In order to test whether and how the principle of additivity predicts nutritional value, we conducted in vivo digestibility tests and in sacco degradability tests (crude protein degradability, CPD) to evaluate silages from two mixtures with different protein-plant (i.e., pea)…