The project objective was to determine the CLA content of three muscles (Longissimus lumborum, LD; Semimembranosus, SM; Triceps brachii, TB), in both raw and cooked states, in cattle finished on pasture or with grain supplements. Cattle were randomly assigned to one of four finishing regimens; pasture (n=11), pasture with grain supplement (n=11), pasture with grain supplement containing soyoil ...

In recent years, the number of pasture species and cultivars commercially available to farmers in New Zealand has increased significantly. Reasons for this include increased commercial activity in the development and supply of proprietary cultivars, and more specialisation in New Zealand’s pastoral agriculture. In particular, pasture cultivars are increasingly marketed as proprietary products w...

‘Tree-pasture’ silvopastoral systems have the potential to become transformative multifunctional landscapes that add both environmental and economic value pastoral farms. Nevertheless, no published study has found increased pasture production under mature trees in New Zealand hill country. This takes a novel approach research Zealand, investigates genus similar bio-physical attributes other glo...

In each of two experiments, 120 pregnant beef cows were stratified by body condition score, BW, breed, and age, randomly divided into six groups of 20, and assigned to one of six 5.1-ha bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon [L.] Pers.) pastures (two replicates/ treatment) in early January to evaluate the use of winter-annual pasture as a supplement. All cows in Exp. 1 and 2 had ad libitum access to be...

In grasslands, overgrazing by domestic livestock, fertilization, and introduction of exotic forage species leads to plant communities consisting of a mixture of native and exotic species. These degraded grasslands present a problem for land managers, farmers, and restoration ecologists concerned with improving biodiversity while continuing to use the land for livestock production. Here we asses...

Fragments of kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides) forest provide a major opportunity for conservation of indigenous biodiversity in the heavily deforested landscape of the Waikato Basin, New Zealand. However, there is little documented information on what indigenous fauna survives in these fragments. Using Malaise traps set 20 m and 50 m into fragments and 20 m and 50 m into the adjacent pastur...

The objective of this experiment was to determine if transcript abundance of genes involved in metabolic pathways in adipose and liver tissue could provide some explanation for the low efficiency with which ME in autumn pasture is used for BW gain. Nonlactating, pregnant (208 ± 19 d of gestation or approximately 75 d precalving) dairy cows (n = 90) were randomly allocated to either a control di...

This study aimed to compare the growth performances and carcass characteristics of tropical-breed steers reared in 2 contrasted feeding systems (indoor vs. pasture) and slaughtered at different ages (early vs. late). A total of 309 Creole steers (growing at an initial BW of 173 ± 3 kg and an initial age of 252 ± 4 d) were used over a continuous 12-yr study. Indoor steers were housed in a cattle...

BACKGROUND Primary photosensitisation (PS) subsequent to ingestion of the pasture legume Biserrula pelecinus L. (biserrula) has recently been confirmed in grazing livestock. Given the potential utility of this pasture species in challenging climates, a grazing trial was undertaken to examine if both varieties 'Casbah' and 'Mauro' were able to cause photosensitisation in livestock, and if this c...