Ruminants evolved their multi-compartment digestive tract to effectively process plant material containing large amounts of cell wall material. We rely on forages as the sole or major feed resource for domestic ruminant animal production, even in the grain intensive North American beef and dairy systems. Unfortunately, digestibility of forages is extremely variable and almost always less than g...

Forage plants introduced to Hawai`i have come from both temperate and tropical areas of the world. Although introduced species have changed the face of the landscape, they have often failed to provide long-term benefits to the livestock industry. Proper management of rangelands can result in increased livestock productivity and reduce the need for further introductions of forage plants. Almost ...

the effects of a microbial inoculant (containing propionic and lactic acid bacteria) and formic acid onchemical composition, ruminal degradability of dry matter (dm) and nutrient digestibility of corn silage wereexamined. whole-plant corn was ensiled for 60 days in plastic polyethylene bags, and three treatments werecompared, 1: control (no additive), 2: propionibacterium acidipropionici plus l...

Because wheat forage contains high concentrations of N, NPN, digestible DM, and water, beef cattle and sheep require an adaptation period before positive BW are seen. The objective of the present experiment was to determine the impact of length of exposure of lambs and steers to wheat forage on BW gains, N retention, and forage digestibility. Sixteen steer calves (average BW = 210 +/- 12 kg) an...

Forage-animal production agriculture is implementing infrastructure changes and management strategies to adjust to increased energy-related costs of fuel, feed grains, fertilizers, and seeds. The primary objectives of this position paper are to assess future research and extension scientific needs in forage utilization, financial support for the discipline, and changing status and number of sci...

There is considerable interest in altering the fatty acid composition of milk with the overall aim of improving the longterm health of consumers. Important targets include reducing the amounts of medium-chain saturated fatty acids, enhancing cis-9 18:1 to reduce cardiovascular risk, as well as increasing concentrations of trans-11 18:1 and cis-9, trans-11 18:2 which have been shown to exert ant...

Grazing livestock create localized nutrient patches that increase soil ionic strength (IS) and influence plant productivity. The ability of plant root systems to control ion absorption and flux to xylem, and to sequester ions reaching leaf tissue in bound, nontoxic forms are means of minimizing IS. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the growth and mineral acquisition responses o...

The argali (Ovis ammon) is a species of great conservation concern throughout its range in central Asia, and is particularly sensitive to human disturbance and habitat degradation. Recent increases in livestock numbers have potentially reduced the capacity of habitats to sustain argali because of forage or interference competition. We studied the potential for forage competition between argali ...