Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) persistence and forage and cow-calf production were evaluated on pastures containing smooth bromegrass with or without grazing-tolerant or hay-type alfalfa cultivars rotationally stocked in either a season-long or complementary system. In 1997, six 2.02-ha pastures were seeded with smooth bromegrass, a mixture of a grazing-tolerant alfalfa (Amerigraze variety) and s...

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient in cattle, and Se-deficiency can affect morbidity and mortality. Calves may have greater Se requirements during periods of stress, such as during the transitional period between weaning and movement to a feedlot. Previously, we showed that feeding Se-fertilized forage increases whole-blood (WB) Se concentrations in mature beef cows. Our current object...

Alfalfa was harvested from alternate windrows as 40% DM silage or hay in small rectangular bales and fed in two 12-wk 4 x 4 Latin square trials, each with 20 multiparous lactating cows (4 with ruminal cannulas). Diets contained (DM basis) 69 (trial 1) or 66% (trial 2) alfalfa, 26 to 33% high moisture corn, 1.3% minerals and vitamins, and about 1.6 Mcal of NEL/kg of DM. In trial 1, second-cuttin...

OBJECTIVE To examine metabolic responses of chronically starved horses to refeeding with 3 isoenergetic diets. DESIGN Uncontrolled clinical trial. ANIMALS 22 mature mixed-breed horses that were emaciated but otherwise clinically normal. PROCEDURE Horses were fed 1 of 3 diets: alfalfa hay, oat hay, or a combination diet of half oat hay and half commercially prepared ration. Digestible ener...

Twenty Naieni breed replacement ewe lambs were used to determine the substitution effects of treated wheat straw with exogenous fiber-degrading enzymes for alfalfa hay on wool characteristics. Five treatment diets were included: 1) control (100% alfalfa hay without wheat straw), 2) 10% enzyme treated wheat straw replaced for alfalfa hay, 3) 20% enzyme treated wheat straw replaced for alfalfa ha...

this study was conducted to evaluate consumption inputs, production costs, nutrient composition and performance in production of alfalfa hay and alfalfa silage. therefore, data on alfalfa hay production were collected from 75 farms in zanjan province, using a face to face questionnaire in the year 2012. a systematic random sampling method was used. then, two farms managed by silage harvesting s...

To evaluate the protein quality and postgut N utilization of full-bloom timothy hay, oat-supplemented timothy-hay diets, and alfalfa hay harvested at different maturities, apparent whole tract N digestibility, urinary N excretion, and serum AA profiles were determined in light to moderately exercised Arabian horses. Six Arabian geldings (16.0 ± 0.3 yr; 467 ± 11 kg of BW) were randomly allocated...

The key chemical analysis used to estimate the energy value of alfalfa hay for trading purposes, ADF (acid detergent fiber), has been supplanted by NDF (neutral detergent fiber) as the key chemical analysis used by nutritionists to evaluate the fibrosity and energy value of alfalfa hay for nutritional purposes. It is important that the alfalfa hay trading industry abandon ADF, as it will genera...

four-handed fifty lactating holstein cows with mean body weight of, 597± 40 and 50±20 and days in milk body condi from sure of 3.1±0.4 were blocked by parity and randomly assigned to 3 treatments. each treatment had 3 pens and each pen had 50 cows. the experiment lasted for 60 days (10 days adaptation and 50 days collection period). concentrate to forage ratio was 60 to 40 and alfalfa hay repla...

Four insects species have emerged as important pests of alfalfa in the Western United States during the past decade. Cowpea aphid has long been a resident insect of the Western United States, but became a significant alfalfa pest during the past two years. The silverleaf whitefly has been a serious pest of alfalfa since 1991. Silverleaf whitefly reduces hay yield and contaminates alfalfa hay wi...