The Supplemental Value of Alfalfa Hay When Fed to Cows on Pasture

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Abstract
During the summer of 1954, 8 cows on bluegrass-white clover pasture were fed all the alfalfa hay they would eat for 2 hours twice daily, and their production was compared to 8 comparable cows on the same pasture without hay as a supplement. Both groups of cows were fed a 14% protein grain mixture at a moderate rate in line with milk production. Estimates of dry matter intake by combining chromogen(s) and chromic oxide techniques indicated that cows receiving hay increased their intake by 11%, with the hay group averaging 29.6/cow daily and those without hay 26.6 lb.. The portion of dry matter furnished by pasture was reduced by 32% with the hay-fed group averaging 11.4 lb/cow daily from pasture and the no-hay group 16.8 lb. Hay feeding failed to produce significant milk increases, although there was a tendency for the hay-fed group to produce more 4% FCM than did the group without hay during the 4-week period, July 15 to August 18. During a majority of the remaining 11 experimental weeks the control group excelled the hay-fed group in average milk production. Cows fed hay gained an average of 50 lb/cow whereas control cows'' average weight was the same at the end as at the start of the experiment. The experiment produced no evidence as to why alfalfa hay as a supplement to pasture had a greater effect on body weight changes than on milk production, other than the observation that the persistency of milk production for both groups of cows was high, averaging around 93-94% on a 4-week basis.