Milk production and herbage intake of dairy cows kept on a leader and follower grazing system

SUMMARY Three groups each of 14 cows, balanced for stage of lactation and potential milk yield, were kept either on a control treatment C, grazing within a rigid rotational grazing system, or on a leader (L) and follower (F) grazing system operated within a similar system. The stocking rate of treatment C was 5·76 cows/ha, the same as the overall stocking rate of treatments L and F. In Experiment 1, a 10-week continuous-type randomized block experiment was preceded by a 4-week uniformity period; in Experiment 2, a 3 × 3 Latin square design was adopted with periods of 4 weeks. Herbage intake and milk yield were only slightly, and not significantly (P > 0·05), higher in the leader than control cows, whilst the performance of cows on treatment F fell significantly (P< 0·001) below the other treatments. In treatment L, cows in early lactation responded to the extra opportunity for herbage selection with significantly (P< 0·01) more milk than those in late lactation. The mean milk production of the leader and follower cows was similar to that of the control cows. It is suggested that the potential value of a ‘leader and follower’ grazing system is unlikely to be greater than that of a conventional rotational grazing system.