• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.375-382
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• 2009

This study examined the influence of forage source (grass hay and rice straw) and shipping time (24, 26, 28 and 30 months) on feed conversion ratio, growth performance and carcass characteristics of Hanwoo steers. Sixty four Hanwoo steers at 6 months age were fed either grass hay (n=32) or rice straw (n=32) for 24, 26, 28 and 30 months of age. Steers fed on mixed grass hay gained significantly higher body weight at 24, 26, 28 and 30 months compared with those fed on rice straw. Feed efficiency was slightly better in steers fed mixed grass hay compared to those fed rice straw. Back fat thickness and marbling score were increased with the age of steers (p<0.05). Carcass quality traits (meat color, fat color, texture and maturity) were not affected by forage source and shipping time. Shear force, cooking loss and water holding capacity of beef were reduced with advancing age of steers (p<0.05). Moisture content was lower and fat content was higher in beef produced from steers fed mixed grass hay than those fed rice straw (p<0.05). Beef juiciness was reduced with the advancing shipping time of steers. In conclusion, it would be beneficial to feed hay compared with rice straw during whole period of Hanwoo steer to produce high quality beef.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.373-377
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• 2007

Alfalfa silage and corn silage are the major dairy feeds in most dairy operations in Michigan, USA. In recent years, the need to improve digestible fiber and dry matter intake of forages to meet the nutrient requirements of high yielding dairy cows and the willingness to plant corn specifically for silage has led plant breeders to focus on the brown mid-rib (BMR) trait. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different ratio of alfalfa to BMR corn silage and ration level of forage neutral detergent fiber (NDF) on animal performance of lactating cows in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This study was conducted at the Upper Peninsula Experiment Station of Michigan State University in Chatham, Michigan, USA. Two different ratios of forage type (high alfalfa silage/low BMR corn silage, AS, and high BMR corn silage/low alfalfa silage, BMRCS) and two different dietary NDF contents (27% NDF, 27 = low forage/high grain feeding, and 33% NDF, 33 = high forage/low grain feeding) were used. The experimental design was a $4{\times}4$ Latin Square with 20 milking cows (12 multiparous and 8 primiparous). This trial had four 21-day periods with 14 d adaptation and 7 d data collection. Milk yield and body condition score (BCS) on the AS-27, BMRCS-27 and BMRCS-33 treatments were significantly (p<0.05) higher than on the AS-33 treatment. Dry matter intake of the AS-27 and BMRCS-27 treatments was significantly (p<0.05) higher than for the AS-33 and BMRCS-33 treatments. Milk urea nitrogen (MUN) on the AS-33 treatment was significantly (p<0.05) higher than on the other diet treatments. A key finding of this study was that the BMRCS-33 (higher amounts of brown mid-rib corn silage than alfalfa silage, high forage and low grain feeding diet at 33% NDF) led to the equal highest milk production whilst having the equal lowest dry matter intake. This study demonstrated that the diet with higher ratio of highly digestible NDF forage such as brown mid-rib corn silage to alfalfa silage could lower grain feeding in the ration.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.145-151
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• 2015

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the productivity and silage quality of domestically developed forage crops in Korea. A variety of rye ("Gogu"), oat ("Samhan"), three Italian ryegrass ("Kogreen", "Kospeed" and "Kowinearly") and two barley ("Yuyeon" and "Youngyang") were evaluated at an experimental field of Grassland and Forage Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA in Korea. Gogu showed the highest dry matter yield among the forage crop but the lowest was Samhan. Crude protein (CP) was higher in the oat and Italian ryegrass varieties. The total digestible nutrient (TDN) content levels were similar with the except for the rye. The acidity (pH) of the oat silage was the lowest among forage crop species. Higher lactic acid content levels were found in the Kogreen and Samhan compared to the other varieties (p<0.05). According to Flieg's score, all of the silages were assigned a $1^{st}$ quality grade with the exception of the Gogu. These results suggest that domestically developed forage crop varieties show high performance in terms of productivity and silage quality, and are therefore recommendable forage crop varieties for Korea.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.183-189
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• 1996

The productivity and utilization of four different grasdlegume pastures for grazing management were examined. The pasture mixtures used in this study were orchardgrass + ladino clover (Tl), orchardgrass + alfalfa (T2), perennial ryegrass + alfalfa (T3), and orchardgrass (T4, without legumes) respectively. The pastures were mtationally grazed 7 times with growing cow which had an initial weight of ca 243kg. The gmwth of pasture plants, dry matter (DM) yield, DM distribution, daily DM production, and pasture utilization were investigated at the NLRI, in Suwon, from April to October in 1991 and 1992. The average plant height at each grazing was 32-33m. The average DM content was 17.8%, wil the lowest in TI (16.4%) and highest in T3 and T4 (18.4%). The annual DM production were 9,609 kg (T3), 9,420 kg (Tl), 9,402 kg (T2), and 9,194 kgha (T4) in that order, but no significant differences were found in forage yield between treatments. Most of forage DM was produced in spring season, particularly in May. The daily DM production was highest in May (81.9kg), and lowest in August (33.0kg/ha). The average efficiency of pasture utilization was about 79%, with the lowest in TI (77%), and highest level of utilization was observed in T4 (82%). In this experiment, production and utilization of each pastures were observed similarly. However, the forage nutritive value, botanical composition, and animal performance as affected by different pasture mixtures for suitable grazing management are needed to ascertain.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.520-527
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• 2009

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L) is a high-quality forage for ruminants and the main stem is the dominant morphological component contributing to the forage nutritive value in mature alfalfa forage. Shearing force, a fracturing property of plant stem, is an important indictor of forage value. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of morphological characteristic on shearing force, the relationship between shearing force and chemical composition, and the relationship between shearing force and in situ digestibility of alfalfa stem. The results showed that linear density (weight per unit length of stem) was more important than chemical composition in affecting shearing force. There was a positive relationship between lignin content and shearing force (r = 0.78). Correlations were not found between shearing force and other chemical components such as neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), cellulose and hemicelluloses. In situ digestibility (of dry matter and NDF) was related to shearing force. A negative correlation was found between shearing force and dry matter (DM) digestibility (r = -0.70), and there was also a negative correlation between shearing force and NDF digestibility (r = -0.87). When shearing force was standardized for stem diameter or stem linear density, the relationship between shearing force and digestibility was consistent regardless of stem diameter and stem linear density. Shearing force was significantly correlated with lignin content and in situ digestibility (of DM and NDF), and was a more direct indicator for estimating forage nutritive value related to animal performance, so it can be used to predict the forage value of alfalfa.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1709-1717
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• 2009

This review presents a series of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to assist Asian smallholder dairy farmers in identifying the possible causes for their poor farm performance and profitability. When assessing farm profitability, these indicators can be split into two types, those diagnosing problems with feeding management and those indicating poor herd management. As home grown forage is generally cheaper to source than purchased forage, the more produced on farm, the better. Too many stock on limited land is a common feature on Asian dairy small holdings. Unlike other classes of livestock, milking cows have very high nutrient requirements, therefore high quality forages and concentrates are essential for profitable dairying. Milk income less feed cost is one of the simplest and easy to measure indicators of farm profitability and is also quick to respond to small changes in farm practices. Problems with herd management can be diagnosed using measures such as the proportion of cows actually milking in the herd or their peak yield and persistency of production. There are also simple indicators of herd reproductive performance and of health and growth of young stock that assist in searching for the underlying causes of poor farm profitability.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.108-115
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• 1991

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of cattle compost application on the change of soil physical properties and their relationship to yield performance of selected main forage crops. Maize(CV. Suweon 19) and sorghum hybrids(CV. Pioneer 9'31) as a summer crops and winter rye were grown on newly reclaimed red yellow soils(Fine loamy, Typic Hapludults) under different application rate of cattle compost associated with chemical NPK fertilization, from Oct. 1986 to Sept. 1989. Experimental field was laid down as a split plots design with four replications. The results obtained are summarized as follows: 1. Cattle compost application reclaimed soil physical propeties, such as formation of granular structure and water holding capacity, and it result in a great increase of plant growth and the rate of dry matter accumulation. 2. While cattle compost treatment reduced the portion of soild phase of the three phase constituents of soils, it increased the portion of air phase and liquid phase comparatively. 3. Organic matter, N, P, K, and mineral content in soil were markedly increased in the plot treated with compost. 4. Cattle compost application increased fodder production both in maize-rye and sorghum hybrids-rye cultivation. Annual dry matter yield of maize-rye cropping was 2183(NI'K only), 2425(NPK+compvst 3000 kg) and 2800kg/lOa(NPK + compost 6000kg/10a).

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.323-328
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• 1997

Com(Zea mays L.) hybrid is recognized as the principal cmp in a double-cmpping system. Rye(Secale cereale L.), seeded after corn hybrid harvest, is the second crop in the system. Under this forage production system, corn planting is mostly delayed beyond mid-May due to delayed rye harvest on May, but the corn should be harvested until mid-August before the autumn rain started. It is for this reason that early maturing corn hybrids are preferred for silage crops in this system. Twenty eight cultivars of early maturing corn hybrids evaluated in this experiment at three locations (Suweon, Sunghwan and Cheju) for 3 yr(1994-1996) were compared for agronomic characteristics, forage yield and quality. Among the com hybrids tested, DUO1 and GL499 were recommended as the government superior corn hybrids due to their promising agronomic traits, such as short plant and ear heights, adquate dry matter percentage for silage on mid-August, good staygreen along with good lodging and disease resistance, better ear retention, similar yield compared to the control hybrid, Suweon 19 and above average stover quality.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.19 no.spc
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• pp.169-173
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• 2011

The performance of grass filter strips (GFS) in abating $PO_4$-P concentrations from the forage cropland was tested in an experiment on the 10% slope in Grassland and Forages Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration (RDA) from October 2007 to September 2009. Forage croplands with rye-corn double cropping system applied with chemical fertilizer and livestock manure (LM) were compared in a natural condition. The plots were hydrologically isolated Main plots consisted of the length of GFS, such as 0m, 5m, 10m and 15m. Sub plots consisted of the type of LM, such as chemical fertilizer (CF), composted cattle manure (CCM) and composted swine manure (CSM). Concentrations of PO4-P in surface runoff water were reduced as the length of GFS increased. Especially, GFS with 10m and 15m reduced $PO_4$-P concentrations significantly compared to that with 0m and 5m (p<0.05). The results from this study suggest that GFS improved the removal and trapping $PO_4$-P from forage croplands.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.175-184
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• 2012

In the present study, the effects of feeding different forage sources on the growth performance, meat production and meat quality of Hanwoo steers were evaluated using meta-analysis. In total 5 studies that were performed and published in the domestic journals in Korea were employed for the analysis. The results from nutritionally better quality roughage-based steers and rice straw-based steers in each study were assigned as a treatment and a control, respectively, and the mean difference between the treatment and the control was used for the evaluation of effect size. The summary effect was calculated using random effect model. As results, in growth performance, positive effects were found in feed intake, daily weight gain, final body weight and feed efficiency. The significant effect was found only in daily weight gain (p<0.05). In meat production, carcass weight, Longissimus dorsi area, yield index showed positive effect and negative effect was detected in back fat thickness. The significant effect in meat production was found in carcass weight and Longissimus dorsi area (p<0.05). In meat quality, positive effects were represented in marbling score and fat color. Meat color showed little effect. The significance for effects was not observed in the analysis of meat quality. In conclusion, feeding good quality forages to ruminants plays an important role in Korean beef cattle industry and hence further researches are necessary to improve the efficiency of forage utilization in Hanwoo cattle.