Each new generation of grassland managers could benefit from an improved understanding of how modification of nitrogen application and harvest dates in response to different weather and soil conditions will affect grass yields and quality. The purpose of this study was to develop a freely available grass yield simulation model, validated for England and Wales, and to examine its strengths and weaknesses as a teaching tool for improving grass management. The model, called LINGRA-N-Plus, was implemented in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and iteratively evaluated by students and practitioners (farmers, consultants, and researchers) in a series of workshops across the UK over 2 years. The iterative feedback led to the addition of new algorithms, an improved user interface, and the development of a teaching guide. The students and practitioners identified the ease of use and the capacity to understand, visualize and evaluate how decisions, such as variation of cutting intervals, affect grass yields as strengths of the model. We propose that an effective teaching tool must achieve an appropriate balance between being sufficiently detailed to demonstrate the major relationships (e.g., the effect of nitrogen on grass yields) whilst not becoming so complex that the relationships become incomprehensible. We observed that improving the user-interface allowed us to extend the scope of the model without reducing the level of comprehension. The students appeared to be interested in the explanatory nature of the model whilst the practitioners were more interested in the application of a validated model to enhance their decision making.

Grazing plays an important role in milk production in most regions of the world. In this review, some challenges to the grazing cow are discussed together with opportunities for future improvement. We focus on daily feed intake, efficiency of pasture utilization, output of milk per head, environmental impact of grazing and the nutritional quality to humans of milk produced from dairy cows in contrasting production systems. Challenges are discussed in the context of a trend towards increased size of individual herds and include limited and variable levels of daily herbage consumption, lower levels of milk output per cow, excessive excretion of nitrogenous compounds and requirements for minimal periods of grazing regardless of production system. A major challenge is to engage more farmers in making appropriate adjustments to their grazing management. In relation to product quality, the main challenge is to demonstrate enhanced nutritional/processing benefits of milk from grazed cows. Opportunities include more accurate diet formulations, supplementation of grazed pasture to match macro- and micronutrient supply with animal requirement and plant breeding. The application of robotics and artificial intelligence to pasture management will assist in matching daily supply to animal requirement. Wider consumer recognition of the perceived enhanced nutritional value of milk from grazed cows, together with greater appreciation of the animal health, welfare and behavioural benefits of grazing should contribute to the future sustainability of demand for milk from dairy cows on pasture.

The objective was to evaluate water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) and crude protein (CP) concentration of perennial ryegrass (PRG) cultivars with different genetic potential for producing WSC under two contrasting agronomic managements in temperate climate (southern Chile). A 4 × 2 factorial design was randomly allocated to 24 plots (31 m each, three blocks): four PRG cultivars (diploid standard cultivar, "2nSt"; tetraploid standard cultivar, "4nSt"; diploid high sugar cultivar developed in New Zealand, "2nHSNZ"; and tetraploid high sugar cultivar developed in Europe, "4nHSEU") and two agronomic managements ("favourable," defoliations at three leaves per tiller and nitrogen (N) fertilization rate of 83.3 kg N hayear; "unfavourable," defoliations at two leaves per tiller and N fertilization rate of 250 kg N hayear). Herbage samples were collected in early spring, spring, summer and autumn. Concentration of WSC did not differ among cultivars in spring and summer, averaging 194 and 251 g/kg DM, respectively. The cultivar 4nHSEU had the greatest WSC concentration in early spring and autumn (187 and 266 g/kg DM, respectively) and the greatest CP concentration across samplings (average 230 g/kg DM). Favourable management improved WSC concentrations in early spring and summer and decreased CP in spring, summer and autumn. Annual DM yield did not vary with cultivar or management, averaging 8.43 t/ha. Within a 12-month study at one site in a temperate environment in southern Chile, PRG cultivars have not shown a consistent expression of the "high sugar" trait, where a genetic × environment interaction might be operating.

, the parasitic liver fluke, is a re-emerging zoonotic infection and an important cause of morbidity and mortality in ruminant livestock worldwide. A significant animal welfare concern, fasciolosis also has a detrimental impact on food security, with the effects of sub-clinical infection on growth rate and milk yield estimated to cost the UK cattle industry £40.4 million annually. It is understood that up to 50% of infective metacercariae may overwinter on pasture and remain viable to infect grazing livestock the following spring. However, the infection risk posed by feeding grass silage to livestock remains largely unknown as the majority of previous studies are outdated in both experimental design and analysis of ensiled metacercariae viability. Anecdotal reports of fasciolosis outbreaks in housed livestock have reignited interest in metacercariae survival during modern ensiling processes and more importantly if they retain viability within stored forages. Consequently, a comprehensive review of the available literature is required in order to identify knowledge gaps and highlight future research opportunities regarding the role of silage in the transmission of .

European grassland-based livestock production systems face the challenge of producing more meat and milk to meet increasing world demands and to achieve this using fewer resources. Legumes offer great potential for achieving these objectives. They have numerous features that can act together at different stages in the soil-plant-animal-atmosphere system, and these are most effective in mixed swards with a legume proportion of 30-50%. The resulting benefits include reduced dependence on fossil energy and industrial N-fertilizer, lower quantities of harmful emissions to the environment (greenhouse gases and nitrate), lower production costs, higher productivity and increased protein self-sufficiency. Some legume species offer opportunities for improving animal health with less medication, due to the presence of bioactive secondary metabolites. In addition, legumes may offer an adaptation option to rising atmospheric CO concentrations and climate change. Legumes generate these benefits at the level of the managed land-area unit and also at the level of the final product unit. However, legumes suffer from some limitations, and suggestions are made for future research to exploit more fully the opportunities that legumes can offer. In conclusion, the development of legume-based grassland-livestock systems undoubtedly constitutes one of the pillars for more sustainable and competitive ruminant production systems, and it can be expected that forage legumes will become more important in the future.