Fu, M. F.

Huang, B. Z.

Wang, A. K.

Yang, G. R.

Yang, S. P.

Yuan, X. P.

Zhang, J. C.

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress Lactation Performance of Murrah‐Improved Dairy Buffalo Grazing on Improved Pasture G. R. Yang Yunnan Beef Cattle & Pasture Research Center, China A. K. Wang Yunnan Beef Cattle & Pasture Research Center, China J. C. Zhang Yunnan Beef Cattle & Pasture Research Center, China M. F. Fu Yunnan Beef Cattle & Pasture Research Center, China B. Z. Huang Yunnan Beef Cattle & Pasture Research Center, China See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/9-3/27 The 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant and Soil Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Grassland Congress Proceedings by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. Presenter Information G. R. Yang, A. K. Wang, J. C. Zhang, M. F. Fu, B. Z. Huang, X. P. Yuan, and S. P. Yang This event is available at UKnowledge: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/9-3/27 瞯 ]144　 瞯 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅱ 　Grasslands/Rangelands Production Systems——— Livestock Production SystemsLactation performance of murrah‐improved dairy buffalo grazing on improved pastureG .R . Y ang 倡 ,A .K . W ang ,J .C . Zhang ,M .F . Fu ,B .Z . H uang ,X .P . Yuan ,S .P .Y angYunnan Bee f Cattle & Pasture Research Center ,K unming 650212 ,P .R .China , 倡 E‐mail : ynygr＠ 126 .comKey words : lactation ,dairy buffalo ,grazing ,improved pastureIntroduction Water buffalo are heat‐tolerant and tick‐resistant ,which is favorable to breeding in some tropical and sub‐tropicalareas where the Holstein dairy cattle don摧t perform well . Today ,the function of water buffalo is changing from draught intomilking use to supply high quality milk ,that increases farmer household income . Our experiment studied the milking producingability of Murrah‐improved buffalo from legume‐based pasture at the Yunnan Beef Cattle & Pasture Research Center ,Xiaoshao ,located in the eastern suburb of Kunming ,P . R . China ,at １９６０m altitude ,average rainfall of ９６０mm per annum ,averagetemperature of １４ .５ ℃ and pasture yield of ６ .５ t DM per ha .Materials and methods Forty ,F１ Murrah‐improved dairy buffalo in their first lactation ,of ５０％ Murrah × ５０％ Yunnan Buffaloparentage ,were raised ２４ h grazing ,without any supplementary feeding . Mothers and calves were separated soon after calving .Cows were milked by hand twice a day ,at ０７００ and １９００ h and milk yield recorded . Detailed Milk composition was measuredwith the MILKSCANE (made in Sweden) on ９ milk samples from day ２００ of lactation . Data analysis was done using the SASstatistical package .Results The Murrah‐improved dairy buffalo ( F１ ) ,milked for ３２１ .５ d on average ( range ２７５‐３６５ d) which was ６３ .２ days longer( P ＜ ０ .０１) than Yunnan Buffalo ( YB) ,which ranged from six to ten months ,milked for ２５８ .３ days ( range １８０‐３０５ d) only .The average milk yield for F１was ２０４５ .４ kg ,and ６ .４ kg per day ,which was twice that of YB ,at ３ .２kg per day .The period of high milk output appeared during the five and a half months after calving when the daily output of milk wasmaintained over ６ .０kg per head . During that period ,the milk yield of F１ buffalo grew rapidly to over ８ .０kg per day in thesecond month after calving and lasted for two months until the fourth month when it arrived at the lactating peak of about ８ .５kg per day . Then it fell significantly from ６ .０ kg per day to ４ .０ kg per day at the tenth month until the milk yield graduallywent to about ２ .０kg per day . Seen as ( Figure １) .Figure 1 Water bu f f alo milk y ield curve .Raising buffalo ,especially Murrah‐improved buffalo ,for milk is a quick way to increase farmers�income . From survey results ,one dairy Murrah‐cross buffalo yearling could be sold for about ＄ US ３００‐４００ ,which ＄ US ２００ higher than local buffalo at thesame age . Besides ,average annual milk yield of F１ animals was １６００ kg per head ,which was twice that of local buffalo . Atpresent ,the market price of buffalo milk is ＄ US １ per kg ,so farmers could make a net profit of at least ＄ US １０００ by raisingone improved dairy buffalo .Conclusions This experiment provided some evidence to promote the improvement of dairy buffalo breeds and demonstratedgreat market potential of developing dairy buffalo industry in Yunnan province in the future .ReferencesKerstin Svennersten‐Sjaunja Water buffalo were the powerful milk producer ( www .fao .org )C .X . Zhang ,２００２ . Chinese Buffalo Science .Nanning ,Guanx i Science Publishing Company : ３５５‐４１８ .

Lactation Performance of Murrah‐Improved Dairy Buffalo Grazing on Improved Pasture

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Lactation Performance of Murrah‐Improved Dairy Buffalo Grazing on Improved Pasture

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