M.Sc. Heike Lorenz

http://www.grassland-organicfarming.uni-kiel.de/de/mitarbeiter/doktoranden/hlorenz

Project: Eco-efficiency of forage and pasture-based milk production

The eco-efficiency of milk production is highly influenced by the level of inputs such as for example imported protein feed. A contrast to the traditional milk production systems, based on high individual animal performance, is the low-input rotational grazing system. This enables a high quality and maximum utilization of pasture while minimizing the need for concentrates. The use of legumes and tannin containing species can additionally increase the nutrient efficiency of the system. Within this doctoral project, different seed mixtures are tested for their suitability for a rotational grazing system. This includes both, their resilience to high defoliation frequencies, as well as yield and quality parameters. Moreover, ruminal methane formation is quantified in the pasture and the possible effects of the sward composition hereon are investigated.