Milk Production with All-Grass Rations from Steep, Intensively Managed Tropical Pastures

Abstract

Eight cows in Puerto Rico produced an average of 6,064 pounds of milk (25.2 pounds or 11.5 liters daily) over an 8-month lactation period on an all-grass ration from steep pastures of tropical grasses. Butterfat content of the milk averaged 3.8 percent, about average for Holsteins. All cows maintained normal body weights throughout the lactation. A 120-acre farm with all cows fed exclusively on well-fertilized and managed pastures could yield a profit of about $170 per acre yearly. The data suggest that the use of concentrate feeds, now almost universally fed at the rate of 1 pound per liter of milk, can be sharply reduced by using well fertilized pastures. On good pastures little or no concentrate feed should be required for the first 10 liters or so of milk produced.