Nutritive value of pastures

• The level of animal production attained by a grazing animal is a measure of the feeding value of pasture.
• This depends on two main factors:

a) The quantity of herbage consumed

b) The quality or nutritive value of the herbage

• As plants mature there is a progressive increase in fiber content associated with the lignification of cell walls and the development of structural tissue in flowering stems, and a corresponding decline in the proportion of readily digestible cell contents.
• This changes with age are associated with progressive declines in the concentrations of nitrogen and soluble carbohydrate in plant tissues.
• The accumulation of dead leaves and stems at the base of the sward with successive grazing will result in further decline in nutritive value.