Investigations into the Intensive System of Grassland Management. By the Agricultural Research Staff of Imperial Chemical Industries, Limited. IV. The Digestibility and Feeding Value of Artificially Dried Grass.

Abstract

Digestibility trials have been carried out with sheep on a sample of dried grass and a grass meal, both of which were artificially dried on an experimental band drier. The analyses of the two materials were affected by the fact that the grass was cut in August after a very dry summer and the herbage was contaminated with a certain amount of stemmy material.The digestibility of the two samples is of a high order and, with the exception of that of the crude protein, equal to the values quoted by Woodman for short grass. The sheep put on weight during both trials and there was a retention of nitrogen and mineral matter in all cases. The dried grass would appear to contain an adequate amount of available calcium, phosphorus and potash for the plane of nutrition at which it was fed.