Milk from forages

Increasing the proportion of forages in the diet of dairy cows, which will allow a reduction in the use of feed grains, is essential for the long-term environmental and economic sustainability of dairy production in Canada and China. Milk from forage (MF), which is the quantity of milk produced solely from the forage portion of the diet, is commonly used to assess and compare the efficiency of forage use on dairy farms. To increase the production of MF, the nutritional value of forages must increase while yield and forage intake are maintained or increased. The overall objective of this project is to increase the production of MF by testing Canadian perennial forage cultivars and field-based management practices in China. The project involves joint field experiments conducted in both Canada and China.