Nutrition of grazing dairy cows: pasture as a feed

From a nutrition perspective, pasture-based dairy production systems are based on the principles that:

1 fresh pasture is a high-quality feed ingredient and can be the sole diet of grazing dairy cows, apart from the addition of some macro (e.g. Mg and Ca) and trace (e.g. Cu, Co, Se, I, Zn) minerals at key stages of lactation;

2 fresh pasture is a perishable item that cannot be stored in situ, except during late autumn and early winter.