ChileanJAR

For two consecutive years a milk production system was evaluated at Humán Experimental Station, Los Angeles, Chile (37º28`Lat. S and 72º23`Long. W). Four hectares of alfalfa were used alternately for rotational grazing at the prebud stage and for cutting for hay production at the 10% bloom stage. Corn silage (1.8 ha) and alfalfa hay were used during winter. The cows received concentrates throughout the year according to their milk production level. The composition of the concentrate was varied according to season of the year, forage quality and the production level of the cows. Sixteen Holstein cows with calving dates concentrated between May and August were used. Average milk production was 16,889 L ha^-1 or 6,300 L cow^-1 with a supplementation of 0.256 kg of concentrate per liter of milk produced. The efficiency of alfalfa utilization for grazing varied during the year, with a tendency to be lower in the spring period and higher in summer. A large variation in the efficiency of utilization was observed whose values varied between 26 and 92%.