influence the oestrous cycle and as a bloat preventative
agent. Conventional cows were treated with antibiotics
and oxytocin when necessary, which are not approved
by the International Foundation for Organic Agriculture.
Both herds were grazed and managed similarly
on different paddocks at adjacent locations under the
same management, which was representative of organic
and conventional dairy herds for this geographical area
in New Zealand. No supplemental feed was provided to
either herd in the 6 wk leading up to and on the day of
sampling, with pasture growth being sufficient to feed
the animals.
Botanical composition of pasture from both farms
was analyzed twice throughout the 2010 to 2011 milking
season (Figure 1). For this purpose, pasture samples
were taken from 10 paddocks of each farm. Chemical
composition was analyzed from pasture samples from 6
paddocks of each farm, 7 times between August 2010
and May 2011 (Table 2).