Digestible grass good for protein
A dietary fibre level of 33-35% NDF is important for good rumen function. This is readily met by good intakes of high-quality grass grazed at 1,300-1,400kg of dry matter cover (three-leaf stage).
On the other hand, grazing heavy covers of stemmy grass puts too much NDF in the diet, causing decreased total dry matter intake, due to slow-down of digestion rates, lower energy content per kg of feed eaten, and reduced milk yield and milk protein content.
