ANSC30290 Grassland Management and Applied Dairy Nutrition

Academic Year 2022/2023

This undergraduate module targets students specialising in Dairy Science, and addresses the principles of dairy cow nutrition within grassland systems. It consists of a mix of lecturers, seminars, practicals and field trips on the theory and practice of grassland nutrition based on the latest research information. The dairy cow nutrition component will quantify the basic nutritional requirements of the pasture fed dairy cow, provide methodologies to evaluate nutritional status of dairy herds in practice and examine the opportunities for efficient strategic supplementation at grazing. The grassland component will provide an appreciation of the objectives and management technologies for grazing systems; examine the potential from reseeding and merits of new grass cultivars; investigate strategies to increase nutrient efficiency within pasture systems and identify key performance indicators for high productivity grazing systems.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module the students should be able to:
Clearly and concisely explain the key success indicators of pasture based milk production and develop the techniques to critically evaluate the technical efficiency of a grass-based dairy farm;
Competently understand and apply a variety of modern grazing management technologies throughout the grazing season to achieve high animal performance;
Describe the nutritional status of a dairy herd at a point in time and accurately project the change in feed supply for that herd over time;
Understand and evaluate the nutrient efficiency of a dairy farm system, identify soil fertility limitations and potential mitigation strategies where poor nutrient efficiency is observed.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Practical

4
Field Trip/External Visits

18
Autonomous Student Learning

70
Total

116
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This module is delivered off campus at the research centre Teagasc Moorepark as part of the Dairy Business programme.
The module delivery includes in class lectures, guest lectures, numerous field trips and field work. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
CPSC30040 - Grass and Forage Production, CPSC40040 - Developments in Grassland


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Continuous Assessment: Short questionnaires throughout the Semester Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

30
Examination: Final Exam 2 hour End of Trimester Exam No Graded No

65
Presentation: Oral presentation Week 5 n/a Graded No

5

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn Yes - 2 Hour
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback is provided via grades for continuous assessment and presentation. Individual feedback is provided after the presentation component

Name Role
Eithne Gowen Tutor
Mr Brendan Horan Tutor