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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 November 2017
Maize silage can be produced at a similar cost to grazed grass and is approximately 20% cheaper than grass silage (Keady et al., 2002). Recent studies have shown that maize silage inclusion in the diet increases the performance of dairy (Keady et al., 2003, 2008) and beef (Keady and Gordon, 2006, Keady et al., 2007) cattle and has a concentrate sparing effect of up to 2.5 kg and 5.0 kg, respectively (Keady, 2005). Previous studies at Athenry have shown that maize silage, regardless of maturity at harvest, results in similar levels of ewe and subsequent lamb performance relative to high feed-value grass silage, (Keady and Hanrahan, 2008, 2009). The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effects level and type of concentrate supplementation of maize silage diets on ewe and subsequent lamb performance.