Adding Value to Crop Production Systems by Integrating Forage Cover Crop Grazing
- 1 USDA-ARS, Wheat, Sorghum and Forage Research Unit, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- 2 Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- 3 USDA-ARS, Wheat, Sorghum and Forage Research Unit, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- 4 Department of Animal Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- 5 Department of Animal Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- 6 Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- 7 Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- 8 Department of Animal Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- 9 Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- 10 USDA-ARS, Wheat, Sorghum and Forage Research Unit, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- 11 USDA-ARS, Agroecosystem Management Research Unit, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- 12 USDA-ARS, Agroecosystem Management Research Unit, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
Abstract
In addition to their value as cereal grains, wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) and triticale (× Triticosecale Wittmack) are important cool-season annual forages and cover crops. Yearling steer ( Bos taurus ) performance was compared in the spring following autumn establishment as for age cover crops after soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.] grain harvest. Replicated pastures (0.4 ha) were no-till seeded in three consecutive years into soybean stubble in autumn, fertilized, and grazed the following spring near Ithaca, NE, USA. Each pasture (n = 3) was continuously stocked in spring with four yearling steers (380 ± 38 kg) for 17, 32, and 28 d in 2005, 2006, and 2007, respectively. In 2005, average daily gain (ADG) for steers grazing triticale exceeded the ADG for wheat by 0.31 kghd -1 d -1 . In 2006, wheat ADG exceeded that for triticale by 0.12 kghd -1 d -1 . In 2007, steers grazing wheat lost weight, while steers grazing triticale gained 0.20 kghd -1 d -1 . Based on the 3-year average animal gains valued at $1.32 kg -1 , mean net return ($ ha -1 yr -1 ) was $62.15 for triticale and $22.55 for wheat. Since these grazed cover crops provide ecosystem services in addition to forage, grazing could be viewed as a mechanism for recovering costs and adds additional value to the system. Based on this 3-year grazing trial, triticale was superior to wheat and likely will provide the most stable beef yearling performance across years with variable weather for the western Cornbelt USA.
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