Evaluating cover crops forage nutritive value in Oklahoma winter wheat systems

Abstract

Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a valuable crop in the southern Great Plains that grows from fall to spring, with fields then typically fallowed through the summer. Adding grazeable cover crops to the fallow period could increase farm profitability.The objective of this study was to determine eight different cover crops' nutritive value and simulated stocker calf performance. Cover crops were established in late spring 2016 and 2017 in Chickasha and Perkins, OK. At 6 wk after planting, two simulated grazing regimes based on cutting height were used: severe (≤2.5 cm) and recommended (7.5 cm). Legumes had the highest nutritive value in comparison to warm-season grasses and grass-legume mixtures. Legumes resulted in higher simulated daily steer gain (DSG) and total steer gain per area (TSGA) values than grasses and mixtures at Perkins. At this location, legumes had superior forage nutritive value, compensating for lower yields. At Chickasha, grasses and mixtures had higher TSGA values (246.7 ± 6.9 kg ha -1 ) and lower DSG (0.17 ± 0.04 kg steer -1 d -1 ) values than legumes (131.6 ± 25.3 kg ha -1 and 0.48 ± 0.02 kg steer -1 d -1 ). This finding implied that grasses and mixtures with lower individual DSG required much higher stocking rates than legumes to achieve higher TSGA values. This increment in stocking rates could increase costs, drastically decreasing profits. Consequently, legumes might be a viable option due to their balanced forage yield and nutritive value relationship. However, consideration must be given to supplemental energy to better balance the TDN/protein ratio requirements of the stocker calf.Abbreviations: ADF, acid detergent fiber; CP, crude protein; DM, dry matter; DSG, steer daily weight gain; IVTD, in vitro true digestibility; NDF, neutral detergent fiber; PM+MB, pearl millet-mung bean mixture; SGP, southern Great Plains; TDN, total digestible nutrients; TSGA, total steer gain per area; TTSS+CW, triple treat sorghum sudan-cowpea mixture; WAP, weeks after planting.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Profitability of grazing no‐till established winter cereal pasture and summer cover crops

“…Differing from the findings of Blanco-Canqui et al (2012), Boyer et al (2018) observed in a 29-year cotton and winter cover crop experiment in Tennessee cotton production that the highest net present value yields occurred when CC were not used. In grazing operations specifically, Horn et al (2021) suggested that short cycle drought resistant legume CC in Oklahoma could result in stocker cattle grazing profitability when managed appropriately. While total yield was negatively affected by the addition of legume-based crops, the nutrient value of forage was enhanced.…”

“…In grazing operations specifically, Horn et al. (2021) suggested that short cycle drought resistant legume CC in Oklahoma could result in stocker cattle grazing profitability when managed appropriately. While total yield was negatively affected by the addition of legume‐based crops, the nutrient value of forage was enhanced.…”

Forage accumulation and nutritive value of four peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) market types in the US Southern Great Plains

“…Additionally, relative forage quality (RFQ) of samples was calculated by the formula: RFQ = DMI × TDN/1.23 (Undersander & Moore, 2002). Total digestible nutrients (TDNs) were determined from ADF values using the formula: TDN legume = 88.875 – (0.812 × %ADF) (Horn et al, 2021).…”