Growth performance of stocker calves backgrounded on sod-seeded winter annuals or hay and grain

Abstract

Economically viable options for retaining ownership of spring-born calves through a winter backgrounding program are somewhat limited in the southeastern United States. Although sod-seeded winter annual forages produce less forage than those same forages planted using conventional tillage practices, sod-seeded winter annual forages have the potential to provide a low-cost, rapid-gain, ecologically and economically viable option for retaining ownership of fall-weaned calves. A study was conducted during the winters of 1998, 1999, and 2000 using 180 crossbred calves (261 +/- 2.8 kg initial BW; n = 60 each year) to compare sod-seeded winter annual forages with conventional hay and supplement backgrounding programs in southeast Arkansas. Calves were provided bermudagrass hay (ad libitum) and a grain sorghum-based supplement (2.7 kg/d) on 1-ha dormant bermudagrass pastures or were grazed on 2-ha pastures of bermudagrass/dallisgrass overseeded with 1) annual ryegrass, 2) wheat plus annual ryegrass, or 3) rye plus annual ryegrass at a set stocking rate of 2.5 calves/ha. Calves grazed from mid-December until mid-April but were fed bermudagrass hay during times of low forage mass. Mean CP and IVDMD concentrations were 19.0 and 71.1%, respectively, across sampling dates and winter annual forages, but three-way interactions among forage treatments, year, and sampling date were detected (P < 0.01) for forage mass, concentrations of CP, and IVDMD. The IVDMD of rye plus ryegrass was greater (P < 0.05) than that of ryegrass in yr 2. A forage treatment x sampling date interaction was detected for forage CP in yr 1 (P < 0.05) and 2 (P = 0.05) but not in yr 3 (P = 0.40). Forage mass did not differ (P > or = 0.22) among winter annual treatments on any sampling date. During the first 2 yr, calves fed hay plus supplement gained less (P < 0.05) BW than calves that grazed winter annual forages; gains did not differ (P > or = 0.23) among winter annual treatments. During the 3rd yr, undesirable environmental conditions limited growth of the winter annual forages; total gain did not differ (P = 0.66) among the four treatments. Winter annual forages offer potential to provide high-quality forage for calves retained until spring, but consistent forage production and quality are a concern when sod-seeding techniques are used.

Annual cool season crops for grazing by beef cattle. A Canadian Review

“…This treatment provided early summer grazing of the oat in the year of establishment and reduced the need to lower the overall stocking rates on the entire pasture. Sod seeding annual cereals into depleted perennial pastures with limited use of glyphosate herbicide rather than cultivation offered another option to provide high-quality forage for grazing and improve land use efficiency (Wilkinson and Stuedemann 1983;Moyer et al 1995;McCartney et al 1999;Coffey et al 2002). However, little research has been done on this concept.…”

Cool-season annual pastures with clovers to supplement wintering beef cows nursing calves

“…Research at this same location documented the nutritive value of grasses collected from pastures planted to a wheat and ryegrass mixture, similar to the one we used in our experiment, over a 3-year period [14]. These researchers reported [14] that the crude protein concentrations and in vitro digestibility (dry matter basis) averaged 15.4 ± 1.3% and 59.0 ± 9.1% in January, 20.6 ± 1.9% and 78.3 ± 2.5% in March, and 17.9 ± 6.6% and 74.3 ±3.0% in May, respectively.…”

“…These researchers reported [14] that the crude protein concentrations and in vitro digestibility (dry matter basis) averaged 15.4 ± 1.3% and 59.0 ± 9.1% in January, 20.6 ± 1.9% and 78.3 ± 2.5% in March, and 17.9 ± 6.6% and 74.3 ±3.0% in May, respectively. The hay used in this experiment averaged 12% crude protein and 58% total digestible nutrients (dry matter basis) over the 3-year period and compared to nutritive values reported for winter-annual pasture [14,15], it can be seen why this type of pasture complements warm-season grass hays and has been successfully used as a supplement for gestating beef cows [1-5,16]. Comparison of the nutritive value among cool-season annual grasses and clovers are few, but Lush [15] reported that the crude protein concentrations in pastures planted to a white clover and annual ryegrass mixture was normally 27% greater than monocultures of ryegrass.…”

Effect of a Mushroom (<i>Coriolus versicolor</i>) Based Probiotic on Goat Health

“…It is expected that animals keep a relatively consistent body weight during growth. Healthy normal adult female Boer goats have a body weight that ranges from 55 to 90 kg (Coffey et al, 2002). Goats used in this study were 3 weeks after weaning and an increase in weight was expected across all treatments.…”