TITLE:
Adding Value to Crop Production Systems by Integrating Forage Cover Crop Grazing
AUTHORS:
Robert B. Mitchell, Daren D. Redfearn, Kenneth P. Vogel, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Galen Erickson, P. Stephen Baenziger, Bruce E. Anderson, Mary E. Drewnoski, Jay Parsons, Steven D. Masterson, Marty R. Schmer, Virginia L. Jin
KEYWORDS:
Cover crops, Soybean, Triticale, Wheat
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.15 No.3,
March
21,
2024
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-1d-1.
In 2006, wheat ADG exceeded that for triticale by 0.12 kghd-1d-1.
In 2007, steers grazing wheat lost weight, while steers grazing triticale
gained 0.20 kghd-1d-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.