A Systems Approach

to Extendingthe Grazing Season

You have to Save $ to Make $

You have to Spend $ to Make $

Clayton Robins – AAFC, Brandon Research Centre

Research Activities

1 Pasture management:-Grass and alfalfa/grass-Cow/calf performance-Backgrounding/finishing steers-Extension of the grazing season-Development of new grazing- tolerant forages-Efficacy of fertilizer applications

Research Activities

2 Reproductive management:•Heifer development •Pre/post-calving management•Timed AI •Embryo transfer •Uterine/ovarian interactions

Emphasis on environment by diet interactions

Research Activities

3 Nutrition management:

•Winter forage-based rations (drylot)•Forage conservation•Backgrounding/finishing strategies (feedlot)•Carcass quality and yield

-Chemical composition

-Sensory evaluation

Research Activities

4 Environmental impact:•Composting manure•Nitrogen cycling : soil*pasture*cattle •Nitrous oxide production - feedlot & pastures •Methane production - grazing & feedlot cattle•Carbon sequestration - pastures

From Tisdale & Nelson 1975

Research Activities

5 Economic impact:•building database from the different production systems in place at BRC for economic evaluation

Database built from the different production systems in place at BRC is

expected to have software application to model economic and environment

outcomes.

BEEF CATTLE PROGRAM - PASTURES, HAY and SILAGE ACREAGE

X

N

S

EW

Compost Site

Tree Guard

Unimproved pasture

Grass/legume (mb 8 lbs./alf 3 lbs.)

Grass (meadow brome 10 lbs.)

Spring and fall calving pastures

Extended grazing

Stockpile grazing

Hayland

Rotational crop land

Pastures for fall calving herd

Grass & Alfalfa Grass pastures (16) with & without fertilizer

Pastures (alfalfa-grass (8) and other legume (4) for steers)

Highway - Ditch

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

161514131211109

17 18 19 20 2122 N

22 S

Rough

Pasture

33ac

I.S.

East

30ac

Curran Park

50acLake Percy

West

60ac

Center

35ac 49ac

East

Bridge Field

33ac

Assiniboine River

30ac

26ac 26ac 26ac25ac

25ac 25ac

25ac 25ac 25ac 25ac 25ac 25ac23ac 23ac

23ac 23ac 23ac24ac 24ac 24ac

North 40

40ac

Esso

53ac

H - W

20ac 20ac

H - E

Q - N

12ac

E40 N

20ac

E40 S

30ac

Q - S

12ac

Night

10ac

18th St.

10ac

Alfalfa

East

54ac

6a

c

Native

Pasture

385ac

Alfalfa

33ac

60ac85ac

75ac81ac

N

Railway

Rifle

Range

60ac

JAIL FIELDS

West

62ac

Center

75ac

East

75ac

I.S.North

8ac

I.S.West20ac

Trans-Canada Highway

Soil-forage-cattle

nutrient cycling

Environmental Study Areas 1011 ac (446 ha)

Smithfield Rd (to Shilo)Grandvalley Rd.

34

th S

t.

10 ac

10 ac

FieldsS

55ac

45ac

Cowlot

and Corrals

Lilac Guard

Innovative wintering systems for cows

conventional winterwinter feeding = 65% of annual production cost

extending the grazing season beyond the typical 140 d into autumn/winter to reduce costs

systems for grazing annuals (cereals, corn, millet), and perennial forages in autumn/winter

optimizing perennial forages for fall/winter grazing

cattle feeding and manure management

Summer Pastures

Summer Pastures Year Treatment #Days CGD/Acre Kg/Cow/day Fert.($/acre)* 1998 Alfalfa/Grass 109 110 19.4 0 Grass 97 17.0 0 1999 Alfalfa/Grass 120 117 19.1 0 Grass 98 17.5 0 2000 Alfalfa/Grass 110 96 23.9 17.25 Grass 95 23.0 46.76 2001 Alfalfa/Grass 105 88 27.9 43.49 Grass 86 28.0 67.16 2002 Alfalfa/Grass 55 50 18.4 12.31 Grass 51 16.6 36.50 2003 Alfalfa/Grass 58 53 29.5 26.25 Grass 53 23.5 48.25 2004 Alfalfa/Grass 97 90 27.9 26.78 Grass 90 26.0 40.30 2005 Alfalfa/Grass 88 64 25.3 18.44 Grass 64 23.9 41.50

Mean Alfalfa/Grass 93 84 23.9 18.07* Grass 79 21.9 35.06* *fertilizer cost is in approximate values as final calculations have not been completed

Stockpiled Perennial Pasture

Stockpiled Perennial Pasture

Year CGD/acre Kg/Cow/day %Protein %TDN RFV 1998 43 25.1 15.1 56.8 97 1999 45 22.9 12.5 57.4 96 2000 31 21.5 12.0 45.9 73 2001* 56 18.9 8.9 55.0 90 2002* 61 16.4 10.2 63.0 100 2003* 0 0 0 0 0 2004* 66 12.8 11.0 55.8 82 2005* 82 12.0 8.3 51.0 90

Mean 55 18.5 11.1 55.0 90

* start of Reed Canarygrass in stockpiled system

Swath Grazing Millet

Swath-Grazed Millet

Millet Year CGD/acre Kg/Cow/day %Protein %TDN RFV

1999 156 17.8 12.4 52.1 80

2000 95 18.5 12.2 49.2 76

2001 132 16.7 12.2 60.0 90

2002 76 26.1 12.5 58.6 89

2003 0 0 0 0 0

2004 110 11.1* 10.5 54.1 78

Mean 114 19.5 12.0 54.8 83 *supplemented with silage

Grazing Corn

Grazed Corn

Year Method CGD/acre %Protein %TDN RFV Residue 1999 Standing 221 9.0 68.2 116 5430 2000 Swathed 117 8.4 55.7 115 4110 2001 Swathed 116 6.9 61.4 109 3110 2002 Baled 114 14.1 70.5 117 500 2003 n/a 0 0 0 0 0 2004 Side-by-side 104 7.0 66.6 94 1990*

*standing=2680 & swathed=1301

Mean 134 9.1 64.5 110

Swathed vs. Standing

Canamaize Corn - 9830 kg/ha - 64 bu/acre Measurements taken 7 weeks after swathing & start of grazing

Swathed Standing

Residue (kg/ha) 1334 3920

RFV (whole plant) 135 102

RFV (stover only) 77 64

Side by Side – 50 steers – 8 weeks

Undigested Grain

Corn Grazing Residues

What we know!

Corn is an expensive crop to grow but can provide tremendous yield and quality as an extended grazing crop.

Corn grazing is the fastest growing corn acreage. Agronomy Tech. support is readily available. Better varieties are becoming available each

year. RR corns are a great option for weed control. Intensive management is needed to optimize

corn crop utilization under extended grazing.

What we don’t know!

What is the ideal ‘grazing corn’??? Does swathing really help maintain quality? How do we best manage the crop to optimize

cattle performance? How does grazing compare economically to

silage/grain produced off the same field? What is the true cost vs. benefit of shorter

grazing breaks and improved rumen function?

What we need!

Determine what is a true grazing corn and/or research how to manage for optimal digestibility under whole-plant grazing conditions.

Extension material on: Economic comparisons; Estimating residues; and Required management to reduce waste, to improve intake/nutrition plane, and to optimize CGD.

Research/Extension material on Weed Management & Nutrient Cycling in an extended grazing system.

Cow/calf PerformanceSummer Pastures 1998-2002

Factor Measured Alfalfa/Grass Grass Number of Dams 720 720 On pasture body weight (kg) 601 598 On pasture BCS (1-9) 4.9 5.0 On pasture cow gain (kg) 21.3 14.9 BCS at weaning (1-9) 5.2 5.2 Calf production efficiency 0.41 0.41 BCS change (+/-) +0.3 +0.2

Calves born/Cow wintered

Data Set Drylot Extended Grazing 1998/99 1.01 0.99 1999/00 1.05 1.04 2000/01 1.03 1.02 2001/02 1.04 1.01 All years combined 1.03 1.02

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1998 1999 2000 2001 All yrs

Mid

- to

lat

e- g

esta

tio

n

bo

dy

wei

gh

t g

ain

(kg

)

EG DL Hay SB SS

Extended grazing (EG) and drylot (DL), and forages within drylot, effects on cows

SB=Oat straw/SR barley

SS=Barley silage/oat straw

Involvement in National Projects

Model Farm Measurement of

greenhouse gas emissions from feedlots (cattle, manure pack, compost) under western Canadian conditions

Where do we go from here??

BEEF CATTLE PROGRAM - PASTURES, HAY and SILAGE ACREAGE

X

N

S

EW

Compost Site

Tree Guard

Unimproved pasture

Grass/legume (mb 8 lbs./alf 3 lbs.)

Grass (meadow brome 10 lbs.)

Spring and fall calving pastures

Extended grazing

Stockpile grazing

Hayland

Rotational crop land

Pastures for fall calving herd

Grass & Alfalfa Grass pastures (16) with & without fertilizer

Pastures (alfalfa-grass (8) and other legume (4) for steers)

Highway - Ditch

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

161514131211109

17 18 19 20 2122 N

22 S

Rough

Pasture

33ac

I.S.

East

30ac

Curran Park

50acLake Percy

West

60ac

Center

35ac 49ac

East

Bridge Field

33ac

Assiniboine River

30ac

26ac 26ac 26ac25ac

25ac 25ac

25ac 25ac 25ac 25ac 25ac 25ac23ac 23ac

23ac 23ac 23ac24ac 24ac 24ac

North 40

40ac

Esso

53ac

H - W

20ac 20ac

H - E

Q - N

12ac

E40 N

20ac

E40 S

30ac

Q - S

12ac

Night

10ac

18th St.

10ac

Alfalfa

East

54ac

6a

c

Native

Pasture

385ac

Alfalfa

33ac

60ac85ac

75ac81ac

N

Railway

Rifle

Range

60ac

JAIL FIELDS

West

62ac

Center

75ac

East

75ac

I.S.North

8ac

I.S.West20ac

Trans-Canada Highway

Soil-forage-cattle

nutrient cycling

Environmental Study Areas 1011 ac (446 ha)

Smithfield Rd (to Shilo)Grandvalley Rd.

34

th S

t.

10 ac

10 ac

FieldsS

55ac

45ac

Cowlot

and Corrals

Lilac Guard

What is the impact of resting perennial pastures during the critical late-season period?

Rotational Grazing

No Rest Early Annuals

Late Annuals Rested

Grass Grass/Alfalfa

Rotational Grazing

No Rest Early Annuals

Late Annuals Rested

Rested Grazing Project

Grazing AUD/ha (/ac) (year 1)

Management Stage Normal Grazing Rested Grazing

Phase I 114 112Phase II 67 (perennials) 360 (swaths) Phase III 152 (swaths) 100 (stockpiled)

Total 331 (134) 574 (231)

% Increase (Phase II & III) 210% Increase (Season-long) 173

How does variety and fungicide treatment affect nutritional quality of oats for swath-grazing?

Seeding/Spraying Layout for Oats/Rust Swath Grazing Project

Lake - Center North↑

Rep 1 Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 2

Plot 1 Plot2 Plot 3 Plot 4 Plot 5 Plot 6 Plot 7 Plot 8

N 49.51.640 N 49.51.619 N 49.51.606 N 49.51.600

W 99.58.825 W 99.58.759 W 99.58.695 W 99.58.629

N 49.51.652 N 49.51.627 N 49.51.612 N 49.51.600 N 49.51.599

W 99.58.857 HiFi W 99.58.792 CDC Baler W 99.58.727 CDC Baler W 99.58.662 HiFi W 99.58.596

Tilt

Tilt

Tilt

Tilt

N 49.51.327 N 49.51.330 N 49.51.330 N 49.51.329 N 49.51.341

W 99.58.851 W 99.58.788 W 99.58.724 W 99.58.660 W 99.58.596

N 49.51.329 N 49.51.330 N 49.51.329 N 49.51.335 W 99.58.820 W 99.58.756 W 99.58.692 W 99.58.628

South↓

Hi-Fi Oats CDC Baler Oats

Oats/Rust Trial

Can you finish steers on pasture with annuals?

Ranger Barley

Ranger Barley & 40-10 Forage Peas

BRC’s Systems Approach

April 15 – May 15 May 15 – Aug 1 Aug 1 – Sept 1 Sep 1 – Oct 1 Oct 1 – Dec 1 Dec 1 – Jan 1 Jan 1 – Feb 1 Feb 1 – April 15

Early Spring forage Rotational grazing Spring cereals Alternative annuals Stockpiled forage Swath-grazing Swath/Bale-grazing Winter feeding site (drylot or in-field)

Issues

Crop rotations & Field selection•weed pressure and input requirements

Infrastructure•shelter•water•fencing

Wildlife damage/Crop lossPredation

Conclusions

Millet, corn, oats and barley have great promise as components in extending the grazing season

Proper crop rotations are essential to avoid weed problems

Nutrient management is integral to sustainability

Well-planned infrastructure is critical to long-term success