l4 forage mixtures

Forage mixtures, species and extended grazing

ACORN Conference 2016John Duynisveld

AAFC Nappan/Holdanca Farms

Beef Nutrition and Pasture Management Research Program

John Duynisveld

• Focus:- Sustainable beef production systems for Eastern Canada

• Current Research Interests:– Forage mixtures for long-term pasture productivity.– Management strategies to lower beef production costs by

extending the grazing season. – The role of forage bio-active components in livestock

production.

Forage Breeding and AgronomyYousef A. Papadopoulos

• Focus:- The role of forage species & their varieties in modern cropping systems

• Current Study Areas:– Exploiting genetic variability to enhance forage

productivity and resiliency.– Productive forage legume cultivars for the long-term

sustainability under pasture management.– Forage mixtures and nutrient cycling.

New Alfalfa Cultivar CRS 1001

Few Members of Research Team

Holdanca Farms

• Grass based farm in Wallace Bay, NS

• Direct market variety of grass-fed meat products

• Integrated multi-species pasture management key to our production system

• Eighty percent of product marketed direct to consumers

Holdanca FarmsWallace, NS500 acres – half pasture, half woodland

Market 20 to 30 grass-fed beefCows are pastured year-round

Custom graze cattleMay to October

Laying Hens

Poultry and Pasture

Raise, process and market 5000 pastured chickensApril to October

Free range TurkeysRaise, process and market 850 turkeysMay to OctoberMoved daily to fresh pasture

Pigs

Pasture for livestock production

• Needs to be low cost– Often animals are not productive for much of year

• Lower input/labour – Often part-time farmers or only part of enterprise

• Productive

= Perennial pasture

Why raise animals on pasture?

• Environmental benefits

• Natural diet for ruminants, part of mono-gastric diets

• Healthier for us

• Better taste!

Health benefits of grass-fed meat and eggs

• Higher in vitamin E and A

• Lower saturated fats

• Higher levels of “good” fats including omega-3 fats and conjugated linoleic acid

• Fewer pathogenic bacteria

Environmental benefits of well managed perennial pasture (partial list)

• Resilient to climate change (weather extremes)

• Builds soil (opposite of erosion)

• Biodiversity (plants, soil life, wildlife)

• Reduce GHG emissions, consume methane

• Carbon sequestration!!!!

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Diverse forage mixtures yield better than simple mixtures

• Papadopoulos et al. (2011) research over 5 years on forage mixtures:

– Increasing complexity of mixtures (more grass types) increased yield of forage

– Timothy and bluegrass in mixtures can enhance yield of forage

Why do mixtures grow more feed?

• Different grasses grow in different ways, times of year– Both leaf structure and roots

• Increases use of available sunlight

• Increases use of available fertility and water

• May be synergies with some combinations

• Resilience for weather differences from year to year

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Value of legumes in pastures

• Nitrogen fixation

• Forage quality – protein

• Maintain digestibility in summer

• Cattle like most legumes (very palatable)– Will seek them when grazing

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Why do we expect to see differences in animal performance between mixtures?

• All well managed pastures have good feed value and can be reasonably productive

• Cattle will digest some grasses better than others despite what forage testing tells us

• Cattle will prefer some forages over other

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Beef grazing mixtures project designCanadian Cattlemen’s Beef Cluster

• Experiment 1: identify the best simple forage mixtures and grass cultivar (Nappan) for each environment. Combinations of one grass grown with either white clover, alfalfa or trefoil.

• forage yield, seasonality, persistence and forage quality under rotational grazing by cattle (Nappan and Kapuskasing) or simulated grazing (Quebec City).

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Beef grazing mixtures project design

• Experiment 2: Four grass mixtures seeded with either alfalfa or birdsfoot trefoil (Complex mixtures)

• forage yield, seasonality, persistence and forage quality

• Animal weight gain, grazing days, animal gain per acre

• 4 core animals per treatment group for data collection

Pâturage

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Coupes fréquentes

Rendement en M

S (t/ha)

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

ResultsForage yield (t/ha)

P < 0.05

Frequent clipping (Normandin and Lévis)

Cattle grazing (Nappan)

DM

Yie

ld (t

/ha)

Meadow fescue

Orchardgrass

Kentucky bluegrass

Tall fescue

Timothy

Meadow bromegrass

Birdsfoot trefoil Alfalfa White clover

Meadow fescue

Orchardgrass

Kentucky bluegrass

Tall fescue

Timothy

Meadow bromegrass

Meadow fescue

Orchardgrass

Kentucky bluegrass

Tall fescue

Timothy

Meadow bromegrass

Binary mixtures performed differently under

frequent clipping and cattle grazing.

Pâturage

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Coupe fréquente

Production estimée de lait (t lait/ha)

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Brome des prés

Fléole des prés

Fétuque élevée

Pâturin des prés

Fétuque des prés

Dactyle pelotonné

Brome des prés

Fléole des prés

Fétuque élevée

Pâturin des prés

Fétuque des prés

Dactyle pelotonné

Brome des prés

Fléole des prés

Fétuque élevée

Pâturin des prés

Fétuque des prés

Dactyle pelotonné

LuzerneLotier corniculé Trèfle blanc

Prod

uctio

n es

timée

de

lait

(t la

it/ha

)

ResultsEstimated milk production (t milk/ha)

Frequent clipping

Meadow fescue

Orchardgrass

Kentucky bluegrass

Tall fescue

Timothy

Meadow bromegrass

Birdsfoot trefoil Alfalfa White clover

Meadow fescue

Orchardgrass

Kentucky bluegrass

Tall fescue

Timothy

Meadow bromegrass

Meadow fescue

Orchardgrass

Kentucky bluegrass

Tall fescue

Timothy

Meadow bromegrassestim

ated

milk

pro

duct

ion

(t m

ilk/h

a)

11.7 t/ha

9.4 t/ha8.8 t/ha

11.1 t/ha 12.1 t/ha

12.4 t/ha Grazing

Under grazing,

White clover + meadow bromegrass or tall

fescue

had greater estimated milk production.

Establishment estimate of plants˖m-2 of 3 legumes and 6 grass species seeded in 2010

2012

Persistence estimate of plants˖m-2 of 3 legumes and 6 grass species seeded in 2010

2013 2014

Cultivar results

• Most valuable players based on mid and late season yield and energy:– Kokanee Tall Fescue with alfalfa or trefoil– Ginger Bluegrass with white clover– Bg3 Bluegrass with alfalfa

Long-term agronomic performance ofgrass-legume pasture mixtures

• Re-seed legumes (sod or frost seed) every 2-3 years to sustain mixtures productivity.

• Choose compatible grass cultivar to sustain seasonal dry matter production.

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Aver

age

anim

al g

ain,

Kg/d

Legume effect on animal gain over years of research

TrefoilAlfalfa

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Year

2011 2012 2013 2014

Gain / Forage, kg / t

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Bt TiMfRcKb Bt TfMbOrKb Bt TiMfKb Bt TfMbRcKb gAf TiMfRcKb gAf TfMbOrKb gAf TiMfKb gAf TfMbRcKb

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Body weight change by mixture and legume, lb per steer, 2013

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800

850

900

950

1000

1050

1100

1150

May June July Aug Sept Oct

Alfalfa

Af - KbTfOgMbAf - MfTmKbAf - RgKbTfMbAf - TmMfRgKb

800

850

900

950

1000

1050

1100

1150

May June July Aug Sept Oct

Trefoil

Bt - KbTfOgMbBt - MfTmKbBt - RgKbTfMbBt - TmMfRgKb

20 second summary of beef cluster research to date

• Cattle had better daily gain on Timothy/meadow fescue/bluegrass pasture BUT

• More gain per acre on mixtures with Tall fescue in them• Cultivar of grass matters for forage yield and quality

under animal grazing• Meadow fescue with any legume provides optimum

balance of sugars, energy, and protein• Cattle gain better on trefoil pastures than alfalfa pastures

– We need to reseed legumes every 2 to 3 years to maintain them in sward

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Can pasture species affect carcass quality?Red

CloverTall

fescue SEM P. Values

Final wt kg 497 499 14 0.708

ADG kg/day 1.1 1.1 0.1 0.988

Carcass wt kg 281 272 8 0.048

Dressing % 54.7 52.4 0.7 0.002 Back fat mm 6.3 5.1 0.6 0.049

Dry Matter Intake kg/d 11.2 12.5 0.5 0.036

Goals of Extending the Grazing Season

• Reducing Feeding Costs• Reducing Hauling Costs• Reducing Harvesting Costs• Reducing Manure Removal Costs

65 to 75 % of costs of calf production come from feed, pasture and bedding.

Ranking of beef cattle best suited to winter grazing

1. Fat dry cow2. Late lactation bred cow3. Bred heifer4. Yearling to background5. Early lactation cow6. Weaned calf – not recommended without

supplementation

Environmental effects on animal energy needs

• Temperature - each species has a lower critical temperature below which maintenance energy skyrockets

• Rain/snow – affect body temperature• Wind – wind chill increases effect of cooler temp.

– In combination with wet weather can significantly raise energy needs

• Mud – an important consideration in Eastern Canada

• Distance to walk to water, feed, shelter

What can we do to cope with environment?

• Make sure animals are in good body condition going into fall – fat and hair are great insulators

• Plan extended grazing areas to be in sheltered places

• Provide artificial shelter• Plan to fall/winter graze close to barns

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January 2013, AAFC NappanPortable shelter in snowstorm

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January 2013, AAFC NappanNote hair coat, body condition

Corn Grazing Nappan NS, early DecemberGround not frozen

How to avoid mud in the Maritimes

• Have as much available pasture as possible– “snowshoe” effect, more root mass

• Move cattle to new ground as often as possible– Minimizes damage, spreads manure

• Graze cautiously ESPECIALLY when frost coming out of the ground

• Fields that have been rotationally grazed previous season have stronger sod

Overgrazed, no recovery Well recovered

Grazing management affects the entire grazing ecosystem

Which will handle wet soil better?

Late November bale grazing, no frost, after heavy rain

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Dec 24, 2015Stockpiled naturalized pasture2 acre paddock after 5 days grazing by 40 head beef35 mm rainfall in last 3 days; Queens soil, no tile drains

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January 2013, AAFC NappanNote bare ground around bales

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January 2013, AAFC Nappan

Bale grazing late March 2015 in 4 feet of snow

Bale grazing late March 2015 in 4 feet of snow

Bale grazing late March 2015 in 4 feet of snow

Bale grazing late March 2015 in 4 feet of snow

Corn and tall fescue for fall grazing:Animal results

Fall Feeding:October to Christmas In Barn January to May

weight change

lbBCS

change

Feed intake after

calvinglb

BCS change

after calving

Cow wt change

lb

calf birth

wtlb

calf weight

at turnout

lb

Barn 126 -0.5 29 0.0 -41 88 379

Corn -41 -1.4 30 0.0 -6 90 349

Fescue 106 -0.9 29 0.3 -6 94 385

1 2 3 40

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4

6

8

10

12

14

16

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50

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dmi cp

tdn

Day in paddock

CP (%

) and

dai

ly in

take

(kg)

TDN

(%)

Changes in daily intake and feed quality for winter swath grazing, Lacombe

1 2 3 40

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

tdn intake

cp intake

Day in paddock

TDN

inta

ke (k

g/da

y)

CP in

take

(kg/

day)

Changes in daily nutrient intake for winter swath grazing, Lacombe compared to needs!

Results of clover/fescue fall grazing

AssumptionsRed clover

Tall fescue

forage yield, kg/ha 4726 4614total DM available (4 ha

land) kg 4 ha per group 18906 18455amount available (percent

used*DM available) 65 % grazed 12289 11996feed/day (DM avail/# of

days) 60 days grazed 205 200

average cow wt, kg 650average cow intake (3%

body weight) kg/day 0.03% body weight

eaten 19.5 19.5

number of cows to feed 11 10

• Atlantic Canada challenges– Variable fall weather, frozen ground not reliable– Winter can has frequent freeze/thaw turning snow cover

into ice

• However, we can have a lot of fall grass growth with right forage species (fescues, bluegrass)

• To minimize risks, Stockpiled pasture through to freeze-up, bale graze through to spring

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Economics study winter grazing in Maritimes

• Compared 200 days barn feeding (typical winter season) to 75 days stockpiled feed, 125 days bale graze (some successful use of this on farms)

• 80 cow-calf herd, spring calving

• $183 saving per cow with winter grazing

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Conclusion

• When seeding pastures, some grass and legume species (and cultivars!) are more suitable than others for pasture– Some mixtures may be better for finishing

livestock, some for mature animals• Consider winter grazing to control costs

• Let your animals graze!

Sheep on pastureQuestions?