1 / 36

Developing a Forage Chain

Developing a Forage Chain. Rory Lewandowski Extension Educator, Athens County lewandowski.11@osu.edu. What is a Forage Chain?. A system of forage production that combines: management and forage species to provide more grazing opportunities and that extends the grazing season.

jordane
Download Presentation

Developing a Forage Chain

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Developing a Forage Chain Rory Lewandowski Extension Educator, Athens County lewandowski.11@osu.edu

  2. What is a Forage Chain? A system of forage production that combines: management and forage species to provide more grazing opportunities and that extends the grazing season.

  3. What kind of forages are available? Where do I start? How can I make this work on my farm?

  4. Forage Resources: Cool Season • Perennial Grasses • Annual Grasses • Brassicas • Legumes

  5. Forage Resources: Warm Season • Perennial Grasses • Annual Grasses • Legumes

  6. Seasonality of Perennial Forages

  7. Legumes Provide nitrogen Improve quality Improve animal performance Improve carrying capacity Reduce grass tetany Grasses Adapted to range of conditions Reduce erosion Reduce heaving Reduce bloat Improve hay drying Lengthen stand life Weed control Grass – Legume Mixtures Mixtures provide more uniform production From: Species Selection for Pastures presentation by Mark Sulc & David Barker Dept. of Horticulture & Crop Science, OSU

  8. How many species to plant? • Start with 1 grass and 1 legume, then add species: From: Species Selection for Pastures presentation by Mark Sulc & David Barker Dept. of Horticulture & Crop Science, OSU

  9. Select varieties to plant • Select improved varieties from sources with a proven track record. • Choose adapted, high yielding varieties. • Use university performance trials over years & locations • Consider tolerance under abusive grazing tests • Check with experience of neighbors • Start small, do your own on-farm variety evaluation • Select disease resistant varieties • Consider maturity differences. • Consider forage quality differences. From: Species Selection for Pastures presentation by Mark Sulc & David Barker Dept. of Horticulture & Crop Science, OSU

  10. Pure Live Seed Calculation % purity = 100% - (% inert matter + % other crop seed + % weed seed) % pure live seed (PLS) = % germination x % purity Note: % purity is often on the seed tag, if not the other values for inert matter, other crop seed, and weed seed content should be on the tag % germination should be on the tag. Always use % total germination (% quick germination + % hard seed) From: Species Selection for Pastures presentation by Mark Sulc & David Barker Dept. of Horticulture & Crop Science, OSU

  11. Seeding Rates • Dominant grass species • 1 companion grass: ¾ recommended pure stand rate • >1 companion grass: ½ recommended pure stand rate • Companion grasses: • ⅛ to ¼ of recommended pure stand rate for each companion • Depends on number of companions and desired proportions. • Legumes • Plant no more than 8 lbs/acre of legume seed, based on desired proportions: • White clover or Kura clover: 1 to 3 lbs/acre • Red clover or alfalfa: 1 to 6 lbs/acre From: Species Selection for Pastures presentation by Mark Sulc & David Barker Dept. of Horticulture & Crop Science, OSU

  12. Pasture Perfect® Mixes and Blends Midwestern Grazer 50% Tekapo OG 25% Duo Festulolium 15% Power TPRg 07% StarFire RC 03% Kopu II WC Improved Animal Production High Yielding Selected for Grazing Works well for Hay Excellent “season-long” production “Farmer Tested-Farmer Proven” 30-40#/acre Slide: Courtesy of Dave Robison, CISCO Seeds Example of improved species blend

  13. Slide: Courtesy of Dave Robison, CISCO Seeds StarFire II, Kopu II, Tekapo, Duo, Power Midwestern Grazer-A Cows Delight!

  14. Pasture Perfect® Mixes and Blends Renovator Special Mix 50% Duo Festulolium 25% Feast II SRR 25% Tonga TPRg Excellent for renovating pastures and hay fields Add milk and meat production Excellent for horse pasture repair For alfalfa hay fields 5-15#/acre For pastures 10-20#/acre Slide: Courtesy of Dave Robison, CISCO Seeds Example of improved species blend

  15. Pasture Perfect® Mixes and Blends Hay and Graze Clover Mix 70% StarFire II RC 30% Kopu II WC Excellent to frost seed Excellent for added animal production Persistent and high yielding 5-8#/acre Slide: Courtesy of Dave Robison, CISCO Seeds Example of improved species blend

  16. Duration Extra Ohio State University South Charleston, OH 2006-07 data Variety Yield % yield of Mean STARFIRE II7.16 125% FSG 9601 6.86 120% Duration Extra6.81 119% PGI 336.61 115% VNS Med Red 2.78 48% Red Gold 1.23 21% LSD (0.05%) 0.57 Slide: Courtesy of Dave Robison, CISCO Seeds

  17. Kopu II vs Alice*Western Illinois UniversitySown April 2002- 2003 data VarietyYield DM#/ac Kopu II adv Kopu II 6,762 +145% Alice 4,673 LSD (0.5) 1433 Slide: Courtesy of Dave Robison, CISCO Seeds

  18. Kopu II = Lots of Stolon activity! Slide: Courtesy of Dave Robison, CISCO Seeds

  19. Cool Season Pasture

  20. Kura Clover

  21. Pasture Perfect® Mixes and Blends Drought Buster Mix 30% Tekapo Orchardgrass 25% Oasis Chicory 25% StarFire II Red Clover 10% Feast II Short Rotation Ryegrass 10% Kopu II White Clover Slide: Courtesy of Dave Robison, CISCO Seeds Example of improved species blend

  22. Chicory

  23. Adding Flexibility: Use of Annuals • Annuals can provide flexibility to the grazing system and extend the grazing season • Advantage: fill in slump spots in a perennial pasture system (summer, November-March) • Advantage: quick establishment • Advantage: Can provide moderate to high D.M. production and moderate to high quality • Disadvantage: They are an annual, they must be reseeded each year • Topography, timing, and weather are big factors

  24. Seasonality of Forage Options

  25. Warm Season Annuals BMR Sudangrass Teff grass

  26. Slide: Courtesy of Dave Robison, CISCO Seeds Summer Annual Grasses-Part two of annual profit system • Pro-Max™ BMR Sudangrass (35-40#/ac) • Nutri+Plus BMR Sorghum-Sudangrass (50#/ac) • Pearl Millet (15-25#/ac) • Summer Delite™ Brand Teffgrass (10-12#/ac) • Pasja Hybrid Brassica with summer annuals • 3#/ac with products listed above Example of some specific summer annual forages

  27. Slide: Courtesy of Dave Robison, CISCO Seeds Pasja with Summer annuals Adds high protein Adds excellent tonnage Excellent palatability Very good drought tolerance Improved animal production Example of a brassica used for summer annual

  28. Slide: Courtesy of Dave Robison, CISCO Seeds Summer Delite Brand Teffgrassbest for mechanical harvest

  29. Planting Dates/Timing • Perennial cool season grasses and legumes: early spring before April 20, late summer before September 10 • Perennial warm season grasses: mid-April to mid-May • Brassicas:March-early May, late July – mid August • Summer Annuals: early May – June • Cool season annual grasses: March (oats, winter wheat), August- mid Sept. (oats), September-October (winter wheat, winter rye) • Stockpiling: August – December (Tall fescue)

  30. S. Ohio Forage Chain Calendar • January-March: stockpiled fescue, oats, hay • March-May: winter wheat, winter rye, annual ryegrass • April-June: cool season perennial grasses/legumes • May-July: spring seeded cereals/brassicas • July-September: warm season perennial or annual grasses, warm season legumes • October-December: perennial cool season grasses/legumes, brassicas, oats • November-December: early planted winter wheat/rye stockpiled grass/legume

  31. Stockpiled Fescue

  32. Examples of Some Improved Tall Fescue Varieties • Bronson (-) • High Yielding Soft Leaved • Improved palatability • Martin II (-) • High Yielding • Bull (-) • High Yielding • Jessup Max Q™ (novel +) • Shows excellent animal performance over KY-31

  33. Grazing Oats, Fairfield CountyFebruary 2006 C.P. 11.6% ADF: 44.2 TDN: 56.4

  34. Variables and Disclaimers • The pasture quality and forage species that are on your farm long-term are the result of adaptation to your management style and the environment (growing conditions). • The amount of links that can be developed in a forage chain may be limited by: • Topography • Dollars • Management skills/time • Results vary from farm to farm, no one “right answer”

  35. Steps to Develop a Forage Chain • 1. Add legumes to perennial grass pastures • 2. Stockpile for winter grazing • Feed hay in August- October? • 3. Improve perennial pastures by renovating with improved varieties • 4. Add annuals to your grazing mix • 5. Apply rotational grazing principles of residual management and rest periods

  36. Developing a Forage Chain: Summary • The grazing season can be improved and extended by using a range of forage species and management strategies • Forages include cool season perennials, cool season annuals, cool and warm season legumes, warm season perennials and annuals, brassicas • More intensive management is needed

More Related