Forage Types and Benefits

Forage Species and Management

• Attempt to manage existing vegetation, Small ruminants eat more browse and forbs than cattle

• Tromp undesirable vegetation: perilla mint, cocklebur, nimblewill, spiny amaranth

• Inventory forage needs weekly, decision to plant prior to end of recommended planting date April 1, July 1, Oct 1.

• Species planted: Low endophyte Tall fescue (Select), Prairie bromegrass(Persister), Red Clover (cinnamon), White Clover (Will), Crabgrass (Red River), Rye, Ryegrass, Millet and BMR sudangrass.

• High Tannin species

Evaluation of Stand

• Replant < 50% cover 4 to 9 plants per square foot

• Renovate with legumes 50 to 70% cover 6 to 11 plants per square foot

• Manage current stand >70% cover 12 or more plants per square foot.

Grass 6” or less apart with 3 tillers can be managed back to a full stand

Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

Winter annuals

(small grain/

annual ryegrass

15%

Cool season

perennial grasses

55%

Warm season

perennial grasses

20%Warm season

annual grasses

5%Spring

oats and

brassicas

5%

Approximate Percentages of Various Forages for Year Around Forage

Percentage of each species will vary relative to yield

NRCS

No need in planting a species that can’t

tolerate your managementForage

Species

Height to

begin grazing

Height to

terminate

graz.

Tall fescue

orchardgrass

an. Ryegrass

sericea lesp.

5-8” 3”

Bermudagrass 5-8” 2”

Native warm

season, sudan

18” 8-10”

8” 4”

Safe Pasture

• Hayed• Silage• Grazed with other stock for

one season• Grazed above 5”• Tilled and planted

5 days to months before larvae become infective dependent on moisture and warmth

14 days from ingestion before Haemonchus contortus sheds infected eggs.. For Ostertagia and Trichostrongylus it’s 21 days.

Most infective larvae in the bottom 5” of grass

Confine stock to one paddock. Plant the Sacrifice area in Bermudagrass or Ky 31 tall Fescue

• Continue to rotate cattle till paddocks are at minimum recommended grazing ht in the growing season or 2” in the non growing season

• Sacrifice paddock(s) • 10% of total pasture acreage is ideal but no more than 20%.

• Shade 50 to 63 sq ft/AU

• No water areas, drainageways, slope over 4% or karst features

• Bermudagrass base with tall fescue or annual ryegrass

Quality of Grass

Dairy quality

Don’t Graze

Dry ewe or cow quality

RELATIVE FEED COSTS$ per lb of TDN

• PASTURES• Permanent…………….. .01-.02

• Annual……………………. .03-.04

• STORED FORAGES• Hay………………………... .04-.05

• Silage…………………….. .04-.05

• CONCENTRATES and/or BYPRODUCTS………….05-.15+

NCSU BUDGETS

3 tons of hay removes ($184/ac fertilizer):- 150 lb. nitrogen- 40 lb. P2O5

- 145 lb. K2O

Each ton of hay removes ($61 fertilizer):- 40-60 lb. nitrogen- 13 lb. P2O5

- 48 lb. K2O

Forage Species to Plant

• Warm Season• Eastern gamagrass

• Big bluestem

• Indiangrass

• Improved Bermudagrass

• Crabgrass

• Pearl millet

• Sudangrass

• Sorghum x

• Sericea lespedeza

• Cool Season– Orchardgrass

– Rescuegrass bromegrass

– Tall Fescue (Novel or Select)

– Winter Annuals

– Alfalfa

– Brassicas

– Chicory

Plants with Condensed Tannins (potent antioxidants)“Medicinal Pasture”

• anti-cancer properties, as well as a positive impact on heart disease, immune systems and urinary tract infections.

• Sericea Lespedeza

• Annual lespedeza

• Birdsfoot trefoil

• Arrowleaf clover

• Berseem clover

• Crown vetch

• Multiflora-rose

• Autumn olive

• Chicory (volital oils)

• Mulberry

• Mimosa

Managing Existing VegetationWeeds/Forbs

Chemical composition of various plants browsed by goats (%)

Browse type

Crude

protein

Neutral

detergent

fiber

Calcium Phosphorous

Multiflora

rose18.2 34.5 0.99 0.32

Black locust 23.0 44.0 1.26 0.21

Honeysuckle 16.0 34.5 1.21 0.30

Brambles 17.1 24.5 0.23 0.84

Privet 20.0 26.8 0.89 0.34

Green briar 16.1 39.5 0.60 0.18

Trumpet

creeper16.7 43.1 0.42 0.22

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/418/418-150/418-150.html

Table 2. Quality of alfalfa occurring in a newly established stand compared to seven annual weeds occurring in a weed nursery on July 16, 1971a

SpeciesInvitro digestible dry

matter (IVDDM)Acid detergent fiber

(ADF) Crude protein (CP)————————— % —————————

Alfalfab 72 24 27Redroot pigweedc 73 21 25Common lambsquarters

68 22 25

Common ragweed 73 25 25Pennsylvania smartweed

51 22 24

Yellow foxtail 69 30 20Giant foxtail 62 33 18Barnyardgrass 70 33 18aAdapted from Marten, G. C., and R. N. Andersen. 1975. Forage nutritive value and palatability of 12 common annual weeds. Crop Science 15:821-827.bAlfalfa was seeded on May 14, 1971.cWeed nursery was seeded naturally in late summer and autumn of 1970.

Table 3. Crude protein (CP) and invitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of common weeds and forages at three stages of maturity

Weeds

Vegetative Flower/boot Fruit/headCP IVDMD CP IVDMD CP IVDMD

--------------------------------------- % --------------------------------------Herbaceous weedsCarolina geranium

19 78 19 70 11 68

Curly dock 30 73 19 54 16 51Cutleaf evening primrose

20 72 14 69 11 52

Henbit — — 20 78 16 75Virginia pepperweed

32 86 26 72 17 63

GrassesCheat 23 81 18 69 14 61Little barley 24 82 18 78 14 62Virginia wildrye

23 80 19 74 7 60

Wild oats 23 75 — — — —ForagesHairy vetch 30 80 29 77 26 77aAdapted from Bosworth, S. C., C. S. Hoveland, and G. A. Buchanan. 1985. Forage quality of selected cool-season weed species. Weed Science 34:150-154.

Table 4. Crude protein (CP) and invitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of weeds and forages at three stages of maturitya

Weeds

Vegetative Flower/boot Fruit/headCP IVDMD CP IVDMD CP IVDMD

------------------------------------------% --------------------------------------Herbaceous weedsBur gherkin — — 17 75 14 79Coffee senna 17 81 22 75 15 67

Common purslane — — 19 80 — —

Cypressvine morningglory

20 80 — — 13 77

Florida beggarweed 22 74 17 65 13 55

Hemp sesbania 31 70 14 66 11 52

Ivyleaf morningglory 20 80 — — 11 78

Jimsonweed 25 72 21 66 17 59Prickly sida 17 80 18 70 12 56Redroot pigweed 24 73 17 71 11 64

Sicklepod 22 84 14 76 17 71Tall morningglory 20 82 — — 14 76

GrassesCrabgrass 14 79 8 72 6 63Crowfootgrass 16 67 8 54 9 43

Fall panicum 19 72 9 63 7 54Texas panicum 16 74 11 62 8 52

Yellow foxtail 18 73 12 66 14 57

ForagesBermudagrass 16 58 7 51 8 43

Pearl millet 17 59 6 60 8 60aAdapted from Bosworth, S. C., C. S. Hoveland, G. A. Buchanan, and W. B. Anthony. 1980. Forage quality of selected warm-season weed species. Agronomy Journal 72:1050-1054;

Before grazing by Goats, 600 lbs/ac

After Grazing 30 days by Goats

Note fence for goats is offset electric old barb behind electric

Blackberry briars

and Tall fescue

before grazing

Blackberry briars

and Tall fescue

after grazing

1700 lb/ac of

goats for 1 wk

Common ragweed

Marestail (horseweed)

Weeds are palatable at certain stages.A fast rotation of 3 days or less on a paddock and returning in ~45 days works well

Mow or trample prior in early bloom stage

Smooth Amaranths, not so bad

BAD WEEDS

Amaranths consumed best by sheepForb or Weed?

Ironweed eaten well by goats and sheep

Perilla mint very little eaten

Managing for More Diversity

Ryegrass “mulch” (on left) kept down pigweed

These plants can help control weeds: Allelopathic:

Winter RyeAnnual Ryegrass

Black OatsBrassicas

Sorghums

Photo by Kathy Voth

Smother PlantsHairy VetchAustrian Winter Pea

Managing for Continuous Cover

May be a little too lush, fiber is lacking. Let it get more mature before grazingOver mature not

high quality, may tromp a lot on the ground but will build soil health

Sweet vernal grass

Nimblewill

Nimblewill

AnnualsFast forage ASAP options

• Feb 15 to April1• Spring oats, forage turnips seeded

• April 15• Seed sudangrass

• May – July 1• Seed crabgrass, pearl millet

• August 15- Oct 1• Seed spring oats and forage turnips

• Cereal rye and annual ryegrass mix

10 calves(500wts) /Ac x 13 days x 2.0 adg = 260 lb/Ac x $1.50/lb of beef = $390/ac assumption is 50% of

forage is consumed

Warm Season Grass Full Seeding Rate

Species Drilled Broadcast• Sorghum sudangrass 30 45• Pearl Millet 10 20• Brown top millet 25 40• German foxtail millet 20 25• Teff 6 8• Crabgrass 3 5• Cowpeas 50 100• Soybeans 75 150• Corn 28 50

To get the benefit of a mix like this you have to delay grazing till the legumes have fully developed and produced flowers

Stockpile forage (double rest)

• Reserve pasture its sometimes called

• If you have a pasture that isn’t performing well skipping it in the rotation can improve production

• Plan for 60 to 90 days of grazing at all times of the year.

Quality of Stockpiled Tall Fescue vs. Hay

John Jennings and Mark Kennedy

Frost Seeding in fields with 50% or better stand of grass (additional options)

• February• 2 lb White clover• 4 lb Red clover• 8 lb Annual lespedeza (less productive soil)

• Optional Soil Health additions:• 4 lb Hairy vetch (less productive soil and wet soil)• 1 lb Arrowleaf clover• 1 lb Brassicas (turnips, canola or radish)• 2 lb Annual ryegrass• 3 lb Prairie bromegrass• 5 lb Tall Fescue

Come March legumes need to be drilled

Timing

• Evaluate forage supply prior to the end of seeding dates:• April 1

• July 1

• Oct 1

• Decide whether to fertilize, stockpile forage, supplement, seed, early wean, or de-stock

Annual Cover Crops

• Purpose

• Fill voids in perennial growth

• High Nutritional demand

• Increase residue

Grazing CornAre we suppose to be in here?What is this stuff?

Cost of corn $7/ac, 150,000 ppa, drilled

Later Day 1, 8/10/2012

Path for fence knocked down with truck, 3 wire poly fence

6 days grazing, Note: Goat heads high, Sheep heads low, Cattle in tall corn

Goats

Sheep

Note: All species will do some browsing and grazing

August 18, Day 8, of strip grazingToo much can be eaten, big screw up!

Not good residue (litter) management should have back fenced, results in reduced fertility, moisture conservation and lower biological activity

Prairie Bromegrass adapted to shade and heavy manure areas

Same site as previous slide in AugustPigs with Cattle, Goats, Dogs and Sheep