Can You Have Your Cake and Eat it Too? Impact of Grazing Cover Crops on Soil Properties

Does grazing of cover crops negate the soil health benefits of cover crops (CC)? A review of the literature was conducted to understand the soil impacts of grazing CC compared to a non-grazed CC control. Grazing CC did increase soil compaction in 50% of cases, but this increase was below the threshold that would be expected to impact root growth in most cases. It does appear that grazing under wet soils or high stocking rates can compact soil. Grazing did not affect wet aggregate stability in 83% of the studies. Soil carbon concentration was unaffected in 70% of the studies but resulted in a decrease in soil carbon in the remaining 30%. The effects on soil microbial biomass are mixed with 33% reporting no effect, 33% an increase and 33% a mixed effect. Grazing CC did not impact cash crop yields in 64%, increased yield in 7% and had mixed effects in 36% of the studies. There does appear to be an opportunity for crop producers to increase revenue from crop acres by incorporating grazing while capturing soil benefits of CC. However, more research is needed to better understand the key variables which interact to better predict and manage the soil impacts of grazing CC

Winter Growth Rate and Timing of Marketing on Economics of Yearling Systems

Economic analyses were conducted examining 18 years of Nebraska monthly- average auction data to ! nd the e ects of certain management decisions on the pro! tability of yearling production systems. A 2×2 experimental design was used to examine four possible scenarios. $e variables were either fast winter growth (daily gain, 2.0 lb/ day) or slow winter growth (daily gain, 0.8 lb/day), and either a September or a July marketing date. In addition to pro! tability, risk management was also examined in this study. Average pro! tability of all scenarios was good, ranging from$112 to $143 per calf. Utilizing fast winter growth combined with marketing steers in September was the most pro! table scenario

The Value of Grazed Corn Residue for Crop and Cattle Producers

The Western Corn Belt has historically been corn and wheat cropping systems with cattle integrated on nearby grasslands. Recent agricultural production data ranked Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, and North Dakota in the top 10 states for both corn and beef cattle production in the United States. In 2017, these four states had about 20% of the beef cow inventory in the United States with Nebraska alone having 1.9 million beef cows (USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2018). Forage-based livestock production is a fundamental component of these agricultural economies. However, a large quantity of grasslands in this region were converted into annual crops during the mid-2000s (Wright and Wimberly, 2013). To maintain the efciencies of beef cattle production systems, synergistic use of forage resources in a sustainable manner is essential. In addition to grasslands, this includes the complementary use of corn residue for grazing during the winter months. In this article, we provide an economic assessment of current corn residue grazing in Nebraska as well as some comparisons to Kansas, South Dakota, and North Dakota

Ag Lenders Panel Provides Insight into Beef Systems Initiative

In 2017, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Institute of Agricultural and Natural Resources (IANR) and Nebraska Extension made a commitment to implement a multidisciplinary Beef Systems Initiative (BSI). The BSI is administered by the Center for Grassland Studies and is comprised of six projects designed to develop and support the implementation of beef production systems that optimize feed resource use, natural resource conservation, and producer success in Nebraska through improved management of perennial grasslands and systems of integrated crop-beef cattle production. In addition to the BSI, a parallel project funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) is studying the best practices for incorporating beef cattle into cropping systems while improving ecosystem services to ensure sustainability. Both of these efforts include components focused on producer and community outreach through Nebraska Extension. To this end, an agricultural lenders panel and five geographically identified producer panels have been formed to provide input and feedback on the project results as they become available. Recently, the lenders panel met for the first time to provide their perspectives about the important information that should be communicated to producers who are considering developing an integrated beef enterprise

Nutrient Content of Summer-Planted Oats after Corn Harvest and Grazing Performance

Annual forages provide producers with an alternative grazing source in the fall. A cover crop grazing study was conducted following corn harvest to evaluate the steer ADG and yield of summer sown oats and turnips planted after either high moisture corn or corn silage production. Th e gain of steers grazing oats aft er silage was 1.29 lb/day, while the gain of steers grazing corn residue and oats aft er high moisture corn was 0.72 lb/day. Average oat forage production aft er silage harvest was 2857 lb/acre, while oat production following corn harvest was 523 lb/ acre. Fall forage production of oats following corn silage harvest provided 133 lb of steer gain per acre, while corn residue plus oats following corn harvest provided 57 lb of steer gain per acre. Utilizing oats following silage harvest provides an opportunity for greater forage production and grazing as compared to following corn grain harvest

Effect of harvest method and ammoniation of baled corn residue on intake and digestibility in lambs

To determine the effect of harvest method and ammoniation on both in vivo and in vitro digestibility of corn residue, six corn residue treatments consisting of three different harvest methods either with or without anhydrous ammonia chemical treatment (5.5% of dry matter [DM]) were evaluated. The harvest methods included conventional rake-and-bale (CONV) and New Holland Cornrower with eight rows (8ROW) or two rows (2ROW) of corn stalks chopped into the windrow containing the tailings (leaf, husk, and upper stem) from eight rows of harvested corn (ammoniated bales of each harvest method resulted in treatments COVAM, 8RAM, and 2RAM). Nine crossbred wether lambs (49.2 ± 0.5 kg BW) were fed 64.2% corn residue, 29.8% wet corn gluten feed, 3.3% smooth-bromegrass hay, and 2.8% mineral mix (DM basis) in a 9 × 6 Latin rectangle metabolism study with a 3 × 2 factorial treatment to measure total tract disappearance. Six 21-d periods consisted of 14-d adaptation and 7-d total fecal collection, and lambs were fed ad libitum (110% of the previous day’s DM intake [DMI]) during days 1 to 12 and reduced to 95% of ad libitum intake for days 13 to 21. There was a harvest method by ammoniation interaction (P \u3c 0.01) for ad libitum DMI (days 7 to 11). Ammoniation increased (P \u3c 0.01) intake across all harvest methods, where 2RAM DMI was 4.1%, COVAM was 3.6%, and 8RAM was 3.1%, which were all different (P \u3c 0.01) from each other, but all untreated residues were consumed at 2.6% of BW (P ≥ 0.92) regardless of harvest method. There were no interactions (P \u3e 0.34) between harvest method and ammoniation for any total tract or in vitro digestibility estimate. Harvest method affected (P \u3c 0.04) DM, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) digestibility, where 2ROW was greater than both CONV and 8ROW, which did not differ. The organic matter (OM) digestibility (P = 0.12) and digestible energy (DE; P = 0.30) followed the same numerical trend. Both in vitro DM digestibility (IVDMD) and in vitro OM digestibility (IVOMD) of the residue were affected (P \u3c 0.01) by harvest method, with 2ROW being greater (P \u3c 0.01) than both CONV and 8ROW. For IVDMD, 8ROW was not (P = 0.77) different from CONV, but 8ROW IVOMD was lower (P = 0.03) than CONV. Ammoniation improved (P \u3c 0.01) DM, OM, NDF, and ADF digestibility of all harvest methods, resulting in a 26% increase (P \u3c 0.01) in DE due to ammoniation. Similar digestibility improvements were observed in vitro with ammoniation improving IVDMD and IVOMD by 23% and 20%, respectively. Both selective harvest methods and ammoniation can improve the feeding value of baled corn residue

Effect of Harvest Method and Ammoniation on Digestibility and Intake of Corn Residue

The effects of three harvest methods, both with and without ammonia treatment, on the in vivo digestibility and intake of baled corn residue were assessed in a digestion trial with lambs. Treatments included three corn residue harvest methods (conventional rake and bale, New Holland Cornrower™ with eight rows or with two rows of corn stalks chopped into the windrow containing the tailings [leaf, husk and upper stalk] from eight harvested rows) and the effects of ammoniation at 5.5% of DM compared to no ammoniation of the residue. Th e 2- Row baled residue (51.7%) had greater dry matter digestibility than both 8- Row (47.3%) and CONV (44.7%). Ammoniation increased dry matter digestibility by 24% (10 percentage units) across all residue types. Additionally, ammoniation increased intake. Utilizing alternative harvesting technologies and ammoniation can improve the digestibility of baled residue. These effects are additive and combining the two technologies resulted in the greatest improvement in digestibility

Effect of Backgrounding System on Steer Performance and Carcass Characteristics

The impact of 3 backgrounding systems: grazing corn residue with distillers grains supplementation at 0.86% BW/d, grazing an oats-brassica forage, or feeding a grower ration in a drylot on finishing performance and carcass characteristics were evaluated. Backgrounding phase gains were greatest for steers fed a grower ration in the drylot (3.58 lb/d), intermediate for steers grazing oats-brassica forage and then fed the grower ration for short period (2.65 lb/d), and least for steers grazing corn residue while supplemented distillers grains and then fed the grower ration for short period (2.22 lb/d). These backgrounding treatment differences did not affect ADG during the finishing period (3.73 lb/d). However, the 2 grazing treatments had greater DMI resulting in poorer F:G. Overall, these backgrounding systems did not affect carcass quality. Increased finishing phase cost for the 2 grazing treatments due to poorer F:G, can be off set by less input cost during backgrounding, but ultimately the cost effectiveness is dependent on the production resources and scenarios of each individual producer

Perceptions of Crop Consultants and Crop Producers on Grazing Corn Residue in Nebraska

We conducted a survey to evaluate factors influencing consultant recommendations on grazing and producer grazing practices in Nebraska. Producers who did not graze cited soil compaction, inconvenience (lack of watering and fencing), and lack of access to livestock as major reasons for not grazing. Producers who allowed grazing and consultants who recommended grazing were more likely than those who did not favor grazing to perceive that grazing increased subsequent grain yields. Most consultants and producers reported making decisions on the basis of their personal observations. Findings from the survey can be used for enhanced Extension dissemination and research activities regarding grazing of residues