Impact of Dry Matter at Ensiling on Final pH and Nutritive Value of Mixed Cool-Season Haylage

Harvesting hay as baleage can allow for more timely harvest, especially in spring months when curing conditions are not ideal. Forage conserved as baleage undergoes anaerobic fermentation in which the sugars are converted to lactic acid, lowering final pH. To successfully conserve forage as dry hay, moisture concentrations must be less than 18%. In contrast, the ideal moisture concentration for baleage is between 55 and 65%. There are a number of producers harvesting and wrapping hay that is not quite “dry enough” to bale but is too dry to ensile. This produces a product commonly referred to by producers as “sweet hay”. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of dry matter at ensiling on the final pH and nutritive value of cool-season grasses. This study was conducted at the UK Research and Education Center located near Princeton, KY. Two mixed cool-season grass hay fields were sampled every two hours during daylight starting at cutting and ending when the hay was dry enough to bale. Each sample was immediately chopped into 2 to 3-inch lengths and sealed in a vacuum bag (3/4 full). After 6 weeks of fermentation, the vacuum bags were sampled. Final pH increased as DM at ensiling increased. Dry matter at ensiling had little impact on nutritive value. Our data indicate that if oxygen is excluded from the forage, ensiling in the range of 18 to 55% moisture may be a viable range management tool

Selecting Summer Annual Varieties Using Yield and Digestibility

Although cool-season grasses can provide ample and high quality forage for grazing livestock in the spring and fall, forage growth during the summer months is often restricted by high temperatures (Figure 1). In contrast warm-season annual grasses are most productive during the summer months and do not reach peak growth until temperatures approach 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Summer annual grasses such as forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), sudangrass (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), sorghum-sudangrass hybrids, and pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum (L.) Leeke) can provide high quality summer grazing for ruminant livestock in many regions of the United States

Precision Ag Isn’t Just for the Row Crop Guys

Guidance utilizing the global positioning system (GPS) has long been used for various operations in row crop agriculture. However, the high price of these systems has limited use in low input forage‐livestock operations. Reduced prices and the availability of used guidance systems has the potential to increase the use of precision agriculture in ruminant operations. Currently, entry level guidance systems can be purchased for $1,000 to 2,500

Summer Stockpiling

The downloadable document includes these components: Stockpiling Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue for Summer Grazing The Yield and Nutritive Value of Tall Fescue Stockpiled for Summer Grazing Using a Summer Stockpiling System to Extend the Grazing Seaso

Building a Year Round Grazing System

There are three basic ways to increase net returns in ruminant livestock operations. The first is to increase the price we get for our product. Unfortunately in a commodity based system we have little or no control over the price that we receive. The second is to increase total production. By producing more units that have a slim profit margin we can increase net returns. However, at some point we become resource limited; we run out of land or time. The third is to control production costs. Of these three ways to increase net returns, this one has the greatest potential to increase the profitability on most ruminant livestock operations in Kentucky

Alfalfa Establishment: Getting Off to a Good Start!

Alfalfa is a highly productive forage legume that is well adapted to transition zone states like Kentucky. It can be grazed, hayed, or ensiled. Once established and under good management, expected yields range from 5-7 tons per acre per year. High yields can only be obtained from a dense and vigorous alfalfa stand. The first step in obtaining such stands is establishment. The establishment phase of alfalfa production is critical since realization of returns from all other input costs is dependent upon having a good stand and it is expensive. It is important to remember that alfalfa establishment begins long before the actual seeding. Successful establishment requires a great deal of planning and attention to detail. The objective of this proceedings article is to outline the necessary steps in logical order that will help you to get off to a good start with alfalfa production

Building Strong Nutrient Cycles in Kentucky\u27s Pastures

Well managed grassland ecosystems are one of the most sustainable forms of agricultural production. Few nutrients are removed from properly managed grazing systems. Instead these nutrients are cycled within the grazing system. In addition, proper grazing management maintains a healthy and vigorous sod that protects the soil from erosion and increases rainfall infiltration. This article will discuss how to build and maintain strong nutrient cycles in Kentucky\u27s pastures

Measuring Forage Quality: Sampling and Interpretation

Forage quality is often described with terms like crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, in vitro dry matter digestibility, neutral detergent fiber digestibility, and the list goes on! Perhaps the best definition of forage quality is the ability of a forage to produce a desired animal response. This concept is quite simple, but the process of getting from forage to actual animal performance is quite complex (Figure 1). It is important to realize that there is no perfect measure of forage quality. However, measures that are based on fiber digestibly provide better estimates of energy and dry matter intake

Impact of Fertilizer Type, Seed Coating, and Duration of Exposure on the Germination of Orchardgrass Seed

Cool-season grasses such as orchardgrass, are important components of forage systems in transition zone states like Kentucky. To maintain dense and vigorous sods, improved cool-season grass varieties are sometimes overseeded into existing stands in late-winter or early-spring. In many cases seed is mixed with fertilizer and top-dressed onto pastures. Little data are available on the impact of fertilizer type or duration of exposure on the germination of raw and coated grass seed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of two fertilizer types, muriate of potash and a blended fertilizer (urea, diammonium phosphate, and muriate of potash), and the duration of exposure (1 to 28 days) on the germination of an improved orchardgrass variety that was raw or coated. Mixing seed with the blended fertilizer resulted in a quadratic decrease in germination rate for the raw seed and coated seed. This rate of decrease was greater for the coated seed in the blended fertilizer. Combining seed with muriate of potash resulted in a linear decline in germination with the decline being similar for both the coated and raw seed. Overall, the rate of decrease was considerably less than that of the blended fertilizer. Results of this study indicate that the combination of seed coating and blended fertilizer had the most detrimental impact on orchardgrass germination