Harvest maturity of cereal forages with Dr. Greg Penner
Dec 8, 2023
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Dr. Greg Penner, a researcher in cereal forages and harvesting, discusses his latest research on determining the optimum time to harvest cereal forages. Topics include the stages of cereal maturity, changes in forage nutrient compensation, impacts on animal digestibility and performance, economic benefits, and recommendations for producers using cereal forages.
Harvesting cereal-based forages at advanced maturity stages can increase degradable nutrient yield, resulting in improved utilization and cost savings in cow-calf operations.
Harvesting barley and oats at advanced maturity stages enhances nutrient composition, increases carrying capacity, and reduces feeding costs in cow-calf operations.
Deep dives
Advantages of Harvesting Cereal-Based Forages at Advanced Maturity
Harvesting cereal-based forages at more advanced maturity stages, such as soft or hard dough, can lead to increased yield of degradable nutrients. Although the recommendations for silage production focus on early maturity stages, dry preserved forages benefit from allowing the plants to mature further. The crude protein content remains relatively stable or slightly decreases as the plant matures, while the NDF content decreases due to an increase in starch. This increase in starch content allows for high starch digestibility, maximizing the energy potential of the forages. Additionally, the calcium-defosphorus ratio approaches a one-to-one ratio as plants mature, potentially impacting mineral supplementation strategies. Overall, harvesting cereal-based forages at advanced maturity can result in increased carrying capacity, cost savings, and improved utilization in cow-calf operations.
Effects of Harvest Maturity on Barley as Green Feed
Harvesting barley at different maturity stages, ranging from head emergence to hard dough, does not significantly affect crude protein content. As maturity advances, the NDF content decreases due to an increase in starch, enhancing the nutrient composition of the forages. The calcium-defosphorus ratio also moves closer to one-to-one as plants mature. Furthermore, feeding barley at later maturity stages does not negatively impact dry matter intake in the cows. The starch digestibility in barley is remarkably high, suggesting effective utilization of starch when barley is part of a whole plant feed. Through this approach, barley forages show improved utilization, increased carrying capacity, and reduced feeding costs in cow-calf operations.
Impacts of Harvest Maturity on Oats and Economic Considerations
Similar to barley, harvesting oats at advanced maturity stages, such as soft or hard dough, does not lead to significant changes in crude protein content. However, the NDF content decreases as starch increases, enhancing the nutrient composition. Yield of fiber and starch increases, while no meaningful change occurs in crude protein yield. Feeding oats harvested at different maturity stages does not affect dry matter intake or body condition score in cows. Moreover, there is no negative impact on calf birth weight. The economic benefits of harvesting oats at advanced maturity include increased carrying capacity, reduced feeding costs, and enhanced utilization of the forages.
Dr. Greg Penner discusses some of his latest research findings on determining the optimum time to harvest cereal forages when feeding in bales or swath grazing.
00:00 - Intro
04:10 - Defining "Green-feed"
05:50 - Stages of cereal maturity
08:27 - Why do we need updated recommendations on harvesting cereal forages?
10:47 - Changes in barley forage nutrient compensation at different stages of maturity
12:45 - Changes in oat forage nutrient compensation at different stages of maturity
14:18 - Impacts at the animal level in terms of digestibility
17:05 - Impacts on body condition score and performance
19:15 - Economic benefits
22:00 - Recommendations for producers using cereal forages
23:26 - Wrap up
The 2023 Canadian Cow-Calf Survey is an online questionnaire set up to collect data to help understand longer-term trends in production methods and efficiencies. Collecting credible information directly from beef cattle producers helps the BCRC identify research priorities and information gaps, develop provincial benchmarks and examine changes over time that impact farms and ranches.
Canadian Cow-Calf Health and Productivity Enhancement Network (C3H-PEN)
Contact: Jayce Fossen, Project Coordinator
c3h.pen@usask.ca
306-966-7870
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