Forages

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Forages

• AVS346
• Dairy Cattle Technology
• David Marcinkowski

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Forages

• Required for healthy cow
• Only good source of effective fiber
• Cheapest source of nutrients
• Homegrown
• Most closely meets most cattle's needs

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Nutrients Supplied by Forages
Cow 1400BW, 40Milk/Day Forage - Immature
Grass Hay
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Forage Plant Species

• Grasses
• Both cool and warm season
• Legumes
• Small grains
• Row crops
• Alternative forages crops

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Grasses

• 2 Types
• Cool and Warm (Not in ME)
• Most common forages in Maine
• Grows best in the spring and fall when
  temperatures are cooler and conditions wetter
• Summer slump
• Tolerates heavy, wet, acids soils
• Vigorous and winter hardy
• Fills in thinning stands
• Nutritional value compared with legumes
• Lower in protein
• Higher in fiber
• Needs to be cut earlier to maintain quality

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Timothy
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Orchardgrass
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Bromegrass
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Reeds Canarygrass
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Tall Fescue
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Kentucky Bluegrass
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Small Grains

• Barley
• Oats
• Wheat
• Rye
• Triticale Wheat X Rye

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Small Grain Forage

• Used for hay, silage or grain/straw
• Advantages
• High yielding
• Heavy feeders of nutrients
• One harvest
• Plant in fall or spring
• High energy
• Disadvantages
• Fiber content of stalk
• Palatability
• Harvest at right stage
• Boot stage for quality
• Dough stage for energy

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Barley
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Oats
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Wheat
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Rye
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Triticale
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From Understanding Silage Management Penn State
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Stage of maturity affects yields and nutrient
content of wheat forage

(Oltjen and Bolsen, KSU, 1978).
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Analysis of Small Grain Silages
NRC Requirements of Dairy Cattle 2001
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Row Crop Silages

• Corn and Sorghum-Sudangrass
• Advantages
• High yield/acre
• Can use large quantities of manure
• Disadvantages
• Annual
• Low protein
• Erosion potential
• Must be harvested as silage
• Requires warm temperatures

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Sorghum Sudangrass
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Corn
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Corn Silage

• Advantages
• Highest in energy
• Highest DM yields per acre
• Ferments easily in silo
• consistancy
• Palatability
• Utilize manure nutrients
• One cutting
• Disadvantages
• Requires good dry land
• Hot growing season
• Very low in protein
• Soil erosion
• Low quality protein

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Legumes

• Alfalfa, Clovers, Birdsfoot Trefoil
• Advantages
• Higher in protein
• Lower in fiber
• Deep roots, drought tolerant
• Multiple cuttings
• Disadvantages
• Takes longer to dry
• Winter kill
• Does poorly in wet soils

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Alfalfa
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Clover
Red
White
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Birdsfoot Trefoil
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Hay Quality Requirements of Different Animals
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Grass Hay Variation
Northeast DHIA Data
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Maturation of Plant Cell Wall
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Alfalfa DM Yield with Stages of Maturity
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Orchardgrass Digestibility
Adapted from Fulkerson (1983)
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Factors Affecting Forage Quality

• Soil type and fertility
• Variety of plant
• Plant species mix
• Weeds and weed type
• Age of stand
• Winterkill
• Weather, including
• temperature
• humidity
• season (day length)
• season (type -- cold, late)
• moisture (rain)
• length of time between cutting and rain

• Plant maturity
• Insect damage
• Disease
• Mower height
• Haying equipment -- bale package, bale
  ventilation
• Time between cutting and harvest
• Plant moisture at harvest
• Time of day hay is cut
• Drying agents Preservatives
• Artificial drying
• Storage methods

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Mixed Hay Quality by Stage of Maturity
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Growing Season Affects on Alfalfa
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Milk Line
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Milk Stage
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Dough Stage
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Dent Stage
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Corn Silage Maturity
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Optimum DM Content for Good Silage-making

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Harvest Losses
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Hay

• Advantages
• Protein content can be high
• Some hay is desirable in the ration to maintain
  rumen function
• Low equipment and facilities cost

• Disadvantages
• High labor requirement
• Waste may be a problem
• Greater risk from weather at harvest
• Tonnage is usually lower than row-crop silage

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Haylage

• Advantages
• Protein content can be high
• Adapted to automation
• Less weather risk at harvest
• Reduced waste

• Disadvantages
• Nutrient loss from spoilage can be significant
• High investment in equipment and facilities
• Limited market for surplus forage
• Tonnage is usually lower than row-crop silage

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Row Crop Silage

• Advantages
• High tonnage
• Adapted to automation
• Reduced waste

• Disadvantages
• High investment
• Low protein content
• Nutrient loss from spoilage can be high
• Limited market for surplus
• Erosion potential

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Pasture

• Advantages
• Low harvesting cost
• Reduces time spent on concrete
• Manure is spread
• High quality feed possible

• Disadvantages
• Not well adapted to large herds or confinement
  systems
• Quality varies through the season
• Lack of control in feeding program
• Increased maintenance requirement