NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
August 3, 2000
North Dakota livestock producers are fortunate to have many annual forage options that can provide a high volume of high quality hay, says a North Dakota State University researcher.
According to Steve Zwinger, research specialist at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center, the diversity of warm season and cool season forage species that do well in North Dakota allows choices to fit a wide range of production systems and growing conditions. While alfalfa is the state's leading forage crop, annual forages provide producers with additional choices and flexibility.
For example, choices include warm season annual like sorghum, sudangrass and the various millets as well as cool season crops such as oats and other cereal grains. Planting both warm and cool season forages can spread out the work load and help assure a good supply of forage, Zwinger says. Each year some species will do better than others.
Zwinger says forage mixtures like oats and peas can produce high quality forage, but not necessarily greater tonnage. The feed produced is usually rich in protein and other nutrients. Haying an oat and pea mixture can present some curing problems, but cutting as haylage works well, he says.
Planting an oat and pea mixture for forage is also a fertility strategy, requiring less nitrogen, he says. The peas will provide their own nitrogen if the seed is innoculated. The mixture will require only about 50 to 60 pounds of total nitrogen (soil test plus fertilizer) per acre.
Annual forages also provide grazing potential after harvesting, says Zwinger. An oats crop cut early (boot stage) for high quality hay will produce regrowth of .5 to 1.5 tons per acre, depending on moisture conditions. During dry conditions oats cut at this stage produce very little regrowth. Winter cereals like triticale or winter wheat will provide fall grazing. Warm season annuals like sudangrass or pearl millet have very good regrowth potential if cut high enough and there is warm weather and moisture after haying, although there are potential problems with nitrates or prussic acid under some conditions.
In 1999, cool season forages in mixtures with peas had above average performance in both tonnage and quality, Zwinger says. Oats mixed with peas had a substantial increase in protein, up to 5 percent, compared to oats planted alone. Warm season species also did very well. Long term data from the Carrington center shows that cool season species average about 2.6 tons of forage per acre and warm season about 3 tons.
Cutting stage is a factor with annual forages. For example, producers tend to leave foxtail millet longer than necessary, he says. Studies at the Carrington center data suggest that cutting Siberian foxtail soon after heading will give the best quality without sacrificing much yield. Oats are best cut for hay at the milk stage. Cutting earlier will increase quality but the tonnage will be reduced.
Zwinger is evaluating other annual forages, such as a forage soybean. This variety will not produce seed in North Dakota, but in a mixture with sudangrass will produce both harvested forage and regrowth for grazing. Others being tested include brown midrib sorghum and sudangrass. Forage soybean is also being grown with corn as a silage crop to try to increase the quality of the forage.
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Source: Steve Zwinger, (701) 652-2951
Editor: Gary Moran, (701) 231-7865