Location: Dairy Forage Research
Project Number: 5090-21500-002-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Jan 12, 2024
End Date: Jan 11, 2029
Objective:
Objective 1: Develop or improve forage, pasture, and cover crop germplasm.
Sub-objective 1A: Breed and develop new forage and pasture varieties for dairy production systems.
Sub-objective 1B: Pre-breed alfalfa germplasm to expand the U.S. elite breeding pool and explore new DNA marker tools to accelerate breeding.
Sub-objective 1C: Breed cover crops and less-utilized perennial forages to enhance dairy production systems.
Objective 2: Explore novel plant species and develop and refine management strategies and tools to overcome limitations and increase adoption of continuous living cover (cover crops, alternative perennial crops/forages).
Sub-objective 2A: Evaluate and refine agronomic and precision management tools and strategies to improve cover crop applications.
Sub-objective 2B: Develop agronomic management strategies for the inclusion of winter cover crops and quantify their associated ecosystem services in dairy forage rotations.
Sub-objective 2C: Develop a soil health framework using biological and other soil health indicators to evaluate field-scale responses to the integration of cover crops and continuous living cover in dairy forage systems of the Upper Midwest.
Objective 3: Improve germplasm and management practices for alfalfa-corn intercropping and other innovative forage production systems.
Sub-objective 3A: Develop new alfalfa germplasm for intercropping with corn silage.
Sub-objective 3B: Refine management practices to optimize the productivity, profitability, and environmental benefits of alfalfa intercropped in corn silage.
Objective 4: Investigate the ecosystem services outcomes associated with land cover and management practices to inform recommendations for advancing farm resilience and climate mitigation.
Sub-objective 4A: Evaluate C balance and ecosystem services from forages and natural land cover types, and following changes in land cover or management practices.
Approach:
The production, nutritive value, and feeding of forages substantially influences milk yield and quality, feed use efficiency, heifer growth, animal well-being, nutrient cycling, and profitability of dairy farms. Forage selection and management also have a direct impact on soil resources, watersheds, and air-sheds in both rural and urban communities. These multifaceted and interrelated aspects of feed and milk production are best accomplished by balanced use of perennial forages and various annual forages grown in conjunction with cover crops. However, current practices typically incentivize the production and feeding of annual crop monocultures, principally continuous corn silage. Expanded use of improved cultivars and management strategies for perennial and annual forages grown in conjunction with cover crops are therefore needed to cost-effectively produce feed while protecting natural resources. Our research will focus on the following four objectives: (1) Develop or improve forage, pasture, and cover crop germplasm; (2) Explore novel plant species and develop or refine management strategies and tools to overcome limitations and increase adoption of cover crops and continuous living cover; (3) Improve germplasm and management practices for alfalfa-corn intercropping and other innovative forage production systems; and (4) Investigate ecosystem service outcomes associated with land cover and management practices to inform best practice recommendations for advancing farm resilience and climate mitigation. Hypothesis and goal-driven field, greenhouse, and laboratory research will be carried out by the Dairy Forage Research Unit (DFRU) at the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center (USDFRC) in collaboration with other institutions. Dissemination of our findings to stakeholders in the agricultural community will enable sustainable crop and milk production by dairy farms.
