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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lincoln, Nebraska » Wheat, Sorghum and Forage Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #344939
Title: Beef cattle grazing gains on wheat, cereal rye, and triticale cover crops following soybean in eastern nebraska

Author
item Mitchell, Robert - Rob
item REDFEARN, DAREN - University Of Nebraska
item VOGEL, KENNETH - Retired ARS Employee
item KLOPFENSTEIN, TERRY - University Of Nebraska
item ERICKSON, GALEN - University Of Nebraska
item BAENZIGER, STEPHEN - University Of Nebraska
item ANDERSON, BRUCE - University Of Nebraska
item PARSONS, JAY - University Of Nebraska

Submitted to: Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/18/2024
Publication Date: 3/21/2024
Citation: Mitchell, R., Redfearn, D., Vogel, K.P., Klopfenstein, T.J., Erickson, G., Baenziger, S.P., Anderson, B.E., Parsons, J. 2024. Beef cattle grazing gains on wheat, cereal rye, and triticale cover crops following soybean in eastern nebraska. Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management. 15(3):180-192. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2024.153013.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2024.153013

Interpretive Summary: Winter wheat, winter rye, and winter triticale are becoming increasingly important cool-season annual forages and cover crops in the Great Plains and Midwest. Our objective was to compare the grazing potential of winter wheat, winter rye, and winter triticale planted as a double-cropped forage following soybean in eastern Nebraska. Steer gains were positive for all forages in the first 2-years, but only steers grazing triticale gained weight during the third year. Steers grazing cereal rye lost nearly twice the weight as steers grazing wheat. During the 3-year grazing trial, triticale averaged greater steer performance than cereal rye and wheat, and triticale provided the most stable steer performance across years in this study. Averaged over the 3-years, triticale had the greatest net return followed by wheat, while rye lost money. Since these small grains provide conservation services in addition to forage, grazing could be viewed as a mechanism for recovering costs and does not necessarily need to have positive net returns to benefit the system. It appears the steers lost weight due to normal environmental variation and subsequent agronomic response, with the grazing value of cereal rye not being fully realized due to the imposed constraint of initiating grazing on the same date for all species. Planting wheat, rye, and triticale in the autumn after maize or soybean harvest can help meet conservation compliance on sandy soils and provide a source of high-quality forage in spring before planting maize or soybean in the annual crop rotation.

Technical Abstract: In addition to their value as cereal grains, winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), winter rye (Secale cereal L.), and winter triticale (×Triticosecale Wittmack) are important cool-season annual forages and cover crops in the Great Plains and Midwest. The performance of yearling steers (Bos taurus) grazing these three species in the spring following autumn establishment as cover crops following soybean was compared in a 3-yr trial. Pastures were no-till seeded into soybean stubble in autumn 2004, 2005, and 2006 and grazed the following spring near Ithaca, NE. Experimental units were three 0.4 ha pastures of each species in a randomized complete block design. Pastures were fertilized with 67 kg N ha-1 in the autumn after planting. Each pasture was continuously stocked in spring with four crossbred yearling steers (380 + 38 kg) for 17, 32, and 28 d in 2005, 2006, and 2007, respectively. Spring forage production varied among cereals each year. Generally, rye had greater available forage than either triticale or wheat. However, greater forage quality in wheat and triticale may have offset lower forage yields in some years. In 2005, cereal rye average daily gain (ADG) exceeded that for triticale and wheat by 0.45 to 0.76 kg hd-1 d-1. In 2006, wheat ADG exceeded that of triticale and cereal rye by 0.12 to 0.60 kg hd-1 d-1. In 2007, steers grazing both wheat and cereal rye lost weight, while steers grazing triticale gained 0.20 kg hd-1 d-1. Based on the 3-year average animal gains per ha and an animal gain value of $1.32 kg-1, triticale had a mean net return of $62.15 ha-1 yr-1, followed by wheat at $22.55 ha-1 yr-1, while cereal rye lost money -$28.93 ha-1 yr-1. Since these small grain cover crops provide ecosystem services in addition to forage, grazing could be viewed as a mechanism for recovering costs and adds additional value to the system. Based on this 3-yr grazing trial, triticale was superior to either cereal rye or wheat and likely will provide the most stable steer performance across years with variable weather for eastern Nebraska.