Winter cereal species, cultivar, and harvest timing affect trade-offs between forage quality and yield

Authors: LIEBERT, JEFFREY - Cornell University; CHERNEY, JEROME - Cornell University; KETTERINGS, QUINE - Cornell University; Mirsky, Steven; PELZER, CHRISTOPHER - Cornell University; RYAN, MATTHEW - Cornell University

Submitted to: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/9/2023
Publication Date: 3/21/2023
Citation: Liebert, J., Cherney, J.H., Ketterings, Q.M., Mirsky, S.B., Pelzer, C.J., Ryan, M.R. 2023. Winter cereal species, cultivar, and harvest timing affect trade-offs between forage quality and yield. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. 7:1067506. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1067506.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1067506

Interpretive Summary: The US dairy industry is threatened by volatile feed costs and extreme weather events. Farmers, especially organic farmers for whom organic feed supplies are limited, are thus seeking ways to reduce the need for feed produced off-farm. Including winter cereal cover crops for forage in cropping systems (i.e. double-cropping) is a possible solution, but care must be taken that the forage quality is sufficient to maintain milk production. This study investigated the trade-offs among yield, forage quality, and termination timing for four cultivars of barley, cereal rye, and triticale in New York and Maryland. Overall, cereal rye and triticale produced the highest yields, barley had the highest nutritional quality and retained high quality the longest, and cereal rye reached swollen boot stage earliest. These findings can be used to better meet the needs of dairy farmers, enhance double-cropping system performance, and improve the synchronization of harvest timing with the specific needs of lactating dairy cows, dry cows, heifers, and calves.

Technical Abstract: Volatile feed costs and extreme weather events are contributing to greater economic risk and precarity throughout much of the United States dairy industry. These challenges have prompted dairy farmers to seek ways to reduce feed imports without compromising milk production. For organic dairy farmers, the need to produce more homegrown forage is exacerbated by the high cost and limited supply of organic feed. Integrating winter cereals for forage as part of a double-cropping system is a potential solution, but increasing the amount of forage in dairy cow rations can reduce milk production if the forages are not managed for optimal quality. An organically managed field experiment in Maryland (MD) and New York (NY) was conducted to assess the trade-offs among yield, quality (i.e., nutritive value), and harvest timing for four cultivars per winter cereal species—barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), cereal rye (Secale cereale L.), and triticale (× Triticosecale Wittm. ex A. Camus.)—grown as forage and harvested at eight crop growth stages. Mean yield at a commonly harvested growth stage, swollen boot (Zadoks 45), was 1.3, 2.2, and 2.2 Mg ha-1 in MD and 1.8, 2.5, and 2.9 Mg ha-1 in NY for barley, cereal rye, and triticale, respectively. Mean relative forage quality (RFQ) at the same growth stage was 180, 158, and 163 in MD and 179, 156, and 157 in NY for the three species. Overall, cereal rye and triticale produced the highest yields, barley produced the highest RFQ and retained high quality the longest, and cereal rye reached swollen boot stage earliest. These findings can be used to better meet the needs of dairy farmers, enhance double-cropping system performance, and improve the synchronization of harvest timing with the specific needs of lactating dairy cows, dry cows, heifers, and calves.