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Title: GRAZING CORN CROP RESIDUES OR STOCKPILED PERENNIAL FORAGES TO REDUCE WINTERFEED COSTS FOR BEEF COW-CALF PRODUCTION

Author
item RUSSELL, JAMES - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item Radke, Jerry
item HITZ, ANDREW - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item BRASCHE, MICHAEL - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item COWEN, ANN - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item BERRYMAN, RODNEY - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item MAXWELL, DENNIS - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item SECOR, L - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/31/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: To reduce winter feed costs for beef cows, the Animal Management Issue Team has conducted several experiments to develop winter grazing systems utilizing corn crop residues or stockpiled hay crop forages. Over 56 days, cows grazing corn crop residues could maintain body weight at grazing allowances as low as 1/2 acre/cow/month if supplemented with 2 lb soybean meal/cow/day. Strip-grazing corn stalks was effective in improving cow weight gains in years with deficient precipitation, but was ineffective in years with excessive precipitation. Water infiltration and penetration resistance of soils in these fields showed no soil compaction resulting from grazing of corn crop residues. In a 4-year summary of experiments, cows grazing corn crop residues at 2.5 acres/cow/season for 112 to 174 days required 1,950 lb less hay per cow to maintain adequate body condition than cows maintained in a drylot. In a comparison of grazing corn crop residues with no complementary forages or with stockpiled berseem clover in a 2:1 area ratio, cows grazing corn crop residues without or with berseem clover required 2,897 and 2,985 lb less hay per cow than cows maintained in a drylot. Corn crop residues may be insufficient for winter grazing in parts of Iowa. Stockpiled hay crop forages maybe used to provide winter feed to cows in these areas. In a 3-yr experiment, cows grazing forage from stockpiled tall fescue-alfalfa, smooth bromegrass-red clover, or corn crop residues required 2,390, 2,337, or 1,387 less hay per cow to maintain equal body condition to cows maintained in a drylot and had hay balances of 5,629, 3,868, and -4,037 lb hay/cow. Grazing of corn crop residues and/or stockpiled forages can significantly reduce the amounts of hay needed to maintain beef cows.