4 minute read
The winter annual advantage
BY: DR. MARY-JANE ORR, General Manager, Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiatives Inc.
Integrating annual forages into grazing plans is an opportunity to increase overall grazing days while resting perennial pastures as they transition into dormancy in the fall and start early growth in the spring. Transitioning from winter feed to spring grazing can often never come soon enough and winter annuals may fill the niche to give pasture stands a critical two-to-three-week window to establish for the growing season. At Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiatives (MBFI) we have incorporated the use of winter annuals in our crop and grazing rotations as well as highlighted their use in on-farm demonstration projects.
The flexibility to quickly adapt grazing plans makes winter annuals an attractive tool for beef producers. Winter annuals like fall rye and winter triticale can be seeded from late June to July for fall grazing or relay seeded following harvest in August to early September to establish for the following spring. Overwintering and early spring growth mitigates the risk of weather delays in establishing a spring seeded annual forage and provides options depending on the needs of the operation. Fall rye can be used as an early cover crop and terminated prior to seeding. It can also grow for an early graze and left to regrow to be harvested for silage or for grain.
Winter annuals work well in monoculture stands and in complimentary intercrop mixtures to diversify the cropping rotation. Having an actively growing crop into and out of winter maximizes the growing season building soil while preventing wind and water erosion. The fibrous root systems are efficient at reaching soil moisture and nutrients, requiring fewer fertilizer inputs compared to annual cereals. In dry spring conditions, fall rye as a cover crop may need to be terminated earlier to maintain moisture for following crop establishment. Potential nitrate toxicity in all annual forages is an important consideration and feed testing forages is recommended.
In addition to evaluating cropping and grazing practices in on-farm research and demonstration, MBFI works to incorporate different strategies into our farm operation to improve the soil health of our farm stations and increase our productivity. At the Johnson Farm in June 2019 MBFI no-till intercropped Maverick barley with Hazlet fall rye and cut for green feed when the barley was at the soft dough stage. We made smaller bales approximately 48-inch diameter and left them where they dropped from the baler in the field. Following the recommendation of MBFI staff member Clayton Robins, the smaller bales were used to increase the residue coverage when grazed and leaving them where they dropped saved labour as well. Baling the green feed rather than leaving in swaths provided more area for the rye to regrow without being smothered by the swath row.
Starting at the end of September 2019, the fall rye regrowth along with the barley green feed bales were strip grazed by our replacement heifers and then by the cow-calf pairs coming off summer grazing. The 16.5 acres seeded provided 46 days of grazing for 138 Animal Units. The following spring the rye grew in well as an early season cover crop providing good weed suppression and was terminated with 1 L of Roundup a day in advance of no-till seeding Haymaker oats into the standing rye. This scenario worked well for providing additional grazing and building the soil at Johnson Farm by having a green field growing snow to snow.
In the spring of 2020, MBFI looked to intercropping again to tackle a challenging field at Johnson Farm. We had 73 acres that failed to establish following an attempt to rejuvenate a perennial pasture in 2019. The sandy loam soil at Johnson farm is unforgiving in low moisture years and the field was taken over with high weed pressure later in the season of 2019. Spring 2020 the first flush of weeds was terminated with ¾ L of Roundup and Haymaker oats with winter triticale were no-till intercropped into the field.
The Haymaker oats performed well for the site putting up just over 3 bales per acre (average 1350 lbs per bale) of green feed at the soft dough stage. The winter triticale outcompeted the weeds and grew back well going into the fall and was not grazed due to all livestock being moved to the Brookdale Farm for project commitments. We are looking forward to the overwinter survival of the winter triticale for potential spring grazing and improved field condition for the 2021 season.
In early September 2020, MBFI was excited to collaborate with FP Genetics to trial hybrid fall rye KWS Bono in comparison to conventional Danko fall rye at the Brookdale Farm. Hybrid fall rye has more aggressive rooting and tillers have higher capacity for grain yield, contributing to an average of 30% grain yield increase compared to conventional rye varieties. The monoculture stands were seeded in the first week of September to reach the target of three leaves and one-to-two tillers going into winter.
Evaluating applications of hybrid fall rye for forage production in Canada is in the early stages over the last three years, with promising results showing a 20% yield advantage in silage production. The premium seed cost is anticipated to deter its application for solely grazing. However, the higher performance and aggressive tillering is promising for the dual purpose of an early graze and subsequent silage or grain harvest. This coming spring, MBFI will evaluate the overwinter survival of both fall rye varieties, take yield estimates and forage quality prior to a spring graze and at harvest timing for silage.
For more information regarding MBFI farm operations and onfarm demonstrations we can be reached at information@mbif.ca and 204-761-3300.
