Beat hail losses with low-cost, high-yield forage crops When hail hit Lingle last July, the storm destroyed research and farm production. That left researchers and farm managers at the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center (SAREC) wondering ... The inevitable early freeze was only weeks away. What could producers do, given the predetermined need for their now-lost production? Whether for ground cover, cattle feed or commodities for market, the goal of production is to sustain a livelihood. Opportunities arise from necessity, and with SAREC’s loss came an unexpected chance for a hail study.
Questions for Producers
Researchers Carrie Eberle, Steve Paisley, Brian Lee and the rest of the SAREC crew asked local producers for guidance. They asked what crops to try and how to handle residue from standing corn shredded in the field. They quickly put together a research plan for producing winter grazing forage for cattle. (After the farm’s corn acres were destroyed, chopping and feeding the stalks was uneconomical. Four tillage and field operation combinations were implemented to find the best way to knock down corn stalks and establish the new crop. The field operations were shredding the stalks, discing the stalks, direct drill plus herbicide, and a combination of shredding, discing and using a land leveler. Four kinds of seeds were planted to measure performance. The plant varieties were winter wheat, rye, triticale, half of the previous seeding rate of triticale and sorghum. Grains were the only option
because broadleaf herbicide had been applied to the corn earlier in the year. Picture a matrix of five plant varieties and one fallow section over four field management options.
Affordable Winter Feed
Biomass yields were measured on October 10, and associated costs per acre for the crops and operations were calculated. Triticale, winter wheat and rye performed well over all operations, averaging over 1,800 dry pounds of forage per acre. Sorghum didn’t do as well; mostly this was due to the late planting (August 20) and early frosts that kept it from putting on growth. In the end, we were able to produce some very affordable winter feed. Compare the following to alfalfa hay, which at $90 to $145 per ton, resulted in costs between $1.17 and $1.89 per animal unit day (AUD). All prices are averaged across operations. • Winter wheat forage was produced for $.83 per AUD. • Rye forage was produced for $1.03 per AUD. • Triticale forage was produced for $1.38 per AUD.
Triticale planted in August at the Sustainable Agriculture and Research Center near Lingle provided forage for heifers in November.
UW Photo: Carrie Eberle
BY BRIAN LEE
Looking Ahead
This project will continue through fall 2017. We will be looking at nutritional value of the different crops as well as the impact of operation/variety combination on the subsequent corn crop. The data reported here are preliminary, and a complete assessment of the cropping systems will be done at the completion of the project.
Until then, we’ve shown some options for low-cost, high-yield winter feed may be available to those who can react quickly after late-season hail losses. Brian Lee is a research scientist in the UW Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. He is located at the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center near Lingle. Contact him at (307) 837-2000 or blee@uwyo.edu.
Research Overview Situation
Hail in July, 2016, shredded the corn crop at the UW Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center (SAREC) in Lingle, Wyoming.
Response
Researchers Carrie Eberle, Steve Paisley and Brian Lee and the SAREC farm crew gathered input from area producers and assembled a research plan.
Research
Crops and tillage operations were tested on the farm’s production acres. Five seed varieties were planted over four field management options. One section was left fallow. Field Operations
Plant Varieties
Shredding the stalks
Winter wheat
Discing the stalks
Rye
Shed/disc/Landstar
Triticale
Direct drill/herbicide
Triticale, half-rate Sorghum
Goal
To produce winter grazing forage for cattle to replace destroyed corn stalks; to identify operation and variety combinations to give producers low-cost, high-yield options following late-season crop losses.
Initial Results
Table 1 shows biomass yields measured on October 10, 2016, and associated costs per acre for the crops and operations.
Late-season Results
The fall growing season is typically over by early October. In 2016, there were an additional 350 growing degree days (GDD) from October 10, when biomass was sampled, through October 31. GDD is the summation of the average temperatures across a time period used to estimate the growth and development of plants during the growing season. The extended growing season in 2016 resulted in an increase of approximately 70 percent in wheat biomass and 60 percent in try, triticale, and half-rate triticale biomass. This increased the AUDs per acre of each crop and reduced the cost per AUD to $0.47–0.85 for all the crops except sorghum.
Table 1. Summary of fall production cost and value through October 10, 2016. Average values across all corn management treatments are given for each crop (shaded) followed by values for each management treatment. Biomass Yield1 (lbs/a)
Fall Cost2 ($/a)
Biomass Cost ($/lb)
AUD3 per acre
$ per AUD4
Wheat
1823.6
$56.02
$0.03
70.1
$0.83
Drill
1726.9
$51.91
$0.03
66.4
$0.79
Shred
1769.5
$62.71
$0.04
68.1
$0.96
Disk
1710.5
$46.90
$0.03
65.8
$0.75
2087.3
$62.57
$0.03
80.3
$0.80
S/D/LS Rye Drill Shred Disk S/D/LS Triticale(1/2)
1882.6
$73.41
$0.04
72.4
$1.03
1389.2
$68.71
$0.05
53.4
$1.29
2034.2
$79.51
$0.04
78.2
$1.03
1780.6
$63.70
$0.04
68.5
$0.94
2079.7
$79.37
$0.04
80.0
$1.00
1491.8
$68.19
$0.05
57.4
$1.30
Shred
1816.3
$73.51
$0.04
69.9
$1.08
Disk
1216.3
$57.70
$0.05
46.8
$1.36
S/D/LS
1443.0
$73.37
$0.06
55.5
$1.46
Triticale
1899.4
$96.82
$0.05
73.1
$1.38
5
Drill
1752.6
$92.71
$0.06
67.4
$1.50
Shred
2150.4
$103.51
$0.05
82.7
$1.30
Disk
1752.6
$87.70
$0.05
67.4
$1.34
S/D/LS
1941.9
$103.37
$0.05
74.7
$1.39
Sorghum
149.6
$58.42
$0.55
6.1
$14.26
Drill
154.2
$54.31
$0.60
5.9
$15.61
Shred
218.5
$65.11
$0.36
8.4
$9.27
87.0
$49.30
$0.75
4.5
$19.56
138.5
$64.97
$0.54
5.3
$13.93
Disk S/D/LS Biomass is given for dry weight
1
Fall cost includes seed cost and cost of farm operation (fuel, equipment, herbicide, labor)
2
AUD is Animal Unit Day. 1 AUD is equal to the food required to feed 1 animal unit for one day and is set at 26 lbs of biomass
3
Cost Per AUD
4 5
Half-rate triticale direct drill was damaged by spray drift, so these values are excluded.
Costs associated with all crops and operations are operational costs and do not include cost of ownership (taxes, etc.).
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2017