Winter performance of Hereford cows on fescue prairie and in drylot as influenced by fall grazing

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine the feasibility of winter grazing pregnant Hereford cows on fescue prairie. The experiment was replicated over a 4-yr period (1988–1991, n = 4) and utilized a 2 × 2 factorial design representing fall grazing (September to November) on annual pasture (winter wheat and corn) or fescue prairie; and winter grazing (November to the end of February) on fescue prairie or feeding in a drylot. The cows weighed an average of 519 kg and had an average of 4.4 mm of backfat in late May when summer grazing on fescue prairie began and 7.2 mm of backfat at the beginning of fall grazing. Measurements of cow backfat and cow weights at each feeding change indicated that during the fall grazing period, average daily gain (ADG) was −0.43 kg and change of backfat was −1.0 mm on fescue prairie compared with + 0.12 kg and + 0.9 mm, respectively, on annual forage. Fall grazing of annual forages had no effect on the ADG of cows in winter but resulted in higher backfat after the winter feeding period (5.3 vs. 4.1 mm, P = 0.009). In later winter, cows kept on fescue prairie over the entire grazing period averaged 3.5 mm of backfat, while the cows grazed on annual forages in the fall and wintered in the drylot averaged 5.7 mm. Cows may be kept on fescue prairie in fall and winter. However, feed supplementation is needed to achieve optimal condition at calving. Fall grazing of annual forages may allow cows to maintain their body weight on fescue prairie, minimizing costly feed inputs prior to calving. Key words: Cows, calves, annual forage, backfat, fall grazing

Seasonal-accumulated growth and forage quality of range grasses for fall and winter grazing

“…A similar decline in forage quality was observed by Willms (1992) (Clark et al 1998). While grazing winter range, pregnant cows and calves lost weight (Willms et al 1986(Willms et al , 1993Freeze et al 1999); however, this weight loss could be offset by feed supplements (Lesperance et al 1978, Majerus 1992, Akhtar and Stanton 1992.…”

“…On a large Utah ranch, Simonds (1990) reported that hay costs accounted for nearly 70% of total livestock production costs and that these expenses could be reduced by almost 50% with the use of alternative feed sources. Results from recent studies indicated that extending grazing on annual and perennial forages during winter months and grazing earlier in the spring would increase economic returns between $47 and $90 per cow (Willms et al 1993;May et al 1999). …”

“…Abbreviations: DM, dry matter; CP, crude protein; ADF, acid detergent fiber; NDF, neutral detergent fiber; WG, wheatgrass; WR, wildrye; LSD, least significant difference Senesced forage generally does not meet the maintenance requirements of cattle during winter (Krysl and Hess 1993;Willms et al 1993;Houseal and Olson 1996). Turner and Raleigh (1985) reported that forage with a CP value between 7 and 8% was needed to maintain pregnant cows throughout winter.…”

Stockpiled Forage Kochia to Maintain Beef Cows During Winter

“…Willms et al (1993) reported that extending the grazing season into the fall and winter could increase economic returns between $47 and $90 per cow, and McCartney et al (2004) suggested that extending the grazing season has the potential savings of $0.25 cow À1 d…”

“…Willms et al (1993) found that cows grazing fescue prairies during the fall and winter finished with 0.35 cm of BF (less than the target of 0.5 cm), and concluded that feed supplementation was needed to achieve optimal condition at calving. Cattle grazing mixed grass prairies during the fall and winter lost BW and BCS (À0.5) finishing with a suboptimal BCS of 4.6, which was significantly lower than the BCS (5.4) of cows receiving highprotein alfalfa cube supplements (Cochran et al 1986).…”