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Forage sorghum is an alternative source for biofuel feedstock production and may also provide forage for livestock operations. Introducing biofuel feedstock as a dual-use forage to livestock operations has the potential to increase the adoption of biofuel feedstock production. However, additional technical agronomic information focusing on tillage, row arrangement, and harvest date for forage sorghum planted into pasturelands intended for dual use is needed. Three tillage treatments, disking and rototilling (RT), chisel plow (CP), and no tillage (NT), and two row arrangement treatments, single-row planting with 76.2 cm rows and twin rows of 17.8 cm on 76.2 cm centers, were tested for effects on forage sorghum yield in a 3-cut system. This study tested two sites in Booneville, AR, from 2010 to 2012. Several interactions with year were detected, likely due to large precipitation differences within and among years. The year greatly affected the yield, with greater (p < 0.05) yields in year 1 compared to years 2 and 3 in both locations. No till resulted in lower yields in some years and harvest dates, though no clear trend was detected among tillage treatments over years. Twin rows generally did not improve yield, except for the third harvest date at one location. No strong trends for tillage or row arrangement effects were observed in this study. Inconsistencies may have resulted from the strong influence of year or interactions of multiple factors, which may challenge producers interested in utilizing forage sorghum for biofuels and livestock feed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus (Shreb.) Dumort) is a cool-season forage grown in the mid-south United States of America that has the potential for spring silage. Ergovaline produced by the fungal endophyte Neotyphodium coenophialum is preserved in tall fescue silage and can induce tall fescue toxicosis in livestock. Condensed tannins, such as quebracho (Schinopsis quebracho-colorado (Schltdl.) F.A. Barkley and T. Meyer) extract, can bind to the nitrogenous components of ergovaline, rendering it ineffective in the ruminant. Quebracho tannin (QT) can also bind to crude protein, reducing its conversion to ammonia. Quebracho tannin was either not added (0QT) or added at 10 (10QT) or 20 (20QT) g/kg of dry matter (DM) of silage to chopped endophyte-infected tall fescue of 670 g/kg of moisture (high moisture, HM) and 440 g/kg of moisture (low moisture, LM). A moisture × QT interaction affected the final pH (p = 0.02), with the lowest pH observed in HM silages with 0QT and 10QT. The ergovaline concentrations were not significantly different (p = 0.19) among the post-ensiled forages. Ammonia concentrations (g/kg DM) were affected by a moisture × QT interaction (p = 0.05), with greater concentrations observed in HM 0QT compared with HM 10QT, HM 20QT, and LM 20QT. Lactic acid concentrations (g/kg DM) decreased (p = 0.05) with the addition of QT. The moisture × QT interaction (p = 0.02) resulted in higher concentrations of acetic acid in the HM silages with 0QT and 20QT compared to the LM silage with 20QT. The total acid concentrations (g/kg DM) were higher (p < 0.01) at HM but did not differ (p = 0.54) across the QT concentrations. Ensiling tall fescue with quebracho tannin did not reduce the ergovaline concentrations, although proteolysis was reduced at the inclusion of 10 g/kg of QT in the HM silages and 20 g/kg of QT in the LM silages. The results indicate that QT as a tall fescue silage additive showed promise for modifying silage characteristics but it did not reduce ergovaline concentrations at the low QT levels used in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subsurface poultry litter application improves nutrient utilization compared with surface application through reduced nutrient runoff, and increased forage nutritive value. This study compared the effects of subsurface (SUB) or surface (SURF) poultry litter application against controls (CON; no litter) for baled silages made at high moisture (HM) or low moisture at (LM) Booneville, AR, in 2018. Mixtures of cereal rye (Secale cereale L.), annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), and tall fescue [Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort., nom. cons.] baled silages were compared for nutritive value and silage fermentation characteristics. Data were analyzed as a split‐plot design with three fertilizer treatments as whole plots, and initial bale moisture as subplots. Pre‐ensiled P and K were greater (P <.05) for the mean of SURF and SUB than for CON. Neutral detergent fiber was greater (P =.02) in CON versus the mean of SURF and SUB. In post‐ensiled bales, propionic (P <.05) and succinic acid (P <.05) concentrations were greater in the mean of SURF and SUB than in CON, and greater in SUB than in SURF. Moisture had positive (P < 0.05) relationships with fermentation acids, and negative relationships with pH, water‐soluble carbohydrates, and starch. Overall, very few differences between SUB and SURF were detected, baleage nutritive value was not improved with SUB poultry litter application, and fermentation characteristics were most affected by the initial bale moisture. Core Ideas: Application of poultry litter increased P and K compared with forages receiving no litter.Subsurface poultry litter application did not increase the forage nutritive value.Fermentation characteristics were most influenced by initial bale moisture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Warm‐season annual grasses have potential to increase the productivity of Midwestern grazing systems in mid‐summer when cool‐season species production slumps. This research investigated forage nutritive value and steer performance for two warm‐season annual grasses, corn (Zea mays L.) and sudangrass [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.], intercropped with Kura clover (Trifolium abiguum M. Bieb.). Mixtures were rotationally grazed with Holstein (Bos taurus; 242 kg, n = 180 yr−1) steers from 2014 to 2016. Corn–Kura clover (C‐KC) and sudangrass–Kura clover (SG‐KC) were grazed for 24 d from mid‐July to mid‐August and SG‐KC regrowth was grazed an additional 24 d from mid‐Aug to mid‐September. Forage harvested was greater (P <.05) for SG‐KC (3442 ± 223 kg ha−1) than C‐KC (2426 ± 193 kg ha−1). A mixture × year effect (P =.03) was detected for in vitro true digestibility (IVTD) and all forage nutritive variables had year effects (P <.01). Crude protein did not differ between treatments (P =.30), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was lower (P <.01), and IVTD and NDF digestibility were higher (P <.05) in C‐KC. A mixture × year effect (P <.05) existed because heat stress suppressed average daily gain in the C‐KC grazing session in 2016. Steer gain per hectare was greater for SG‐KC (P <.01), with 318 kg ha−1 and 195 kg ha−1 for SG‐KC and C‐KC, respectively. Despite greater forage nutritive value in C‐KC, SG‐KC resulted in greater animal gain per hectare due to regrowth potential after first grazing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research models three forage systems for cow-calf operations in the Upper Midwest: a common perennial cool-season system (PCS) using alfalfa and cool-season grasses, and two additional forage systems involving perennial Kura clover, with no-till seeded rye in the fall followed by either corn or sudangrass as warm-season forages planted in the spring. The intent is to model the relative profitability using a cow-calf simulation spreadsheet that captures economic repercussions of monthly forage availability derived from experimental grazing trials conducted in Wisconsin. Results indicate that forage systems adding warm-season annuals can provide a peak in forage mass in mid-summer, but lower overall yields did not compensate for increased annual establishment costs when compared to the PCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]