Parsons, Kansas
April 29, 2009
It´s as true for livestock as it
is for humans -- what animals eat has a big impact on their
health and performance. That´s why researchers at
K-State´s Southeast
Agricultural Research Center are working to find the best
forages for cattle that can be grown in that part of the state.
"We´re a little different here - our agriculture is more like
what you´d see in the southeastern U.S. than like the rest of
Kansas," said Lyle Lomas, who is an animal scientist and head of
the research center. He cited the area´s shallow claypan soils,
a longer growing season and higher average precipitation totals
than the rest of the state. Because of those differences, the
center´s forage research focuses on introduced forages rather
than the native forages that grow in much of the rest of the
state.
Given the value of Kansas´ cattle industry to the state´s
economy, coupled with the challenges facing the beef industry
including high input prices, Lomas believes that now more than
ever, it is important for the center´s researchers to help
producers find ways to raise beef as efficiently as possible.
"The Southeast Agricultural Research Center has the only KSU
grazing research program dedicated exclusively to introduced
forage species," he said. "Native grasses predominate in other
parts of the state and at other K-State research locations."
Some of the species studied at the center include tall fescue,
bermudagrass, smooth bromegrass, and crabgrass.
"Our grazing work can be divided into two major categories,"
Lomas said. "One is the supplementation of grazing livestock and
the other is evaluating forage systems with different varieties
or species of forages - the quality and quantity - that grow
well in this part of the state."
One recent project on which Lomas and forage agronomist Joe
Moyer collaborated, involved supplementing grazing stocker
cattle with distillers grains - a byproduct of the ethanol
industry. The team is trying to determine how a distillers grain
supplement affects grazing, as well as finishing performance.
One study conducted in 2005-2007 using steers grazing smooth
bromegrass pastures and another in 2006-2007 with steers grazing
bermudagrass showed that steers supplemented with dried
distiller´s grains (DDG) at the rate of 0.5 percent or 1.0
percent of body weight had significantly higher grazing gains
and gain per acre than when steers were fed no supplement.
Feeding DDGs at that level had no effect on forage availability
during 2005 or 2006, but in 2007, overall forage availability
was higher on bromegrass pastures where the steers were
supplemented with 0.5 percent or 1.0 percent DDG.
"Because pastures were assigned to the same supplementation
treatment during each year of the study, it is possible that the
effect of supplementation on forage availability was cumulative
and not detected in bromegrass pastures until after the third
year of grazing," Lomas said.
In addition to the Parson site, which includes 450 acres, the
research center has another 400 acres near Mound Valley, Kan.,
where cattle from grazing studies are finished. Once the cattle
reach market weight, they are slaughtered and the carcasses are
evaluated.
"Most of our grazing studies utilizing stocker cattle are
followed by a feedlot phase to determine the effect of grazing
treatment on subsequent finishing performance and overall
profitability," Lomas said.
Other projects the team is involved in include comparing grazing
and subsequent finishing performance of stocker cattle grazing
non-erogot alkaloid tall fescue, Midland 99 bermudagrass and
wheat double-crop system, and Red River crabgrass and wheat
double-crop system.
The researchers are also evaluating the effect of interseeding
of legumes in bermudagrass pastures on beef cow performance.
"Fescue is both a blessing and a curse in southeast Kansas,"
Lomas said. "It can be easily grown, but cattle don´t perform as
well on it as some other forages if it contains the endophyte."
The endophyte refers to a fungus within the grass that affects
grazing animals and the grass itself.
One of the challenges faced by cattle producers in southeast
Kansas is the gap between when cool season grasses and warm
season grasses peak, in terms of nutrient quality, Moyer said.
"We´ve been studying crabgrass to fill that gap. We´ve been a
little surprised at how well cattle perform on crabgrass," he
said.
Forage crabgrass is the same species, but a different cultivar
as the type that plagues homeowners´ lawns, he said.
Information gleaned from the research findings is passed along
to producers and others through county agricultural extension
agents, as well as field day presentations, publications and
newspaper articles.
"The research conducted at the SEARC is crucial to my success as
an extension specialist in aiding producers in southeastern
Kansas," said Karl Harborth, Southeast Area livestock specialist
with K-State Research and Extension. "For example, if a producer
has a question on which particular variety of a grass he should
plant, I can use data generated locally at the SEARC to help
make these educated decisions.
Without this local data, I would have to make decisions based on
assumptions of the variety in question. This variety may not
perform the same in southeast Kansas as it would in other
locations and that could ultimately cost the producer time and
money."
In addition, the K-State Southeast Agricultural Research Field
hosts the Beef Cattle and Forage Field Day at the Mound Valley
site every year on the first Thursday of May. That event is
planned for May 7 this year. Other events are also held at the
center during the year.
"Forage is probably the most underappreciated crop we have in
Kansas," Lomas said. "A lot of universities don´t do applied
grazing research anymore because of limited opportunities for
extramural funding. Producers know it´s important but there´s no
`product´ produced - it all goes through the animal. Plus
there´s no commodity group working to make sure that research in
this area is supported,"
he said.
Information about the center´s research, events and staff is
available on its Web site:
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/searc. |
|
