Final report for FNC22-1331
Project Information
Brandon Kaufman grows a diverse set of crops that includes non-GMO corn, soy, sorghum, soybeans, wheat and rye. He grows cover crops on as many acres as possible and grazes grass-fed beef on those acres. He has been growing Kernza(R) since 2018.
Schlautman Farms has a forage production and cow-calf operation and grass-fed beef direct marketing business. They have been growing Kernza(R) since 2018.
Marc Peters has a conventional corn and soybean operation. He has been incorporating cover crops into his fields since 2020 and using strip-tillage since 2020. He planted Kernza(R) for the first time in 2020.
Kernza® perennial grain is in the early stages of adoption and commercialization. Kernza® production, because of its continuous living roots, promises to contribute to an economically sound agriculture system for the north central region. But for now, Kernza® grain yields remain lower than wheat, markets are underdeveloped, and little information exists about potential uses for byproducts created during Kernza® production, cleaning, and milling. This proposal investigates whether byproducts could play an important role in contributing to the economic viability of Kernza® production without reducing the ecosystem services provided. Specifically, we test in on-farm demonstration trials whether summer straw/residue baling and removal - which results in nutrient export - affects subsequent grain yields, forage yields, and soil health status. Furthermore, we measure the yields and quality of potential byproducts (i.e. summer residue, fall forage, hulls/screenings, and bran/midlings) and test whether the quality and value of those byproducts can be increased by ammoniating straw bales, grazing vs. haying fall forage, and milling/pelletizing hulls. We will share results and information we learn with other farmers/ranchers by creating fact sheets and hosting field days so that it can become collective knowledge and contribute to improved quality of life for farmers, ranchers, and their communities.
- Evaluate the yield and quality of byproducts during Kernza® perennial grain production including:
- Summer straw/residue and fall forage grazed, hayed, or ammoniated
- Loose and pelleted Kernza® hulls/screenings
- Kernza® bran/middlings
- Determine whether grain yield, forage yield, or soil health status during Kernza® perennial grain production is affected by summer straw removal.
- Host on-farm field days and share findings through fact-sheets and websites.
Research
2024 Update:
In 2024, we continued the trials by growing, harvesting, and then looked at different byproducts of kernza over the course of the year:
- Summer (typically July): harvest grain for the seed and the hull
- Summer: Straw/hay can be baled (ideally with alfalfa intercropped)
- Fall/Winter: Grazing (b/c it regrows)...could cut/bale for mostly alfalfa; without alfalfa probably not worth baling, but really good grazing quality. In the 16-18% protein. High moisture but really high protein and energy)
- Year Round: Soil Amendment
Field Trials (2023 season):
Brandon Kaufman: Brandon's field (Moundridge, KS) had two treatments for summer residue management: nothing (i.e. no haying, tillage, burning, grazing, etc.) or light tillage with an offset disc. Baseline soil samples were taken (0-6 inch depth) and submitted to RegenAg Labs for the Haney Test. This field (all treatments) will be grazed in winter 2023-2024.
Marc Peters: Marc's field (Hampton, NE) had two treatments for summer residue management: swathing and baling or no residue management. Baseline soil samples were taken from each experimental unit and submitted to RegenAg Labs for the Haney Test. Forage quality samples were taken from the baled summer residue and the total number of bales were counted and weighed. This field (all treatments) will be grazed in winter 2023.
Schlautman Farms: Their field had a single treatment for summer residue management (swathing and baling) and two separate treatments for fall residue management: an additional cutting of hay or no additional forage harvest. Forage quality samples were taken from the baled summer residue and the total number of bales were counted and weighed.
Post Processing Trials:
Ammoniating Bales (Marc Peters): Large round bales were weighed, stacked in a pyramid shape, and covered and sealed with a silage tarp. Ammonia was inserted beneath the sileage tarp and, to the extent possible, added to bring the CP level of the summer residue to 9%. Core samples of ammoniated bales will be sent for forage analysis in a few weeks.
Kernza Hulls/Screenings (all growers): About 5000lbs of Kernza hulls + screenings (stems, leaves, some small broken grain) were delivered to the Kansas State feed mill. They will be pelletizing Kernza hulls/screenings and running feed quality analyses in early 2024.
Kernza Bran (all growers): Dehulled Kernza will be taken to the Hal Ross Mill (Kansas State University) in early 2024 to be milled into flour and to pass over a 20 mesh sieve. Resulting bran and flour will be tested for nutrient content.
2024 Update:
2024 results and discussion are integrated into the “Learning Outcomes” section.
2023 Progress Report:
Drought negatively affected our research and decision making in 2023 growing season. It prevented us from accomplishing some of our research goals related to grain production, but perhaps highlighted the dual-purpose value of Kernza perennial grain production and the importance of the by-products this project intended to evaluate.
Specifically, Brandon Kaufman did not harvest any grain in 2023. The incredibly dry 2022-2023 winter caused the ponds to dry up in his normal warm-season summer pastures. His intermediate wheatgrass was grazed from April 20 to June 5 and equated to approximately 2.5 animal units per acre. He was calving on the intermediate wheatgrass during this time. Although there were very low yields, hay was more than $250/ton at the time.
Schlautman farms also did not harvest any grain in 2023. They chose to bale all their IWG+alfalfa hay on June 26, 2023 when Kernza was in the milk stage. The total yield on 36 acres was 45.9 tons (66 bales at 1390lb/bale) which was about 1.26 ton/acre.
Marc Peters field had significant lodging on about 20% of the field. He elected to swath and use a pickup header for grain harvest this year which likely reduced both the yield and quality of the summer residue he harvested.
Summer Forage Yield and Quality:
Marc Peters had 133 large round bales harvested on 35 acres that averaged 1140lbs each, which equaled ~ 2.2 US ton per acre of post harvest residue. Core samples of Marc's bales were sent to Dairyland labs and tested at 5.9% crude protein and 51.1 % TDN.
Schlautman Farms took a second cutting of intermediate wheatgrass + alfalfa hay in mid-August. This cutting yielded 11 bales averaging 1580lb for a total of 8.7 ton or 0.25 ton/acre. They did not take a fall cutting of hay because the regrowth was even poorer than what was available in August.
Kernza(R) perennial grain yields:
Brandon Kaufman harvested ~0 lbs clean and dehulled grain on 22 dryland acres
Marc Peters harvested ~ 16,800 lbs clean and dehulled grain on 35 harvested irrigated acres, which was approximately 480 lbs/acre.
Schlautman Farms harvested ~ 0 lb clean and dehulled certified organic grain on 36 dryland acres.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
2024: 18 people attended a field day. They were farmers thinking about growing the crop and haying. Also, we hosted an event in kansas for stakeholders. About 30 end users / customers attended.
Throughout the project, we've been corresponding/talking weekly with people who are interested, and talking to local groups and student groups (all of whom are farmers), totaling another 200 people.
2023: in June: 55 people came in spring for a field day - researchers focused on grazing on kernza (visited field sites):
Marc Peters hosted a field day at his farm on September 10, 2022. Approximately 22 farmers and 7 agriculture professionals attended. Agriculture professionals included independent agronomists, a University of Nebraska Lincoln extension agent, and field agents from the Upper Big Blue River Natural Research District.
Marc Peters described the Kernza(R) management practices he used in his field (irrigation, fertility, and implements used during planting/harvest). Brandon Schlautman and Joel Schlautman attended and described their Kernza(R) + alfalfa intercropping field and presented data about summer 2022 forage yields/quality.
Learning Outcomes
In general, we’ve seen the hulls can be a really good feed option, and when pelleted they have good durability and so they could be a good source of fiber. They could be used with feed where you’re adding corn or other energy sources.
Another byproduct is the hay. Basically, when you include alfalfa and kernza together, we get higher protein and energy (TDN) than if kernza alone. Kernza is in wide rows with alfalfa rows in between. You can harvest kernza, which is taller, and then come back and harvest the straw/hay. If Kernza is not grown in combination with alfalfa, it needs to have other things added to the diet for it to be enough (maybe mix alfalfa bales or corn).
More detail:
Kernza Byproduct: Hulls as Feed:
Hulls are really big and bulky and hard to feed to cows. So we pelletized them, and there’s actually a lot of kernza left in the hulls, with a protein matter of ~13% which is great for a feed. We also tested the pellet’s ability to hold up over time (and not just crumble and break apart). This test looks at how well a kernza hull will hold together. Kernza held together better than soy hulls (which are the standard for hulls in most feed) – still at 90% or more durability after the test. That’s less than gluten feed and canola pellets. So maybe Kernza can’t be used as its own feed source, but it could be a binder in difference feed applications.
We worked with a couple different people throughout the study period, including someone at K State who used 3% kernza hulls in a broiler diet. It helped them increase the durability without adding too much fiber.
We had four samples of hulls over the course of the grant. Three were in the 12% protein range, one was closer to 6%. Kernza has extremely small seeds, so depending on who’s doing the hulling we might get different efficiencies. Example: on batch has pretty high protein content (with good TDN numbers). A dry cow, in general, needs something around 7-7.5% protein and above TDN of about 51. So from a protein and energy standpoint, a cow could eat these hulls and be fine all winter. And with this high of protein you could probably feed to heifers that you’re backgrounding. But another batch sample had (Kernza Hulls 2) actually recycled the grain as much as possible to get as much grain out as possible, but we have a lot worse quality feed. Protein is about 5% and TDN is under 50. This is probably high quality seed processing. It’s a tradeoff: better seed or better feed.
Kernza Byproduct: Grazing
Grazing was extremely effective. November forage analysis showed: 70% moisture (extremely high), so you have to get dry matter in there; that’s why the stubble from summer harvest is so important. But it’s 21% protein and over 69 TDN. We grazed this after coming off of summer pasture, so it works pretty well in sync with our cool season grasses. And you don’t have the issues you do with fescue – and plus, it’s a byproduct. You could graze all winter if you had the right number of AU’s and acres. Note: you have to stop grazing when the head starts to elongate for next year’s plant. We watch for the growth stage around 10th of April.
Has grazed through winter: 180 days with calves on the cows, and by spring they were fat and beautiful, great gain.
Kernza grows some over winter, so you could probably grow Nov 1 and again Feb 1 where we are.
Kernza Byproduct: Hay and Straw
We had one field with kernza and alfalfa in alternating rows. Hay from that field is really excellent hay first cutting 12% protein, 58 TDN. Anything can eat that and be pretty happy. Second cutting is mostly alfalfa – the kernza recovers much more slowly than alfalfa – so there’s 17% protein and ___ TDN. That’s close to dairy quality hay.
Kernza Byproduct: Soil Amendment
When we started, all of the fields involved were degraded. Kernza has helped us add health to these soils extremely quickly.
For instance, on one field, our soil Organic Matter was 2.3%. Over four years, it’s up to 3.9% OM. We’re getting the grain crop (seed and hulls) and grazing, not baling, and so these fields are quickly growing a lot of biomass and improving the soils. The improved soil health also helps to cycle the nutrients. That field had been a cropland field for decades and we couldn’t get anything to grow. I remember Great Grandpa tearing up the terraces. Part of the reason we took it was because it was poor. My dad couldn’t raise 60 bushel corn in 2018. After five years in kernza, we have dung beetles. Things are growing and cycling and decomposing so fast.
On another field: we haven’t grazed cattle here yet, but we are still seeing progress. In talking with the company we use to quantify ecosystem services and soil changes – cattle really speed up the process. So not having cattle there is a weakness, but we are still building a root system. That field, after 100 years of 100% tillage wheat and then soybeans, well that land was degraded. I took a quart jar of that soil from that field before we started farming it and stored it away. It’s yellow. Hopefully, if we get cattle on it, over time, we can have black topsoil.
And on Gearing field: from 2022 to 2024, soil health score went up ~2 points (from 7 to 9.5) and Organic PPM changed by 40-50 points.
Haney Test Results:
Regen Score: These results are a little confusing because normally the “Regen Score” compares a 0-6” test and 6-12.” This assumes the 0-6” score changes really fast and 6-12” is slower…it’s a reflection of what your field probably was. But with kernza, it has a lot of roots in the 6-12” zone (whereas other crops don’t). So we actually have more OM in 6-12” zone.
Soil respiration number: more active happening in 0-6” than 6-12” – but Organic Carbon Number 86 ppm in 0-6” and 112 in 6-12”. There was actually a paper published two years ago (woman at Colorado state) that shows that kernza accumulates more carbon at deeper levels, b/c it’s got roots at deeper levels and microbes can’t cycle them. It messes up the regen score but it’s good for carbon sequestration longer term: it’s feeding the microbes and it’s storing excess carbon deeper.
Project Outcomes
This project had some really nice outcomes. We'll note that we had a separate part of the work that we didn't talk much about in the report: milling the flour and bran. Normally that's just in the animal feed. But thanks to everything we've learned over the course of the grant, we've pursued separating these out. Now, there's a small company that's going to use the bran for a muffin mix.
Another success is just finding partners to do the value-added processing. K State did the experimental milling for this research project. We liked working with them so much that now, they continue to do that for us outside of the grant.
One thing we learned from the grant is that using the byproducts, liek the straw and forage, is a key question: how do we use it? We learned that grazing is the lowest input and possibly best longterm (from a conservation standpoint), but you can also take the straw away....there's some value there (but probably not enough to make it work). In NE, where we did that, there's an infinite amount of corn stovers, so econoimcally I'm not sure baling kernza straw is worth it. But when we added the alfalafa you might be making mroe money - but it's still questionable if that's worth it in the longterm.
Until we can quantify the carbon going into the soil / the increase in soil health, the gut and rumen bacteria, dung beeltes -- all these extras that we can't quantify, we can't completely know.
Grazing collars on kernza.