Progress report for FNC24-1425
Project Information
Roger Licking: Rancher and project coordinator. Operates (7,000) acres rangeland, (165) acres of pivot irrigated, which include grassland and forage crops (Alfalfa, Oats, Millet/Summer Forage), and (400) head of cow-calf pairs, and (70) replacement Heifers. Also, will conduct three on-farm trials in Hooker and Thomas counties and coordinate project activities.
Kevin Anderson: Rancher and team member. Operates (7,000) acres rangeland, (300) acres of pivot irrigated, which include grassland and forage crops (Winter Cereal Rye or Mix, Millet/Summer Forage/ Irrigated Grass), and (500) head of cow-calf pairs, and on avg (1,500) replacement Heifers or yearling steers. Will conduct one on-farm trial in Grant County.
Gary Helmer: Rancher and team member. Operates (5,000) acres rangeland, (270) acres of pivot irrigated, which include grassland and forage crops (Alfalfa, Cereal Rye, Cool Season Forage Mix/ Millet/Summer Forage), and (300) head of cow-calf pairs. Will conduct one on-farm trial in Arthur County.
Pat Schumacher: Operates (3,500) acres rangeland, (1,500) acres of pivot irrigated, which include grassland, forage crops, and row crops (Corn, Soybeans, Rye, Oats, Millet/Summer Forage, and Forage Mixes), and (350) head of cow-calf pairs. Will conduct one on-farm trial in Brown County.
Rich Russell: Regional Sales Agronomist, Seed dealer and Certified Crop Adviser. Will facilitate forage mixes and recommend crop management practices. Will also work with the Nebraska Extension Cropping Systems Team located in North Platte, NE to design on-farm trials and collect biomass and soil samples.
The lack of successful summer forage species in the North Central
counties of Nebraska has reduced the summer forage options for
ranchers in the area, increased the weed pressure, reduced forage
production and quality, and affected soil health.
We will conduct six (6) summer forage variety/mix trials across
five (5) counties (Arthur, Grant, Hooker, Thomas, and Brown) in
North Central Nebraska for two years. The four ranchers' team
members will conduct trials in their pivot-irrigated fields under
winter or spring forage/summer forage rotation. Each trial (up to
20 ac total) will have up to nine (9) different summer forages
and the current rancher's summer forage. Each summer forage plot
will be half an acre (0.5 ac) and replicated four times (2 ac
total per summer forage) in a completely random or block design
depending on the field and recommendation of the Cropping Systems
Team from Nebraska Extension. The different forage
varieties/mixes facilitated by the regional sales agronomist are
expected to offer sustainable agriculture benefits and solutions
to rancher team members regarding forage production, feed
quality, and soil health improvements.
We will seed the summer forage plots (up to 40 per trial) from
late May to early June 2024 and conduct the first (baseline) soil
health test in the experimental area. Before the first cut, we
will collect biomass in each plot and send samples to a local
plant and soil lab for forage production and quality analysis.
The same operations will be conducted in the summer of 2025 at
the exact georeferenced location. It is important that the same
plot treatments are repeated in the same area in the second year
to track changes in soil health. Other observations on weed
pressure, duration of forage crop, etc will be recorded. Extra
biomass and soil samples may be collected by the Cropping Systems
Team from Nebraska Extension if recommended.
Each rancher team member will show plots to neighbors and the
local community interested in the trials. In the summer of 2025,
the Cropping Systems Team from Nebraska Extension will help
coordinate an outreach event to show results and learnings from
ranchers' team members. Moreover, results from these trials will
be shared with the Cropping Systems Team from Nebraska Extension
to extend the findings and learning to a broad audience through
their CropWatch and Variety Testing free access online platforms.
Finally, ranchers' team members, the regional sales agronomist,
and the Cropping Systems Team from Nebraska Extension will meet
annually in the fall to discuss summer trial findings.
Objectives:
1_Evaluate summer forage production and feed quality from up to
nine (9) different summer varieties/mixes in North Central
Nebraska.
2_Track soil health change due to summer forage choice for two
years.
3_ Share findings and collaborative experience with the local
community.
Cooperators
- - Producer
- - Producer
- - Producer
- - Producer
Research
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
During the season, we organized plot tours. Then, we organized the North Central Nebraska Forage Production Meeting on Oct 30th 2024 in Mullen, NE, where 30 people attended and discussed nutrient management, weed management, and soil health options and challenges for summer forage production in the area. Additionally, we organized a Forage Production and Quality Clinic at Arthur, NE on Jan 15th 2025 where another 30 people attended. In both events, we had 2-3 presentations that included project results and other related topics of interest. We allowed time for participants to share their experiences and concerns regarding forage production, quality, and soil health. This discussion motivated ranchers and local Ag businesses to adjust forage nutrient and weed management in the 2025 season and explore options to improve soil health.
Each rancher collaborator received a printed report for the on-farm trial in their fields. These reports were discussed in a project team meeting together with the plans for 2025 trials. Due to the interest in the results obtained and discussions from this project, Dr. Nicolas Cafaro La Menza was invited to deliver a presentation at the "Cover crop grazing conference: Getting the most out of every acre" hosted in North Platte, NE, on Nov 6th of 2024, and at the "Soil Health Conference" organized by Arrow Seed on Feb 13th of 2025. Collectively, these two events gathered 75 forage producers. Finally, an editorial note was released on Feb 13th on the Progressive Forage section of AgProud.com.
Learning Outcomes
The main takeaway was the amount of nutrients exported from the system when forage is cut.
It was good to see and walk among the different varieties in the field, to visualize and experience their growth.
Although the average production across varieties was similar, they seemed to have different adaptations to soil conditions across fields.
We also learned about some nutrient deficiencies, such as potassium. Although this nutrient is not commonly used in current forage fertilization programs, soils show moderate to severe deficiency in K.
Weed management is also a big issue that interferes with the forage production. Different forage varieties compete differently with weeds.
Finally, taking nutrient credits from irrigation water can help to save money on fertilizer expenses.
Project Outcomes
During plot tours, we realized that weeds were growing faster than expected. After discussing this with the extension specialist and local spraying business, we decided to spray the field and control the weeds. If it hadn't been for this project, we would not have controlled the weeds, and the forage production of that field would have been lower than it was.
Seeing the low soil pH results made us also think of long-term planning for recovering one of the fields, and we decided to lime one field. Still, we are planning to adjust some other nutrient management and weed control strategies discussed with this project, such as P fertilizer placement to improve forage production and soil health.