Alternative continuous cover forage crop systems for the Northeast

Alternative continuous cover forage crop systems for the Northeast

Summary

Alternative Continuous Cover Forage Crop Systems for the Northeast is a project designed to explore two forage production systems that produce dairy quality forage and provide for a continuous vegetative soil cover using Brown Mid Rib Sorghum Sudan-grass (BMR SS) and winter cereal grains (rye and triticale).

These forage crop systems are being studied and demonstrated as alternatives to conventionally grown corn (for silage) that reduce soil erosion and retain soil and manure nutri-ents on a wide range of soil types, in areas with shorter growing seasons, and on farms that may not have corn silage production equipment and/or need forages that are com-patible with round bale silage (baleage) equipment and grazing.

The two forage production systems examined in this project include:

1) BMR SS, harvested either as baleage or grazed, followed by winter grains (rye and triticale) drilled directly into the BMR SS stubble in a no till or minimum till manner and harvested the following spring either as baleage or grazed. This production system includes a second year of BMR SS with red clover/perennial grass seeded as an interseeding with the BMR SS.

2) Winter grain (primarily rye) used as a rotation crop to break up old sods for establishment of improved perennial forage crops. Winter rye will be planted in late summer into conventionally tilled sod, harvested as baleage or grazed the next spring followed by conventional tillage and a summer seeding to perennial forage.

Objectives/Performance Targets

• Develop forage crop systems using BMR SS and winter cereal grains that provide a year round vegetative cover to minimize soil and nutrient losses.

  Produce BMR SS and winter grains to meet forage quality and quantity needs of lactating dairy cattle (Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) less than 58% of forage dry matter (DM), NDF digestibility greater than conventional corn, total forage dry matter yield per acre comparable or greater than corn silage estimates for soil type)

  Produce BMR SS and winter grains on a range of soil types.

  Refine methods and demonstrate harvest of BMR SS and winter grains as baleage and grazing.

  Develop methods and demonstrate establishing perennial forages using BMR SS as a companion crop.

  Develop and refine methods for using winter grains as an annual rotation crop to prepare ground for perennial forage seeding.

  Develop methods of drilling winter grains into BMR SS stubble in August/early September in a no till/minimum till manner using conventional equipment to establish a vigorous cover crop by fall.

  Increase farmer, agribusiness, and extension awareness of the potential of BMR SS and winter grains as an alternative annual forage production system to corn through meetings and written media.

  Provide training for farmers, agribusiness and extension on methods to successfully grow BMR SS and winter grains as part of a dairy forage production system through meetings and written media.

Accomplishments/Milestones

The implementation of Alternative Continuous Cover Forage Crop Systems for the Northeast SARE project was strengthened at the outset by a partnership with two regional seed companies, Seedway and AgriCulver. Local and regional seed company representatives were enlisted at the beginning of the project as collaborators and each company agreed to supply approximately ¼ of the total project seed needs, for a total of nearly $1120 donated as in kind seed match.

In April and May 2003 soil and manure samples were taken, manure spreaders calibrated and nutrient recommendations developed for project farms.

On the Delaware County upland BMR SS site, nitrogen was applied to the existing grass hay stand with the intention of taking a first cutting grass hay harvest before tilling and planting BMR SS. While this was not part of the original work plan for the project, this addition fit the growing conditions this year and highlighted the flexibility of BMR SS. A first cutting of hay was taken in early June (delayed due to weather) with anticipation of BMR SS planting within a week. Conditions did not allow planting at this site until July 12th. Original plans had called for planting of BMR SS by mid June, but frequent rains caused delay of BMR SS planting at all sites. While second cutting of grass hay could have been fertilized for and harvested, it was not. Despite this, total forage dry matter yields (grass and BMR SS) at this site approached 5 tons per acre, very respectable for the shallow, somewhat wet soil type at this site. This experience illustrated the versatility of BMR SS in allowing for grass hay harvests before planting, thus increasing dry matter yield and minimizing bare soil exposed to erosion. We hope to explore this potential more in year 2. The BMR SS at this site was harvested successfully as baleage on September 8th. Neutral detergent fiber and crude protein (CP) levels of the baleage were at 58% and 11% of DM respectively, meeting targets for NDF but somewhat lower than desired for CP. Digestibility of the NDF was high at 69% of NDF, indicative of the low lignin content of this crop. This baleage was successfully fed to lactating cows this winter.

At the Delaware County lowland site, BMR SS exhibited very rapid growth. Planted on June 28, it was 44? tall on July 31, at which time it was at the target harvest height for this farm. A series of frequent rains for the next 10 days delayed harvest however, resulting in BMR SS to reach 72"-84" (too tall) and ultimately caused much of the BMR SS to lodge. The lodged BMR SS proved very difficult to mow cleanly and dry (taking 5 days to dry for baleage). The resulting baleage was not of acceptable quality and did not ferment as well as desired. It is not being fed to lactating dairy cattle as originally planned. The experience at this site, however, did provide a valuable insight into mowing machine conditioning mechanisms for BMR SS. The mowing machine used at this site had metal finger tine conditioning which did not do a good job of breaking open the water laden stem and speed drying. By comparison, BMR SS of a similar height was cut using a mowing machine with rubber conditioning rolls, which thoroughly crushed open stem, and drying time was reduced from 5 days to 2 days.

The two BMR SS grazing sites were very successful in meeting their farmer objectives. On the Schoharie County grazing farm, the goal was to maximize forage quality of the BMR SS. Planted on June 28th, the BMR SS at this site was grazed three times over the remainder of the summer at 27 inch heights each time. Total dry matter yields ap-proached 3 tons per acre, with NDF and crude protein levels at 46 and 21% of DM re-spectively. Farm records indicated that milk production increased 3 lbs per cow per day while grazing BMR SS. At the Delaware County grazing site, the farm objective was to maximize DM yield of the BMR SS in order to give the main grazing system as long a rest as possible during August. As such, BMR SS was not grazed until it had reached a height of 6 ft. At this height, 70 cows grazed 4 acres of BMR SS night and day for 12 days. Total estimated dry matter yield approached 6 tons per acre, however animals did not eat the bottom portion of the stem, as it was tough (lignified). Field measurements indicated that the animals were consuming approximately 4 tons of DM per acre. Neutral detergent fiber and crude protein levels of the grazed portion of the BMR SS were at 60% and 14% of DM respectively, with a sugar content of 16% of DM. Farm records indi-cated that milk production increased 5 lbs per cow per day as cows were offered more BMR SS to graze. Both grazing sites utilized strip grazing to improve grazing harvest.

At the Schoharie County winter rye farm site, a successful harvest of winter rye forage as baleage was completed on May 15th, with a 0.7 ton per acre DM yield, with NDF and CP levels at 63% and 15% of DM respectively. While NDF content was a little higher than desired, a low lignin content and higher CP level resulted in acceptable dairy quality feed. The baleage was fed out to lactating dairy cattle successfully. The second cutting of rye was taken as straw, due to frequent rains which delayed harvest. The rye on this site was plowed under in July and summer seeded to alfalfa and orchardgrass in August. A vigorous seeding was established well before fall, and a successful overwintering is anticipated.

Educational outreach has begun on this project. The first major event was a presentation and paper of New York State research and experiences growing BMR SS over the last 5 years, presented at the Cornell University Crop and Soil Science Department Field Crop Dealer meetings, held at 5 locations around New York State in October. This event reached over 200 agribusiness persons and farmers. This presentation created a great deal of interest among CAFO farm environmental planners in the potential to double crop BMR SS and winter grains for environmental benefits.

The next event was a preliminary summary of project data and summary presented by project principals, Paul Cerosaletti and Lisa Fields, to their fellow Cornell Cooperative Extension crop and dairy production educators at the annual extension educator fall inservice training in November. Approximately 50 extension educators and Cornell University faculty attended this presentation. Four educators and faculty requested copies of the PowerPoint presentation for use in educating their farm audiences.

The most recent outreach event occurred at the Northeast Certified Crop Advisor Training in December. At this training, project principal Paul Cerosaletti made a presentation to approximately 40 agribusiness and agency professionals on the management and experiences with BMR SS, including double cropping with winter cereal grains.

Farmer outreach will be begin on a larger scale in January 2004 with presentations at Schoharie and Delaware County extension dairy and crop production meetings. Written media is being prepared for winter extension publications. Summer farm tours are planned this for this coming year.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

At this point in the project, the numbers of farmers directly reached by this project has been limited largely to the participating farmers and local seed dealer/farmers. Both grazing BMR SS farms in the project plan to continue to grow BMR SS, and possibly expand acreage of the crop. Formal outreach to farmers will begin in 2004. Farmers in New York State have been seeing more information on BMR SS in resent years due to the research underway statewide with this crop. In Delaware and Schoharie counties, seed sales of BMR SS have increased greatly over the last 5 years. Two farms in these counties have reduced or eliminated corn silage acreage, replacing it with BMR SS. Impediments to further adoption appear to be mismanagement of the crop (due either to not seeking current cultural recommendations or not following them) and/or inadequate feed value (forage) analysis, which results in an under prediction of feed value. A better understanding of the importance of fiber digestibility to nutritional value needs to be cultivated as part of future educational efforts. A key strategy of outreach efforts will continue to be on farm demonstration, particularly with high producing herds.

Extension and Agribusiness outreach is well underway as noted in the previous section. There is clearly a multiplier effect that is difficult to quantify that will take information from this project to more farmers. Many agribusiness professionals at recent conferences have shown great interest in the environmental benefits of the cropping systems demonstrated in this project, in particular the option to make summer applications of manure to BMR SS and the ability to establish vigorous cover crops.