Animal Performance and Economics from Grazing Native Warm-season - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Animal Performance and Economics from Grazing Native Warm-season Grasses Working Lands for Wildlife Workshop Southern Indiana Purdue Ag Center – June 20, 2019 Patrick Keyser Center for Native Grasslands Management UT Beef and Forage Center

Grazing Research in Tennessee Since 2009, we have completed numerous grazing studies using native warm-season grasses: Weaned steers, 2009-2012 o Bred dairy heifers, 2009-2012 o Rotational vs. Patch-burn Grazing, 2014-2016 o Eastern gamagrass vs. sorghumXsudan, 2013-2016 o Comparison of 5 warm-season grasses, 2014-2016 o Season-long, continuous grazing, 2015-2017 o “Starving Heifer” study, 2015-2017 o

Animal Performance (Steers) 2010-2012 ADG AUD Gain Forage (lb/d) (days/ac) (lb/ac) Switchgrass 1.74 172 435 Big blue/Indian 2.11 121 368 Eastern gamagrass 1.06 171 247 93 – 115 days grazing per year ; 600 lb starting wt Backus et al., 2017 Journal of Animal Science, 95:3143-3153

How Does this Hold-up through the Season? Average Daily Gain (lb/d) Forage May June July Aug Switchgrass 2.83 1.92 1.48 0.75 Big blue/Indian 2.83 2.57 1.76 0.87

Sustaining Gains during the Late Season October 6 – 40 days rest August 13 – 27 days rest

Bred Heifer Performance ADG Total Gain Forage (lb/d) (lb/ac) Big blue/Indian 1.75 205 Switchgrass 1.37 198 Middle Tennessee REC, 2010 -2012; 1,050# Holstein heifers Keyser et al., 2016 Journal of Agronomy, 108:373-383.

Eastern Gamagrass vs. Sudex Bred Beef Heifers 2,500 ADG Days Beef/ac May 7 Gama 1.15 192 205 2,000 Stocking (lb/acre) Sudex 1.63 81 129 1,500 Perennials: 1,000 -always available June 17 -no decision on whether to plant 500 -or when to plant annual -no annual establishment risk 0 -no prussic acid/nitrate issues -more grazing days E Gama Sudex No N applied on pastures for 5 years P. Keyser, unpublished data

Warm-season Grass Comparison Total Gain per Acre, 2014-2016 300 250 200 150 C C B AB A 100 50 0 Berm Crab BBIG Gama Switch Weaned heifers, 527 lb starting weight K. Zechiel, MS thesis, unpublished data

Season-long Grazing Weaned Calves, 2015-2017 Grazing Steer ADG* Strategy (lb/day) Continuous 2.17 Heavy Early 1.97 * O N/ac applied since at least 2011

Heifer Development Fescue Big Bluestem Switchgrass 450 400 Body weight, kg + protein supplement: 350 1.5#/day DDG (28% CP) 0.5#/day B/FM (72% CP) 300 Breeding 250 Jan Feb March April May Sept McFarlane et al. 2018. J. Animal Sci. 96:4633-4643.

Body Weight at Breeding 65 60 55 P <0.01 55 51 48 50 45 % Mature BW A B C 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Fescue BigBlue/Indian Switchgrass McFarlane et al. 2018. J. Animal Sci. 96:4633-4643.

Overall Pregnancy Rates 100 90 P = 0.81 80 Pregnancy rate, % 70 60 50 93 93 90 40 30 20 10 0 Fescue Big Bluestem Switchgrass McFarlane et al. 2018. J. Animal Sci. 96:4633-4643.

Conclusions: Animal Performance Generally very high based on these 7 UTIA studies: – BB/IG > SG > EG – Excellent for backgrounding steers (except EG?) – Excellent for heifer development – Gains sustained for ~ 90 days with put-and-take management (rotational could improve late-season gains?) – Compare well with sorghumXsudan, crabgrass, and especially improved bermudagrass – Can even provide acceptable(?) dormant-season grazing

Questions?

Native Grass Forage Economics Working Lands for Wildlife Workshop Southern Indiana Purdue Ag Center – June 20, 2019 P. Keyser Center for Native Grasslands Management and UT Beef and Forage Center

Economics Research in Tennessee Since 2011, we have completed numerous economic analyses based on native warm-season grasses: o Budget-based assessment o Grazing weaned steers o Grazing bred dairy heifers o Comparison of 5 warm-season grasses o Model evaluating impacts of incorporating WSG into TF systems

Natives = Low Input = Low Cost Forage Hay Gain 0 N in 5 years ($/ton) ($/lb) Tall fescue 123 -- Sudex 83 0.75 Bermudagrass 75 0.54 Big bluestem 53 0.31 Keyser et al. 2011. University of Tennessee Extension, SP 731-E.

Cash-Flow Analysis ( Ten Years) No fertilizer 1200 Establishment Replacement Production costs plus 1000 costs plus some costs replacement production 800 costs costs Dollars ($) 600 400 200 0 -200 -400 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Year(s) into production Assumptions: $65/T for both fescue and NWSG hay; Fescue @ 2.4 T/acre and NWSG @ 4.0 T/acre

Cash-Flow Analysis ( Ten Years) Fertilizer during establishment @ 0-30-30 1200 1000 800 Dollars ($) 600 400 200 0 -200 -400 -600 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Year(s) into production

Economics of Grazing Beef Steers Beef Yield Net Returns NWSG (lb/ac) ($/ac) West TN Switchgrass 229 $114 Big Blue/Indian 266 $148 E. Gama 248 $110 Middle TN Switchgrass 436 $342 Big Blue/Indian 370 $276 Lowe et al. 2015. Agronomy Journal 107: 1733–1740

Cost of Gain for Grazing Heifers Heifer development: - most expensive aspect of production - mainly feed cost (75%) for 30+ months w/o any return $0.50 $0.40 $0.30 $0.20 $0.10 $0.00 Big bluestem/indiangrass Switchgrass Keyser et al. 2016. Agronomy Journal 108: 373–383

Warm-season Grass Comparison Net Returns per Acre $200 $180 Net Return ($/acre) $160 $140 $120 $100 $80 $60 $40 BC C B AB A $20 $0 Berm Crab BBIG Gama Switch Boyer et al. 2019. Agronomy Journal. In Review

Net Returns for Five Summer Forages 100% 9% 90% 24% 25% 38% 80% 25% 70% 73% 31% Probability 60% 45% 50% 40% 45% 67% 30% 45% 20% 30% 24% 10% 17% 3… 0% BI BG CG EG SG Probability of net returns being less than zero (red), between zero and $97 ac −1 (yellow), and greater than $97 ac −1 (green) Boyer et al. 2019. Agronomy Journal. In Review

Impact of Perennial Warm-Season Grass Forages on Profitability K. Brazil, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Tennessee

Impact of Perennial Warm-Season Grass Forages on Profitability Net present value over 10 years for three forage systems for spring- and fall-calving herds K. Brazil, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Tennessee

Conclusions: Economics Natives have considerable economic benefit based on these six UTIA studies: – Relative to annuals, perennials more economically efficient – Natives require fewer inputs than Bermuda (or annuals) – Reduced inputs, combined with high yields/gains, make natives more profitable than other options – Natives’ advantage comes despite higher establishment costs – Model indicates adding natives makes operations more profitable (especially spring calving herds)

Questions?