NC1181: Sustaining Forage-based Beef Cattle Production in a Bioenergy Environment
Statement of Issues and Justification
Forage-based livestock production is a vital component of the agricultural economies of states in the North Central Region (NCR). This region accounts for 33% of the nation's beef cow herd. The states of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota alone have 8.2 million head of beef cows, which comprise nearly 25% of the nation's beef and dairy cows; adding the states of Iowa and Ohio brings that number to 10.39 million. This region finishes over 53% of cattle marketed for meat (NASS, 2003). Forages account for 80% of the feed units consumed by beef cattle and, therefore, represent an extremely important resource to the industry (Bula et al., 1981). Perennial forages occupy approximately 106 million acres or 31% of land classified as farmland in the NCR (NASS, 1997). Improving the quality and utilization of these forage resources would contribute significantly to the productivity and profitability of livestock production in the NCR. Production of ethanol from corn, oilseed co-products from soybeans, increased worldwide demand for wheat, and high crude oil prices have caused an increase in prices of livestock concentrate feeds and forages from hay and pasture (NASS, 2008). These increases in commodity prices for grain crops have pushed agricultural land values and rental prices to all time highs (NASS, 2007). For example, from 2003 to 2007 cropland and pastureland values in the Northern Plains region have increased by 58 and 75%, respectively (NASS, 2007). Rental prices for cropland and pastureland also have increased by 20 and 25% during this period, respectively (NASS, 2007). Because of high grain prices, producers are shifting acres of forage production to grain crops, which has caused a tightening in hay supply and pasture availability. In addition, the price of commercial fertilizers, which are widely used to increase the production of hay and pastureland, have increased over 300% since the early 1990s (NASS, 2008). In order to cope with the high cost of livestock concentrate feeds, hay, and pasture rental rates, sustainable forage-based production systems must be pursued. We propose to 1) evaluate legume-based pasture systems to reduce the use of high-cost commercial fertilizers and 2) evaluate the use of biofuel co-products in forage based diets to optimize utilization of forage resources.Our project addresses priority research objectives established under the guidelines for Multi-State Research Projects of the North Central Regional Association under two broad areas; 1) agriculture production, processing and distribution and 2) natural resources and the environment. This project will specifically meet the regional objectives to 1) design economically and environmentally sound methods to convert biomass and secondary products into food and nonfood uses and 2) develop guidelines for optimal economic, social and environmental management of non cropped farm and natural ecosystems and for restoration of damaged ecosystems.
Beef cattle producers could indirectly decrease the use of fossil fuels, enhance environmental quality of their land, and increase net profit by incorporating legumes into their pastures and feed more co-products derived from the ethanol industry. The objectives of this project are linked through researching practical management alternatives for beef producers to cut costs and improve the utilization of low quality roughages.
Legumes grown in combination with grass pastures have been shown to be very beneficial for increased livestock production. Forage legumes can reduce annual nitrogen fertilizer requirements of grass pastures through their ability to fix nitrogen (Alexander and McCloud, 1962). Vance et al. (1988) reported that alfalfa and birdsfoot trefoil can fix 49 to 224 kg of N ha-1 yr-1. Forage nutritive value of cool-season grass pastures has been shown to improve when forage legumes are grown in the sward because nutritive value of legumes tends to be higher than grasses (Sanderson and Wedin, 1989; Ullerich et al., 2002). In addition, alfalfa-grass pastures have been shown to provide a more uniform seasonal distribution of forage than cool-season grass pastures because alfalfa is less likely to go dormant during mid-summer (Sheaffer et al., 1990; Gerrish, 1991; Belsky and Wright, 1994). All of these factors are responsible for greater animal performance on grass-legume pastures versus pure grass pastures. An extensive review of grazing studies in the temperate northern USA has shown greater average daily gain on grass-legume pastures (0.65 kg d-1) versus pure grass pastures (0.59 kg d-1), even when nitrogen fertilizer was added (Burns and Bagley, 1996).
Despite these known benefits, efforts to develop management practices that assure establishment and persistence of forage legumes in the northern and central Great Plains have largely been unsuccessful, especially under the diverse management systems and environments of this region. As a result, managers in this region have not widely incorporated legumes into pastures (Matches, 1989). The commonly reported problems causing poor legume establishment and persistence are poor seedling vigor, disease, insect damage, heat and water stress, winter heaving, and lack of survival under continuous grazing (Matches, 1989). Although considerable research has been conducted on establishment and persistence (Marten et al., 1989), little progress has been made to address these issues. Reasons for lack of significant progress are likely due to a lack of 1) research funding, 2) research personnel, 3) and an interdisciplinary approach to solve the complex interactions between management, diseases, insects, and the environment. Therefore, we propose a new team oriented approach that will consist of forage agronomists, entomologists and plant pathologists in order to make grass-legume pasture systems obtainable and sustainable in the North Central United States. Such a multidisciplinary effort is needed to make progress solving these complex ecological problems. Ethanol production from feed grains is a rapidly growing industry contributing to the economies of the NCR. Total ethanol production in the United States has more than doubled in the last 10 years and is expected to increase in the future. Approximately one-half of the 6.5 billion gallons of ethanol produced annually in the United States is produced in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and North Dakota. Including the amounts produced in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Illinois, this region accounts for 90% of U.S. ethanol production. Processing grain for ethanol also annually yields 10 million tons of the co-product, distillers grains. Other grain processing industries, such as wet processing of corn for fructose production, yield additional co-products like corn gluten feed. These co-products have proven to be cost-effective nutrient supplements for cattle and other animals.
Increased demand for energy has resulted in rapidly escalating costs of fuel, fertilizer, and feed which is having a negative impact on the beef industry. Decreased profitability has resulted in a steady decline in the US beef cow inventory during the past 30 years with an 8% reduction since 1995. If beef production is to remain an economically sustainable enterprise, production must be enhanced, production efficiency increased, and/or production costs decreased. Feed costs alone account for nearly 50% of production costs for the beef cow-calf enterprise and therefore present the greatest potential for cost savings. Demand for grain from the biofuel industry has been a major contributor to increased feed costs for the livestock industry. However, significant quantities of co-products are generated by the biofuels industry that can be used as feedstuffs by beef cattle. Research to develop strategies for utilization of these co-products as efficacious and economical sources of nutrients for grazing beef cattle is needed to sustain profitable beef production. Strategic use of biofuel co-products by grazing beef cattle has potential to enhance production and increase production efficiency while providing a lower cost source of supplement.
We hypothesize that the sustainability and profitability of the beef industry can be improved by increasing the proportion of total cattle feed that is harvested directly by grazing cattle and by balancing the diets of grazing cattle with cost-effective supplements. Productivity of forage-livestock systems in the NCR is primarily limited by seasonality of forage growth. Throughout most of the NCR (east of 100W), pastures comprised mainly of cool-season forage species are the predominant source of nutrients for grazing livestock. These pastures produce most of their growth in the spring and early summer. Consequently, the carrying capacity of these pastures is greatly reduced as the season progresses. Under typical management practices, much of the early growth is undergrazed and forage is stockpiled for use later in the season. A major problem with this management system is that as nongrazed forage is allowed to mature, its quality diminishes to very low levels. The energy value of cool-season grasses can change as much as 30% from the vegetative stage to maturity (Nelson and Moser, 1994). In the western area of the NCR, warm-season species predominate. While these species are most productive in mid-summer, forage in these rangelands may be of inadequate quantity and/or quality in early and late summer. Furthermore, the supply of forage with adequate nutritional quality for grazing in the NCR may be limiting during fall and winter when both cool- and warm-season species are dormant. Livestock growth rates and reproductive performance generally decline in response to these changes in seasonal forage availability and quality unless animal diets are supplemented with additional nutrients.
When forage mass or nutritive value is limiting, use of supplemental feeds may be necessary to maintain productivity of grazing animals. Energy supplementation has increased daily gains in steers (Elizalde et al., 1998; Hess et al, 1996) and conception rates in cows (Marston et al., 1995) grazing during summer or winter. However, energy supplementation of grazing cattle with grain commonly reduces forage intake (Pordomingo et al., 1991), depending on forage quality and supplement source. The amount of forage substituted by grain supplementation is lower on forages with low crude protein concentrations (Caton and Dhuyvetter, 1997) or if the supplement is comprised of highly digestible fiber sources like corn gluten feed or wheat bran (Elizalde et al., 1998; Hess et al., 1996). In the CRIS database, the relationship between corn grain and soy hulls as energy supplements for grazing cattle is being evaluated in one project (KY0-06091). In the CRIS database, the relationship between corn grain and soy hulls as energy supplements for grazing cattle was being evaluated in one project (KY0-06091). Forages such as mature warm-season grasses and crop residues contain low concentrations of crude protein; therefore, protein supplementation of cattle grazing these forages may be necessary to optimize cattle weight gains and reproductive performance (Creighton et al., 2003). While cattle diets must contain some protein that is degradable in the rumen (DIP) to supply the needs of rumen microorganisms (Karsli, 1998), excessive amounts of degradable protein and inadequate amounts of undegraded protein (UIP) have reduced weight gains in growing cattle (Bodine and Purvis, 2003; Karges et al., 1992) and pregnancy rates and economic value in heifers (Paterson et al., 2003) grazing native range. Distillers grains are an excellent source of both energy and UIP and contain little starch, therefore, should not depress fiber digestion. Furthermore, distillers grains contain high concentrations of phosphorus that is likely deficient in mature forages particularly during winter (Klopfenstein, 2001).
If this research were not done beef producers could be less efficient, experiencing greater expenses, less profit, and more environmental impact. It could reduce the tax revenues for rural and state economies, and ultimately cause some producers to go out of business, affecting the rural economy, hence local and state population distribution and tax bases.
This project will be conducted at research stations throughout the Great Plains. Participants have access to experimental pastures, livestock handling and feeding facilities, and laboratories at their respective institutions. The 5 year project will allow for adequate time to evaluate the testing of legume establishment and persistence under livestock grazing. In addition, researchers at the participating institutions are well respected and have demonstrated their expertise in evaluating the feeding of biofuel co-products to livestock. The advantages of a multistate effort include synergistic relationships among multi-disciplinary colleagues at the different institutions, ability to evaluate legume establishment and persistence over wide north to south and east to west climatic gradients, and the ability to disseminate research findings to a broad regional audience. A number of the faculty have cooperative extension appointments and will assist the dissemination of research findings. The production of co-products is widespread in these states, and thus potential implementation of co-products findings by a large number of producers is high in each state. Furthermore, because perennial grass forages encompass nearly 100 million acres of the NCR, the land area potentially affected by legume research and the number of producers benefitted is extensive. Collaborative extension efforts will aide in reaching this broad audience. The likely impacts from successfully completing the work include 1) elucidation of impediments to legume establishment in existing grass swards, 2) development of successful establishment techniques for a diverse set of legume species over a wide geographical area, 3) knowledge of grazing strategies to maintain legume persistence, 4) widespread adoption of legume interseeding into pastures throughout the Great Plains, 5) reduced nitrogen fertilizer demand, and 6) increased economic returns. Likely impacts from successfully completing biofuel co-product research will include 1) development of guidelines for optimum storage and feeding of co-products mixed with low quality forage, 2) knowledge of optimum feeding of co-products to grazing livestock and the replacement value of grazed forage, 3) knowledge of nutrient cycling of co-products fed to grazing livestock, 4) widespread adoption of feeding co-products by producers, and 5) improved profitability of producers throughout the Great Plains. Increased use of legumes on just 1% of the 106 million acres of NC perennial forages could replace 50,000 tons of synthetic N. In addition, more efficient utilization of low quality roughages through the incorporation of high quality distillers grains in cattle diets could potentially save $10-20 per cow, which could increase the profit to the beef industry in the NCR by $80-160 million.
Back to Top