Stocker cattle performance on interseeded alfalfa bermudagrass pastures in Mississippi. Issue 1 (11th May 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rushing, Brett; Lemus, Rocky; Maples, Joshua Gilchrist; Lyles, John Clay
• Is Part Of: Crop, forage & turfgrass management. Volume 8:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2022-05-11
• Subjects: Crop science -- Periodicals; Agronomy -- Periodicals; Forage -- Periodicals; Turf management -- Periodicals; Agronomy; Crop science; Forage; Turf management; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 633
• DOI: 10.1002/cft2.20164
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2374-3832

Abstract

Abstract: Beef cattle ( Bos taurus ) production systems in the southeastern United States are often riddled with inefficiencies, particularly when it comes to forage management, and the lack of high‐quality forages utilized during the warmer months of the year. A grazing trial was conducted in east‐central Mississippi on a fine sandy loam soil in which bermudagrass ( Cynodon dactylon L.) was interseeded with 'Bulldog 505' alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.). The randomized complete block design consisted of three treatments: (a) unfertilized bermudagrass (BG), (b) fertilized bermudagrass (100 lb N acre –1 yr –1 ) (BGN), and (c) bermudagrass interseeded with alfalfa (BGA). Forage production, along with animal performance, and economic analysis were compared across all three treatments for three grazing seasons (2017–2019). The BGA system had greater cumulative forage mass (FM), crude protein (CP), and total digestible nutrients (TDN) compared with the BG treatment. The BGA treatment had the greatest average daily gain (ADG; 1.83 lb head –1 d –1 ) and GAIN (178 lb acre –1 ). Based on increased forage and animal performance, the BGA treatment had a net revenue of US$75.61 acre –1, compared with the BG ($15.49 acre –1 ) and BGN (–$26.50 acre –1 ) treatments. Our results indicate that interseeding alfalfa into bermudagrass pastures has the potential to increase farm profitability, especially with fluctuations in N prices. Core Ideas: Interseeded alfalfa in bermudagrass pastures had greater average daily gains than bermudagrass alone. Interseeded alfalfa in bermudagrass pastures had greater cumulative forage yields and nutritive value. Interseeded alfalfa in bermudagrass pastures had similar net returns compared with bermudagrass alone.