Advertisement
Research Article| Volume 28, ISSUE 4, P433-442, August 2012

Download started.

Ok

Impact of clover additions to toxic or nontoxic endophyte-infected tall fescue on animal performance and economics of stocker programs1

DOI:https://doi.org/10.15232/S1080-7446(15)30383-1
Impact of clover additions to toxic or nontoxic endophyte-infected tall fescue on animal performance and economics of stocker programs1
Previous ArticleEffects of year-round stocking rates and stocking methods on performance of cow-calf pairs grazing dallisgrass-common bermudagrass pastures overseeded with annual ryegrass1
Next ArticleSmooth bromegrass pasture beef growing systems: Fertilization strategies and economic analysis1
      This paper is only available as a PDF. To read, Please Download here.

      ABSTRACT

      During the autumn and spring grazing periods of 4 yr, performance of growing steers grazing six 0.8-ha toxic-endophyte-infected (TE) tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) S.J. Darbysh. = Festuca arundinacea Schreb., cv. Kentucky 31; KY31] was compared with the nontoxic-endophyte-infected (NE) tall fescue cultivars Jesup MaxQ (Pennington Seed, Madison, GA; n = 6) and Texoma MaxQII (Pennington
      Seed; n = 6) either with N applied in autumn and spring (n = 3 pastures per cultivar) or grown in combination with white clover (CL, Trifolium repens L.; cv. Regal Graze, Producer’s Choice, Woodland, CA; n = 3 pastures per cultivar). Growing steers (n = 252, BW = 228 ± 4.2 kg in the autumn and n = 343, BW 229 ± 4.8 kg in the spring) were stocked to pastures at 3.7 steers/ ha in the autumn, whereas initial stocking rates were adjusted to match forage mass each spring. Enterprise budgeting was used to compute net returns. Data in this 3 × 2 factorial arrangement were analyzed as a randomized complete block design using year as the random blocking factor. Performance of steers grazing NE was increased (P < 0.01) by 0.21 kg/d in the autumn and 0.57 kg/d in the spring compared with TE. Clovers did not affect (P = 0.46) ADG in the autumn but increased (P < 0.01) ADG in the spring by 0.2 kg/d; however, stocking rates and grazing days per hectare were decreased (P < 0.01) with CL regardless of season. Interseeding CL into KY31 pastures had no effect (P ≥ 0.41) on BW gain per hectare. Body weight gain per hectare for NE was 79% greater (P < 0.01) than KY31, and NE tall fescue with N produced 17% more (P < 0.01) BW gain per hectare than CL. Neither N nor CL affected (P = 0.41) BW gain per hectare of KY31 pastures. Although CL pastures were not as productive, net returns were increased (P < 0.01) because of reduced costs of production. Using CL resulted in similar improvements in ADG for both TE and NE pastures. Profitability of NE-based stocker programs was at a minimum 3 times greater than TE-based stocker programs in any scenario.

      Key words

      To read this article in full you will need to make a payment

      Purchase one-time access:

      Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online access
      One-time access price info
      • For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
      • For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'

      Subscribe:

      Subscribe to
      Already a print subscriber? Claim online access
      Already an online subscriber? Sign in
      Register: Create an account
      Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect

      LITERATURE CITED

        • Andrae J.
        • Hill N.
        • Bouton J.
        Performance and urinary alkaloid excretion of stocker cattle grazing nontoxic or toxic tall fescue over-seeded with white clover.
        J. Anim. Sci. 2006; 84 (Abstr.): 323
        • Beck P.A.
        • Gunter S.A.
        • Lusby K.S.
        • West C.P.
        • Watkins K.B.
        • Hubbell D.S.
        Animal performance and economic comparison of novel and toxic endophyte tall fescues to cool-season annuals.
        J. Anim. Sci. 2008; 86: 2043-2055
        • Beck P.A.
        • Gunter S.A.
        • Phillips J.M.
        Evaluation of supplementation programs for growing cattle grazing tall fescue.
        Prof. Anim. Sci. 2006; 22: 325-333
        • Beck P.A.
        • Hubbell D.
        • Hess T.
        Economic implications of replacing synthetic nitrogen with clovers in cool-season annual pasture production system.
        Prof. Anim. Sci. 2012; 28: 108-114
        • Beck P.A.
        • Stewart C.B.
        • Gunter S.A.
        • Singh D.
        Novel endophyte tall fescue for stocker cattle in the Gulf Coastal Plain.
        Prof. Anim. Sci. 2009; 25: 569-579
        • BeefBasis.com
        Feeder cattle basis forecast.
        http://www. beefbasis.com/ForecastingTools/Basisand-PriceForecast/tabid/603/Default.aspx
        Date: 2012
        (Accessed May 4, 2012)
        • Chapman S.L.
        Soil Test Recommendations Guide.
        Univ. Arkansas Coop. Ext. Serv. AGR-9, Little Rock, AR. 1998;
        • Chestnut A.B.
        • Fribourg H.A.
        • McLaren J.B.
        • Keltner D.G.
        • Reddick B.B.
        • Carlisle R.J.
        • Smith M.C.
        Effects of Acremonium coenophialum infestation, bermudagrass, and nitrogen or clover on steers grazing tall fescue pastures.
        J. Prod. Agric. 1991; 4: 208-213
        • Coffey K.P.
        • Lomas L.W.
        • Moyer J.L.
        Grazing and subsequent feedlot performance by steers that grazed different types of fescue pasture.
        J. Prod. Agric. 1990; 3: 415-420
        • Coombs D.F.
        • Joost R.E.
        • Loyacano A.F.
        • Pitman W.D.
        Endophyte-free tall fescue potential for pastures on fertile clay loam soils in central Louisiana.
        Prof. Anim. Sci. 1999; 15: 230-237
        • Franzluebbers A.J.
        • Stuedemann J.A.
        Pasture and cattle responses to fertilization and endophyte association in the southern Piedmont.
        USA. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 2006; 114: 217-225
        • Gunter S.A.
        • Beck P.A.
        Novel endophyte-infected tall fescue for growing beef cattle.
        J. Anim. Sci. 2004; 82 (http://www.asas.org/ symposia/04esupp/E75.pdf) (Accessed Jan. 4, 2012)
        • Gwinn K.D.
        • Colllins-Shephard M.H.
        • Reddick B.B.
        Tissue print-immunoblot, an accurate method for the detection of Acremonium coenophialum in tall fescue(Festuca arundinacea).
        Phytopathology. 1992; 81: 747-748
        • Hoelscher J.E.
        • Laurent G.D.
        Soil survey of Independence County, Arkansas. USDA, SCS.
        Fayetteville, Arkansas Agric. Exp. Sta.1982
        • Hopkins A.A.
        • Alison M.W.
        Stand persistence and animal performance for tall fescue endophyte combinations in the south central USA.
        Agron. J. 2006; 98: 1221-1226
        • Hoveland C.S.
        Beef-forage systems for the southeastern United States.
        J. Anim. Sci. 1986; 63: 978-985
        • Hoveland C.S.
        • McCann M.A.
        • Bouton J.H.
        Influence of endophyte, alfalfa, and grazing pressure on steer performance and plant persistence of Jesup tall fescue.
        J. Prod. Agric. 1997; 10: 546-550
        • Hoveland C.S.
        • Schmidt S.P.
        • King C.C.
        • Odom J.W.
        • Clark E.M.
        • McGuire J.A.
        • Smith L.A.
        • Grimes H.W.
        • Holliman J.L.
        Steer performance and association of Acremonium coenophialum fungal endophyte on tall fescue pasture.
        Agron. J. 1983; 75: 821-824
        • Lomas L.W.
        • Moyer J.L.
        • Milliken G.A.
        Grazing and finishing performance of steers that grazed nontoxic endophyte-infected tall fescue.
        Forage and Grazinglands. 2011; https://doi.org/10.1094/FG-2011-0628-01-RS
        • McMurphy W.E.
        • Lusby K.S.
        • Smith S.C.
        • Muntz S.H.
        • Strasia C.A.
        Steer performance on tall fescue pasture.
        J. Prod. Agric. 1990; 3: 100-102
        • Nihsen M.E.
        • Piper E.L.
        • West C.P.
        • Crawford R.J.
        • Denard T.M.
        • Johnson Z.B.
        • Roberts C.A.
        • Spires D.A.
        • Rosenkrans Jr., C.F.
        Growth rate and physiology of calves grazing tall fescue inoculated with novel endophytes.
        J. Anim. Sci. 2004; 82: 878-883
        • NRC
        Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle.
        in: 6th rev. ed. Natl. Acad. Press, Washington, DC1996
        • Owensby C.E.
        Modified step-point system for botanical composition and basal cover estimates.
        J. Range Manage. 1973; 26: 302-303
        • Parish J.A.
        • McCann M.A.
        • Watson R.H.
        • Paiva N.N.
        • Hoveland C.S.
        • Parks A.H.
        • Upchurch B.L.
        • Hill N.S.
        • Bouton J.H.
        Use of nonergot alkaloid-producing endophytes for alleviating tall fescue toxicosis in stocker cattle.
        J. Anim. Sci. 2003; 81: 2856-2868
        • Roberts C.
        • Andrae J.
        Tall fescue toxicosis and management.
        Crop Management. 2004; https://doi.org/10.1094/CM-2004-0427-01-MG
        • Rouquette Jr., F.M.
        • Smith G.R.
        Review: Effects of biological nitrogen fixation and nutrient cycling on stocking strategies for cow-calf and stocker programs.
        Prof. Anim. Sci. 2010; 26: 131-141
        • Stiles S.
        • Griffin T.
        Estimating Farm Machinery Costs. FSA21, Cooperative Extension Service.
        Univ. of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Little Rock2007
        • Thompson R.W.
        • Fribourg H.A.
        • Waller J.C.
        • Sanders W.L.
        • Reynolds J.H.
        • Phillips J.M.
        • Schmidt S.P.
        • Crawford Jr., R.J.
        • Allen V.G.
        • Faulkner D.B.
        • Hoveland C.S.
        • Fontenot J.P.
        • Carlisle R.J.
        • Hunter P.P.
        Combined analysis of tall fescue steer grazing studies in the Eastern United States.
        J. Anim. Sci. 1993; 71: 1940-1946
        • Woods W.J.
        • Essig H.W.
        • Withers Jr., F.T.
        • Watson V.H.
        • Cantrell C.E.
        Fescue, fescue-clover, and ryegrass for stocker production and profitability. Bulletin 959.
        Miss. State Univ. Agric. & Forestry Exp. Sta, Mississippi State, MS1989
        • Zhuang J.
        • Marchant M.A.
        • Schardl C.L.
        • Butler C.M.
        Economic analysis of replacing endophyte-infected with endophyte-free tall fescue pasture.
        Agron. J. 2005; 97: 711-716

      Article info

      Identification

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.15232/S1080-7446(15)30383-1

      Copyright

      © 2012 American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

      ScienceDirect

      Access this article on ScienceDirect

      The content on this site is intended for healthcare professionals.


      We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content. To update your cookie settings, please visit the Cookie Preference Center for this site.
      Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. except certain content provided by third parties.


      RELX