PUBLISHED BY MANITOBA BEEF PRODUCERS
FEBRUARY 2024
Producers are keeping a close eye on their animals as well as the weather because the lack of snowfall through early January could make for a challenging spring. (Photo credit: Steven Manns/MBP)
Research Round-up for 2023: U of M Research Addressing Current Beef Industry Priorities Over the last year, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (FAFS) scientists have been hard at work to address current beef research priorities identified by Manitoba Beef Producers and the Beef Cattle Research Council. Below is a snapshot of some of this research which includes feed security, environmental sustainability and biodiversity, precision technologies, animal and farmer health/welfare, and food safety. Exploring alternative feeding and grazing strategies Maintaining feed quality of standing forage into the late fall/early winter remains a significant challenge for producers, and UM scientists are addressing the challenge by utilizing intercropping to enhance the value of corn grazing for growing cattle. Corn is high yielding and high in energy but lacks the required protein for optimal growth of growing cattle. Intercropping is a
potential way to tackle this problem, however much is unknown about the agronomic, animal and economic implications of intercropping corn for fall/winter grazing. Through a range of Prairie wide small plot trials, researchers at the UofM are evaluating the potential of this practice and the impact of intercrop forage species, timing and method of seeding of intercrop and fertility. Additionally, a large-scale pasture trial in the fall/ winter of 2023 saw the grazing of replacement heifers on intercropped corn where forage quality/yield, animal performance, feed intake and enteric methane emissions were measured. Key to the potential of any novel grazing strategy is its cost and in collaboration with the University of Alberta, the team will assess the economic implications of intercropped corn for beef cattle on the Prairies.
Intercropping is not restricted to corn and in a new, Canada wide project, the team is investigating annual forages including cereals, legumes, grasses and brassica for spring and fall season grazing of growing cattle. To date, annual crops for fall grazing have been mostly utilized for swath grazing but there is also increased interest in spring grazing of annuals, however, little data exists in this area. More information is needed on spring/fall grazing of standing annual forage crops and suitable mixtures to maximize forage quality and yield. A team of animal, plant, soil and economic researchers will evaluate the impact of a variety of forage mixtures (simple and complex) not only on forage yield and nutritional value but also on animal performance, greenhouse gas emissions, soil health, subsequent crop yields and economic sustainability. page 5
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