StockTalk Q&A Feature Brought to you by Manitoba Agriculture

Shawn Cabak Livestock Specialist -Beef Manitoba Agriculture

shawn.cabak@gov.mb.ca

Question: I have heard annual forages are more moisture efficient than perennial forages. Has any research been done in Manitoba to show which annual crop provides the highest forage yield and quality?

Answer: The Manitoba Crop Variety Evaluation Trials (MCVET) annual forage trials were started last year at four sites; this year there were five sites across the province including Melita, Roblin, Arborg, Carberry and Carman. The objective of the program is to test different varieties of annual crops for forage yield and quality across Manitoba. Th ree replicates of each crop and variety were planted at each site.

Above-average precipitation this year caused some areas of the province to experience over 150 percent of normal precipitation for much of the growing season. To help manage the wet conditions and delayed seeding, livestock producers can grow annual forage crops that can be cut for silage, greenfeed, or used for grazing.

One of the reasons for initiating the annual forage trial is because annual crops are more moisture-efficient than perennial forages. And in wet years, annual forages can be used to help remove moisture from the soil and provide feed when seeded late. For example, corn requires three inches of moisture to produce one tonne of dry matter, versus four inches for barley and over six inches for alfalfa or timothy. As a result, annual crops are still able to yield reasonably well in dry years while perennial forage yields suffer.

Both warm and cool season crops were included in the trials. Warm season crops like sorghum, millet and corn are more drought- and heat-tolerant. Cool season crops such as oats, barley and triticale prefer normal growing conditions that are cooler and wetter. In the annual forage trial, there were three oat varieties, five barley varieties, one spring triticale variety, an oat and pea mixture, a barley and pea mixture, proso and foxtail millet, one sorghum variety and one sorghum-sudangrass variety. In general, the varieties selected for the trials were chosen for their higher grain yield, taller growth, lodging resistance, smooth awns and better disease resistance.

Renovating and fertilizing perennial forages

Younger and properly-fertilized perennial forage stands yield better than older stands that lack fertility. Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) forage insurance coverage is higher for forage stands four years or younger due to their higher yield potential.

In fact, a field of alfalfa less than four years old in risk area 1 (southwest Manitoba) with 80 per cent Select Hay insurance is covered for $339 an acre, while an alfalfa/grass field will be covered at $249 an acre with premiums of $11.24 and $7.87 an acre, respectively.

Renovating and fertilizing perennial forages helps to maintain forage production. Including at least 50 per cent legume in a mix will provide adequate nitrogen to the grass in the stand saving you on fertilizer cost. In 2021 younger, fertilized fields of alfalfa/grass yielded more than four times the number of bales per acre compared to older, unfertilized grass stands.

Seeding a mix of a winter cereal and a spring cereal can be used for grazing in the spring or can be cut for greenfeed or silage. The winter cereal will regrow and can be grazed later in the summer and fall. Fall rye or winter wheat used for grazing has good regrowth and won’t head out the year they are planted. Adding cover crops or Italian rye grass to the cereals will provide more forage for later summer or fall grazing.

Millet and sorghum

Proso millets mature earlier and head out in 50 to 60 days, but are generally lower-yielding than the foxtail millets. Both foxtail and proso millets are suitable for hay,