Effect of maturity at harvest of small-grain grasses on the nutritional composition of forage and ration formulation
ABSTRACT: We hypothesized that, relative to harvesting small-grain grasses at the soft dough stage (SFT) of maturity, harvesting small-grain grasses at the boot stage (BT) of maturity would result in less expensive dairy rations when commodity prices are high but not when commodity prices are low. S...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Dairy Science |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030225001560 |
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| author | G. Ferreira C.L. Teets H. Galyon A.L. Cappellina M.E. Schultz K.M. Payne S. Stewart W.E. Thomason |
| author_facet | G. Ferreira C.L. Teets H. Galyon A.L. Cappellina M.E. Schultz K.M. Payne S. Stewart W.E. Thomason |
| author_sort | G. Ferreira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT: We hypothesized that, relative to harvesting small-grain grasses at the soft dough stage (SFT) of maturity, harvesting small-grain grasses at the boot stage (BT) of maturity would result in less expensive dairy rations when commodity prices are high but not when commodity prices are low. Small plots of small-grain grasses were planted during the fall of 2020 and 2021 in Blacksburg, Blackstone, and Orange, Virginia. In each year and location, 2 varieties of barley, 2 varieties of rye, and 4 varieties of triticale were planted in plots replicated 6 times, yielding 288 plots. Within each year and location, we harvested half of the plots at BT and the other half at SFT. For each of the 6 small-grain grasses, we formulated 8 rations according to 8 different scenarios using the least-cost optimizer. The scenarios included high and low commodity prices, high and low dietary forage (60% and 40% forage, respectively), and the inclusion of small-grain grasses harvested at BT or SFT. Harvesting at SFT yielded 107% to 205% more DM than harvesting at BT. Relative to BT, small-grain grasses harvested at SFT had greater concentrations of OM, NDF, ADF, ADL, and starch but lower concentrations of CP. Relative to BT, small-grain grasses harvested at SFT also had a greater concentration of undegraded NDF (NDF basis). Species had minimal influence on the nutritional quality of small-grain grasses for silage. Under a low-price scenario, the ration formulation system ignored all 6 small-grain grass silages and included corn silage as the only forage source when we did not limit its inclusion. Under a high-price scenario, the ration formulation system included all 6 small-grain grass silages when formulating low-forage diets with unlimited corn silage. However, a preference between BT and SFT stages did not exist, with the optimizer not consistently selecting a specific maturity stage. After evaluating the yields, the chemical composition, and the effects on ration formulation in this study, future studies should aim to evaluate the influence of maturity at harvest of small-grain grasses on cow performance and environmental impacts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0bea76567b314b91b348ab034c742e06 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0022-0302 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Dairy Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-0bea76567b314b91b348ab034c742e062025-08-20T02:20:11ZengElsevierJournal of Dairy Science0022-03022025-05-0110854934494510.3168/jds.2024-26020Effect of maturity at harvest of small-grain grasses on the nutritional composition of forage and ration formulationG. Ferreira0C.L. Teets1H. Galyon2A.L. Cappellina3M.E. Schultz4K.M. Payne5S. Stewart6W.E. Thomason7School of Animal Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061; Corresponding authorSchool of Animal Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061School of Animal Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061School of Animal Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061School of Animal Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Tech, Blackstone, VA 23824Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061School of Plants and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061; Department of Plant and Soil Science, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078ABSTRACT: We hypothesized that, relative to harvesting small-grain grasses at the soft dough stage (SFT) of maturity, harvesting small-grain grasses at the boot stage (BT) of maturity would result in less expensive dairy rations when commodity prices are high but not when commodity prices are low. Small plots of small-grain grasses were planted during the fall of 2020 and 2021 in Blacksburg, Blackstone, and Orange, Virginia. In each year and location, 2 varieties of barley, 2 varieties of rye, and 4 varieties of triticale were planted in plots replicated 6 times, yielding 288 plots. Within each year and location, we harvested half of the plots at BT and the other half at SFT. For each of the 6 small-grain grasses, we formulated 8 rations according to 8 different scenarios using the least-cost optimizer. The scenarios included high and low commodity prices, high and low dietary forage (60% and 40% forage, respectively), and the inclusion of small-grain grasses harvested at BT or SFT. Harvesting at SFT yielded 107% to 205% more DM than harvesting at BT. Relative to BT, small-grain grasses harvested at SFT had greater concentrations of OM, NDF, ADF, ADL, and starch but lower concentrations of CP. Relative to BT, small-grain grasses harvested at SFT also had a greater concentration of undegraded NDF (NDF basis). Species had minimal influence on the nutritional quality of small-grain grasses for silage. Under a low-price scenario, the ration formulation system ignored all 6 small-grain grass silages and included corn silage as the only forage source when we did not limit its inclusion. Under a high-price scenario, the ration formulation system included all 6 small-grain grass silages when formulating low-forage diets with unlimited corn silage. However, a preference between BT and SFT stages did not exist, with the optimizer not consistently selecting a specific maturity stage. After evaluating the yields, the chemical composition, and the effects on ration formulation in this study, future studies should aim to evaluate the influence of maturity at harvest of small-grain grasses on cow performance and environmental impacts.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030225001560small grainssmall-grain silageboot stagesoft-dough stage |
| spellingShingle | G. Ferreira C.L. Teets H. Galyon A.L. Cappellina M.E. Schultz K.M. Payne S. Stewart W.E. Thomason Effect of maturity at harvest of small-grain grasses on the nutritional composition of forage and ration formulation Journal of Dairy Science small grains small-grain silage boot stage soft-dough stage |
| title | Effect of maturity at harvest of small-grain grasses on the nutritional composition of forage and ration formulation |
| title_full | Effect of maturity at harvest of small-grain grasses on the nutritional composition of forage and ration formulation |
| title_fullStr | Effect of maturity at harvest of small-grain grasses on the nutritional composition of forage and ration formulation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of maturity at harvest of small-grain grasses on the nutritional composition of forage and ration formulation |
| title_short | Effect of maturity at harvest of small-grain grasses on the nutritional composition of forage and ration formulation |
| title_sort | effect of maturity at harvest of small grain grasses on the nutritional composition of forage and ration formulation |
| topic | small grains small-grain silage boot stage soft-dough stage |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030225001560 |
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