Sorghum Silage as a Feed Alternative for Backgrounding Heifers in Florida

Sorghum has been gaining attention in Florida as a crop alternative harvested as whole plant silage for inclusion in backgrounding diets as the main roughage source to fill the forage gap in winter feeding programs. The objective of this publication is to share the experience of three consecutive y...

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Main Authors: Federico Tarnonsky, Federico Podversich, Araceli Maderal, Nicolas DiLorenzo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries 2025-04-01
Series:EDIS
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/134657
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author Federico Tarnonsky
Federico Podversich
Araceli Maderal
Nicolas DiLorenzo
author_facet Federico Tarnonsky
Federico Podversich
Araceli Maderal
Nicolas DiLorenzo
author_sort Federico Tarnonsky
collection DOAJ
description Sorghum has been gaining attention in Florida as a crop alternative harvested as whole plant silage for inclusion in backgrounding diets as the main roughage source to fill the forage gap in winter feeding programs. The objective of this publication is to share the experience of three consecutive years at the North Florida Research and Education Center (NFREC) in Marianna, Florida, using whole-plant sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) silage as the main dietary ingredient for growing heifers. County Extension agents and cattle producers can use this report to reference a range of expected weight gains, feed conversion rates, and costs when using sorghum silage as the main dietary ingredient in backgrounding beef cattle diets. Adopting this technology could increase the opportunity for producers to add value to weaned calves across Florida, where there are suitable conditions for growing sorghum. 
format Article
id doaj-art-ff08a56235b444eca5d3bb3255458431
institution DOAJ
issn 2576-0009
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries
record_format Article
series EDIS
spelling doaj-art-ff08a56235b444eca5d3bb32554584312025-08-20T03:18:18ZengThe University of Florida George A. Smathers LibrariesEDIS2576-00092025-04-012025210.32473/edis-an398-2025Sorghum Silage as a Feed Alternative for Backgrounding Heifers in FloridaFederico Tarnonsky0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5563-1956Federico Podversich1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0852-790XAraceli Maderal2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2267-1131Nicolas DiLorenzo3University of FloridaUniversity of FloridaUniversity of FloridaUniversity of Florida Sorghum has been gaining attention in Florida as a crop alternative harvested as whole plant silage for inclusion in backgrounding diets as the main roughage source to fill the forage gap in winter feeding programs. The objective of this publication is to share the experience of three consecutive years at the North Florida Research and Education Center (NFREC) in Marianna, Florida, using whole-plant sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) silage as the main dietary ingredient for growing heifers. County Extension agents and cattle producers can use this report to reference a range of expected weight gains, feed conversion rates, and costs when using sorghum silage as the main dietary ingredient in backgrounding beef cattle diets. Adopting this technology could increase the opportunity for producers to add value to weaned calves across Florida, where there are suitable conditions for growing sorghum.  https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/134657sorghum silagecattle feeding
spellingShingle Federico Tarnonsky
Federico Podversich
Araceli Maderal
Nicolas DiLorenzo
Sorghum Silage as a Feed Alternative for Backgrounding Heifers in Florida
EDIS
sorghum silage
cattle feeding
title Sorghum Silage as a Feed Alternative for Backgrounding Heifers in Florida
title_full Sorghum Silage as a Feed Alternative for Backgrounding Heifers in Florida
title_fullStr Sorghum Silage as a Feed Alternative for Backgrounding Heifers in Florida
title_full_unstemmed Sorghum Silage as a Feed Alternative for Backgrounding Heifers in Florida
title_short Sorghum Silage as a Feed Alternative for Backgrounding Heifers in Florida
title_sort sorghum silage as a feed alternative for backgrounding heifers in florida
topic sorghum silage
cattle feeding
url https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/134657
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AT federicopodversich sorghumsilageasafeedalternativeforbackgroundingheifersinflorida
AT aracelimaderal sorghumsilageasafeedalternativeforbackgroundingheifersinflorida
AT nicolasdilorenzo sorghumsilageasafeedalternativeforbackgroundingheifersinflorida