Also check for foreign material in the bales, such as rocks, sticks, baling twines or wire. Alyceclover – Alysicarpus vaginalis . Legumes are only being grown in about one-third of the acre-age where they could be grown. Proper seedbed preparation and seeding methods are important. The pasture-adapted varieties tend to have finer leaves, smaller and more numerous tillers, and are later maturing than the hay varieties. hay, silage) can be more profitable due to lower cost per kilogram of weight gain in livestock. Cattle often eat hurriedly and don’t sort out small foreign objects. New shoots originate from the crown of the plant, and the growing point of each shoot is located at the top of the shoot. Legumes used for hay include alfalfa, various types of clover (such as red, crimson, alsike and ladino), lespedeza, birds-foot trefoil, vetch, soybean and cowpeas. Soybeans may not be a new forage crop. Rio Verde lablab, a recently released forage legume by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, could provide some relief to nitrogen fertilizer cost-shock. Good hay will be uniformly green and smell good, with no brown spots or moldy portions. Alfalfa is the most frequently grown forage legume and the highest-yielding perennial forage crop grown in many countries. It is slow to establish but spreads to form a dense sod. Early bloom alfalfa (cut before the blossoms open) has about 18 percent crude protein, compared with 9.8 percent for early bloom timothy (before seed heads fill), 11.4 percent for early bloom orchard grass, and lower levels for most other grasses. Cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) and lablab (Lablab purpureus) are fast growing, annual, summer forage legumes.They are excellent quality crops for fattening both sheep and cattle, and are also regarded as good feed for milking cows. GRASS/LEGUME PASTURE MIXTURES Increasing pasture productivity and profit potential Growing and finishing cattle on pasture rather than on conserved forage (e.g. Tall fescue is a coarse, leafy grass that is useful in long-term pastures and erosion control. Relative cost for hay will vary around the country, with cost reflecting supply and demand — along with freight costs to haul it. This is always wise when trying to evaluate hay for protein or mineral content. This will influence the grass-to-legume ratio of an established stand. If a handful of hay bends easily in your hand, the fiber content is relatively low. Most legumes grown for forages have taproots and broad, compound leaves (composed of a number of leaflets) that are arranged alternately on the stem. Alsike clover is a perennial although it is often treated as a biennial. Sweet clover does not flower in the year of establishment. Grass species differ in their competitiveness with legumes. This past year, the frost-seeding worked very well. Hay that grows fast doesn’t have as much time to absorb minerals from the soil, for instance, and some types of plants mature too quickly; they may be too coarse and stemmy (and past bloom stage, with less nutrient quality than green, growing plants) by the time the hay is harvested. When selecting forage species factors such as the type of animal that will be grazing, whether the field is used as pasture or for hay production, soil condition, and geographic characteristics need to be considered.  The characteristics of some perennial legumes and grasses that are suitable to grow in Massachusetts are described below.Â. The inside should still be green, however, even if the outer edges have faded due to exposure to rain and sun. A small amount of alfalfa or a commercial protein supplement can provide the needed protein, minerals and vitamins. If harvested properly, this makes good hay, especially when it is grown with peas (a legume). The seeding rate for alfalfa is 10 to 15 pounds per acre. It d… Moldy hay, or hay that heated too much after being baled will usually be heavy, stuck together,  and dusty. Kura clover must be inoculated with the correct strain of Rhizobium bacteria. It can grow on soils that are acidic and poorly drained. For high yields and persistence, alfalfa requires well-drained soil, a pH above 6.1, adequate fertility and proper harvest management. Alfalfa has a 6-week critical fall harvest period that should be observed to avoid winterkill. Baling twines in hay can also be hazardous if eaten. Its primary use is hay for dairy cows and horses. Primarily composed of annual grasses that need replanting each year. Smooth bromegrass is palatable and tends to retain its nutritional value with increasing maturity better than most grasses. It is recommended for intensively managed pastures or as very early-cut haylage. Reed canarygrass spreads by rhizomes. Cereal grain crops (especially oats) are sometimes cut while still green and growing, rather than waiting for the seed heads to mature for grain. Alfalfa weevil and three- cornered alfalfa hopper are the main insect problems but all can be controlled with insecticides. The hay can be tested for nitrate content if you are considering using this type of hay. In Massachusetts reed canarygrass has been considered as invasive species and buying and selling seeds is prohibited. Turf-type perennial ryegrasses contain endophytes, so they should not be used for forage. Kura clover is a relatively new pasture legume. They can be overseeded into permanent pastures or seeded with winter annual pastures. Legume hay has more protein than grass hay, and some grasses have more protein than others. Its major drawback tends to be its large fluffy seed, which makes it difficult to seed through the small seed box of drills. In the past, livestock have performed poorly on reed canarygrass because of certain alkaloids it contained. Legumes include alfalfa and clover, two popular choices for energy and nutrition. It also tends to be more palatable than other hay types. There are three general types of white clover: ladino, white Dutch, and small wild white. Alfalfa hay can contain almost two times the protein and three times the calcium of grass hay. Leaf to stem ratio is the most important criteria in judging nutrient quality in an alfalfa plant. A dairy cow needs to be able to eat as much as possible, and she will eat more fine, palatable alfalfa hay than coarse hay, and get a lot more nutrition from it. One way to assess maturity of alfalfa hay is the snap test. Legumes have the unique ability to fix their own nitrogen if they are properly inoculated (nitrogen-fixing bacteria is added to the legume seed before planting). Pigs may also be fed hay, but they do not digest it as efficiently as ruminants. Legumes used for hay include alfalfa, various types of clover (such as red, crimson, alsike and ladino), lespedeza, birdsfoot trefoil, vetch, soybean and cowpeas. Use of red clover as a plow down (cover crop) has become an important practice on many farms. You often can’t tell the quality of hay by looking at the outside. Cool-season or temperate legumes produce most of thei… A transition period of 1 to 2 weeks where livestock have access to both hay and legume is helpful. Legume forages might also be considered for a livestock operation. Its ability to maintain good feed quality into late fall makes it useful in "stockpile grazing" or fall-saved pasture for deferred grazing. As a family, legumes produce higher quantities of protein than grasses. Meadow bromegrass is useful as a pasture species because of its early spring growth and faster recovery rate after grazing. Moldy sweet clover hay may contain dicoumarol, which can prevent normal blood clotting and result in the death of livestock from bleeding. Roots are shallow and fibrous and develop from nodes of the creeping stolons. But, three new varieties, bred specifically for high crude protein and dry matter levels, may offer beef producers another annual forage option. It has a high bloat potential and a … Alsike clover can cause photosensitivity and liver damage in horses, so it should not be included in horse hay or pasture mixtures. Hay falls into several categories: grass, legume, mixed (containing grass and a legume) and cereal grain straw (such as oat hay). Single-cut does not flower in the seeding year or after the first cut in succeeding years. If buying grass hay, maturity at harvest will also make a difference in its nutrient quality. Providing a supplement with an ionophore such as Rumensin® as well as the use of poloxalene (Bloatguard®) several days before turning cattle into pasture with legumes can help reduce the risk of bloat. Straw (aftermath from harvest of oats, barley or wheat) provides energy — created by fermentation breakdown in the rumen. The latter can cause hardware disease in cattle if ingested wire pokes through the gut and creates peritonitis. PastureMax - A versatile blend of grasses that can support cattle, sheep, goats, llamas, and many other animals WildGameMax - For attracting wild game such as deer and turkeys. Good palatable grass hay, cut while still green and growing, can be very adequate, but if grass hay is coarse and dry (with little vitamin A or protein), you’ll need to add some legume hay to their diet. Alfalfa is the most important perennial forage legume for hay production and is sometimes used for grazing. Most dairy cattle will not milk adequately on grass hay, nor on stemmy, coarse alfalfa without many leaves. It is also well adapted to soils with marginal drainage. You should also open a few bales and look at the hay inside, to check texture, maturity, color and leafiness. There are two types of sweet clover: white-flowered and yellow-flowered. Alfalfa, botanically called Medicago sativa is one of the most important leguminous forage in the world. Legumes. Kura clover has poor seedling vigour and is difficult to establish. Once introduced by infected seed, the fungus cannot be controlled in an established stand of tall fescue. Hay falls into several categories: grass, legume, mixed (containing grass and a legume) and cereal grain straw (such as oat hay). It can, however, provide high yields on well-drained soils and will produce higher yields than other grass species during dry conditions. Grasses are lower in protein than legumes when cut at a similar stage of development. Ongoing studies at Utah State University are demonstrating that spring-born cattle can be finished on legume pastures in a time frame similar to feedlot-finished cattle. Reed canarygrass is slow to establish and is not competitive in the year of seeding. Next to pasture, good quality hay is the most ideal feed. It does not do well in hot climates, however. Excessive top growth of perennial ryegrass can result in winterkill, in alfalfa mixtures that are left to over-winter. They require high levels of phosphorus, potassium and, in acid soil, lime. In the spring of the second year, it grows quickly to become a tall, coarse-stemmed plant. Top and bottom bales will weigh more (adding cost) and have spoilage. The secret to higher gain — and higher consumer acceptability relative to grass-finished beef — is the exceptionally high quality of the forage, which has low fiber and high energy, and is similar in nutritive value to a feedlot-finishing ration. Perennial ryegrass is early and vigorous in the spring, and grows well into the fall, but is unproductive during the hot, dry summer months. Problem of hay with moldy sweet clover. It does not establish well if it is either surface seeded or seeded deeper than 5 cm (2 in.). Alfalfa (/ æ l ˈ f æ l f ə /), also called lucerne and called Medicago sativa in binomial nomenclature, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae.It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. Some of the more common grass hays include timothy, brome, orchard grass and bluegrass. Grasses have many long, slender leaves that are borne on a stem. Grasses with rhizomes are capable of thickening up a stand. ©2020 University of Massachusetts Amherst • Site Policies, Best Management Practices (BMP)/Environmental Protection, Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment, Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment. With the development of grazing tolerant varieties, more alfalfa is being used for grazing. It grows best during cool, moist weather on well-drained, fertile soils. Its aggressive seedlings make orchardgrass easy to establish. Kentucky Bluegrass is a highly palatable grass that tolerates heavy traffic and close, frequent grazing better than other cool-season grasses, making it well adapted for permanent pastures. If properly inoculated, legumes have the capacity to use atmospheric nitrogen, eliminating the need to apply nitrogen from commercial sources. Kelln also said the cost per acre to seed the legumes, amortized over the suggested typical 10-year life of a pasture, was $24.49 for the cicer milkvetch and $21.97 for the sainfoin. Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, donkeys, goats, and sheep.However, it is also fed to smaller domesticated animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs. It will reseed itself, making it an excellent choice for steep or stony land not suitable for cultivating. Grasses without rhizomes are known as bunch grasses. Alsike produces only one cut of hay per year and is not normally a preferred forage legume. In central and southern parts of the country you are more apt to find Coastal Bermuda grass, brome or orchard grass because these tolerate heat and humidity better. Hay will fit into four categories: grass, legume, a mixture of grass and legume, and cereal grain straw. Meadow fescue yields well during the summer and fall and maintain its feed quality later into the season than most grass species. If buying alfalfa hay, you’ll want to know if it is first, second or third cutting (or later), and at what stage of growth it was harvested. It is adapted to most soil types, tolerates imperfect drainage and withstands animal traffic well. My goal is 50% total legumes in pastures. Th e hay supply for winter feeding comes primarily from excess cool-season forage grasses in spring and is usually harvested too late for highest quality and animal performance. Try to select hay that has been protected from weather by a tarp or hay shed, unless you are buying it directly out of the field after baling. Some of these native grasses, when cut before seed heads mature, are very palatable and high enough in protein content for calves and lactating cows, without having to add a supplemental protein source. Some hayfields consist of “wild hay” or “meadow hay” as compared to “tame” hay grasses that have been planted. When properly fertilized and managed, Kentucky bluegrass production can be markedly improved, especially during spring. Check for weeds, mold, dust, discoloration due to weathering (to know if the cut hay was rained on before being baled and stacked). Birdsfoot trefoil, similar to alfalfa, has a critical fall harvest period, beginning about 10 days earlier than alfalfa. Cattle can generally tolerate dustier hay than can horses, and can often eat a little mold without problems. The Legumes provide good quality forage and fix nitrogen over an extended portion of the year. Legume hay is known for its high protein and calcium levels, as well being rich in vitamins and minerals. Dairy cattle need the best hay— with the most nutrients per pound— since they are producing more milk than a beef cow. Its inferior forage quality as compared to more commonly used legumes (eg alfalfa and red clover) limits its utility. If hay must be hauled very far, the price of fuel (in freight costs added to the base price) will make the total very expensive. Types of Hay. Not only does it not require nitrogen fertilizer, Rio Verde lablab is found palatable by both cattle and wildlife, says its developer, Ray Smith, Experiment Station plant breeder based at Overton, TX. It develops coarse stems and leaves, and quickly loses palatability and digestibility after heading. All recommended varieties are endophyte-free. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as well as a green manure and cover crop.The name alfalfa is used in North America. It spreads by underground stems called rhizomes, has an extensive root system and thickens with time. A very large tap root gives legumes such as alfalfa, kura clover and sweetclover greater drought tolerance than other forage legumes. It is a short-lived perennial that can reseed itself. There is a wide range of grasses and legumes available, and each species has its own particular plant and seed characteristics, making it more or less suitable for a producer's purpose. It is a leaf protein with well-balanced amino acid profile; alfalfa is one of the major sources of protein for livestock, including poultry birds in free-range system or organic poultry farming. Grass hay can be lower in phosphorus and is always lower in calcium than alfalfa, but a combination hay made up of alfalfa and grass is better for beef cows than straight alfalfa hay. But the stems become coarser and more fibrous. Plant breeders have developed newer varieties that are later maturing, do not decline in palatability and digestibility as early and match more closely the maturity of other species in a mixture. Thus legume hay, cut early, is more apt to meet the protein and mineral needs of young growing animals, pregnant and lactating animals than will many of the grass hays. Thus alfalfa is often fed to animals that need more protein and minerals. Some of the more common grass hays include timothy, brome, orchard grass and bluegrass. The quality of the hay needed will also depend on whether you are feeding mature beef cattle, young calves, or dairy cattle. About 2/3 of the energy and 3/4 of the protein and other nutrients are in the leaves of a forage plant (whether grass or legume). Your email address will not be published. Rained-on hay that had to be redried will be dull in color—yellow or brown, rather than bright green. Double-cut will flower in the seeding year, with vigorous regrowth after cutting. Adapted statewide. During the breakdown of fiber in the rumen, heat and energy are created. Grasses such as orchardgrass and the ryegrasses tend to be more competitive with alfalfa than timothy or bromegrass. Calves often chew on and eat twines, which can create fatal blockage in the gut. It produces more protein per unit area than other forage legumes and can be grown alone or in combination with various grass species. dry hay with 6 to 10% protein to young clover with over 25% protein (dry weight basis) and a moisture content of about 85% is a shock to the microflora and protozoa in the rumen. Cattle like it, but some of the nutrients have been cooked; much of the protein and vitamin A have been destroyed. Grass vs. Legume Forages for Dairy Cattle by Jim Paulson, Mary Raeth-Knight, James Linn, University of Minnesota and Hans Jung, USDA-ARS Alfalfa is the primary forage fed to lactating dairy cows; however, there is renewed interest in utilizing grass forages in lactating Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment. A tall fescue pasture without legumes for spring grazing and stockpiling for winter will be added during 1996 to alleviate much of the hay feeding. The presence of coumarin in sweet clover makes it less palatable to livestock. The protein and energy levels of alfalfa-based forage are determined by stage of growth at the time of cutting. Other factors that affect nutritional value include plant species, fertility of soil, harvesting methods (whether the hay was crimped and conditioned to dry faster, losing less leaves and nutrients during drying) and curing time. Mature beef cattle can get by on rather plain hay—of any type—but if lactating they will need adequate  protein. h . These recently released forage soybeans distinguish themselves at first glance; the rather leggy legumes can stand more than six … Orchardgrass will grow much more vigorously in the warm, dry conditions of midsummer than timothy or bromegrass, resulting in a greater proportion of grass in the second and third cutting of alfalfa-grass mixtures. Legumes also supply a considerable amount of nitrogen to the grass portion of the mixture. Hay samples can be tested; core samples from several bales can be sent to a hay testing lab for analysis. As a feed crop, red clover is most often stored as silage since it is difficult to dry, and often results in "dusty" or "moldy" hay. Hay should smell good, not musty, sour or moldy. In drought years when hay is scarce, it will cost a lot more than on years when there is plentiful supply. All hay will weather; the sun bleaches the outside of the bales. Required fields are marked *. In some parts of the country fescue, reed canary grass, ryegrass and Sudan grass are common. As a general rule, good quality legume hay costs more than grass hay (due to higher protein content), unless you live in a region where legume hay is the primary crop. White clover can be frost seeded or no-tilled into existing grass pastures to improve forage quality and yield. There are two general types of red clover: double-cut or "medium" red clover and single-cut or "mammoth" red clover. Check for heat (and smell the hay) to know if it’s fermented. While it is a non-native (native to Asia), this plant is well adapted to North Florida, and has been successfully utilized as a summer hay crop, often planted on cultivated fields following cool-season grasses for grazing, silage or hay. Barley straw is not as well liked, and wheat straw is least desirable as feed. White clover has low tolerance to drought but is relatively tolerant to frequent grazing and has good palatability. Proper nutrition for common livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats, and horses is vital. Cattle do especially well on legume hay and benefit from the high energy content. Good legume hay generally has a higher level of digestible energy, vitamin A, and calcium than grass hay. Warm-season legumes initiate growth in late spring after soil temperatures reach 65°F. Temperate legumes include clovers, medics, peas, vetch and alfalfa. Young calves have small, tender mouths and cannot chew coarse hay very well—whether grass or alfalfa. There is always some risk of nitrate poisoning, however, if cereal grain hays are harvested after a spurt of growth following a drought period. Alfalfa hay that has heated excessively may be brown and “caramelized,” smelling sweet or a little bit like molasses. Meadow fescue is a hardy grass used in hay and pasture mixtures. I’ve been slightly droughty, and on my third rotation through the pastures, over 50% of the forage was clover from the spring seeding. Some grasses have rhizomes or underground stems that produce new shoots at each node. Alfalfa is normally sown between mid-August and … Orchardgrass is not as winter-hardy as either timothy or bromegrass and will not persist in wet soils. Commercial sources or moldy portions a preferred forage legume and the highest-yielding perennial forage legume and highest-yielding! 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