BULLETIN 424 LRAR Y, 1. D E0271971 NOVEMBER 1971 Beef Cow Grazing Systems Compared on Eutaw Clay 4, .1 0" ~ p r a ,, ~ ,~ %. , ., - forages evaluated include FESCUE CALEY PEAS DALLISGRASS WHITE CLOVER COASTAL BERMUDAGRASS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT E. V. Smith, STATION AUBURN Director Auburn, Alabamo UNIVERSITY CONTENTS Page DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIMENT Pasture Establishment-...... Fertilizer Treatments Pasture Management Animal Management Data Collected RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 7 7 18 16 -17 19 21 21 22 25 27 Forages - - - - - - Grazing Season Cow-Calf Grazing Days Calf Performance ------Cow Performance -----Milk Production Total Digestible Nutrients Per Acre Through Grazing Economic SUMMARY Analysis ...... CONCLUSIONS AND APPENDIX-- FIRST PRINTING 4M, NOVEMBER 1971 BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED ON EUTAW CLAY forages evaluated include fescue dallisgrass, Coastal bermudagrass, caley peas, white clover C. C. KING, JR., W. B. ANTHONY, S. C. BELL, L. A. SMITH and HAROLD GRIMES* ALLISGRASS-WHITE CLOVER pasture is the common forage system used for beef cattle in the Black Belt of Alabama. However, its relatively low carrying capacity and long unproductive period during the winter are major weaknesses. Although dallisgrasswhite clover pastures generally provide forage in late winter, spring, summer, and early fall, feed is required from another source (usually hay) during November, December, January, and February. One possible method of reducing winter hay feeding (both amount and days of feeding) is to use accumulated growth of tall fescue for winter grazing. The extent that use of fescue would reduce the hay requirement of a dallisgrass-white clover pasture was investigated in Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station research. Two systems replacing one-fourth and one-half of the dallisgrass-white clover allocation per cow and calf with fescue were compared with a dallisgrass-legume system. In addition, a system utilizing the greater productivity of Coastal bermudagrass was tried as a way to overcome the lack of carrying capacity of dallisgrass-white clover. Associate Professor, Department of Agronomy and Soils; Professor, Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences; Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology; and Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent, Black Belt Substation, respectively. D 4 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIMENT Performance of beef cows and their calves was compared under four grazing systems at the Black Belt Substation, Marion Junetion, Alabama, over the 4-year period 1965-68. The experimental site was on Eutaw clay, a poorly-drained, acid soil. Of the forages tested, dallisgrass is best adapted to this soil, followed in order by white clover, caley peas, fescue, and Coastal bermudagrass. The four systems compared and their stocking rates are given below: System number 1 2 3 4 Pasture secies 2 acres dallisgrass, white clover, and caley peas 2 acres Coastal bermudagrass and caley peas 11/2 acres dallisgrass, white clover, and caley peas plus 1/2 acre tall fescue--1 acre dallisgrass, white clover, and caley peas plus 1 acre tall fescue Stocking rate per paddock 1 cow and calf 2 cows and calves 1 cow and calf 1 cow and calf Systems 1, 3, and 4 were replicated four times and System 2 three times. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with one unit missing from the Coastal bermudagrass system (System 2). Pasture Establishment Twelve of the 15 paddocks had been used in previous experiments. Three of these that had been established to Coastal bermudagrass in 1956 were used for the current study. Three paddocks were developed in 1963 on new ground adjacent to the older paddocks. The dallisgrass-white clover-caley pea areas and fescue areas were established in 1963. Commercial dallisgrass was seeded in late June 1963 and Kentucky 31 tall fescue, Louisiana S-1 white clover, and caley peas were seeded in the fall of 1963. Fertilizer Treatments Soil test results and recommendations to compensate for previous lime and fertilizer treatments were followed initially as outlined in Appendix Table 1. Based on soil test recommendations, average amounts applied yearly to dallisgrass-white clover-caley pea areas were 0-30-40 (N-P-K); to Coastal bermudagrass-caley peas, 140-20-50; and to fescue, 100-20-30. The experimental plan called for fertilizing the dallisgrass-whitc clover-caley pea pastures with nitrogen if growth of legumes wa. BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED 5 not good the previous season. Legume growth was good each year, however, so no nitrogen was added to the dallisgrass-white clover-caley pea areas. The fescue pastures were fertilized annually with 50 pounds of N per acre from ammonium nitrate in late summer and again in late winter. The Coastal bermudagrass-caley pea sward was fertilized annually with three applications of 40 to 50 pounds of N per acre. The higher rate was used when caley pea growth during the previous spring was less than desired. Pasture Management Stocking rate was one cow and her calf (in season) per 2-acre paddock, except Coastal bermudagrass was stocked with two cows and calves per 2-acre paddock. Management of each system is outlined below: System 1. Dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas. Surplus forage was harvested for hay. Caley peas were not managed for seed production but were seeded annually. Cows and their calves remained on the pastures during spring, summer, and fall. When forage was inadequate during the grazing season, cows and calves were fed hay while on pasture. During the winter, cows and calves were fed hay and supplement in a holding area. System 2. Coastal bermudagrass and caley peas. Cows and calves remained on the paddocks from the beginning of the caley pea grazing season until the following fall when they were removed to allow planting of caley peas. Peas were not managed for seed production but were seeded annually. Any excess forage was harvested for hay. Hay and supplement were fed in a holding area when forage was inadequate during winter. In some years there were short periods of inadequate grazing in spring and summer, and cattle were fed hay on pasture. Systems 3 and 4. Dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas and fescue. The fescue area was separated from the remainder of the paddock by a cross fence so it could be managed for accumulation of growth. Animals did not graze the fescue from about July 1 to December 1. The accumulated forage was grazed beginning December 1 until forage became inadequate. Animals were then moved to a holding area and fed hay and supplement until spring 6 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION growth became adequate to carry them. Cows and calves remained on the pastures during spring, summer, and fall. When forage was inadequate during the grazing season, animals were fed hay while on pasture. Surplus forage-dallisgrass-white clover or fescue was harvested for hay, but fescue was allowed to mature in spring before cutting for hay. Animal Management Cows of English beef-type breeding, bred to calve in late fall, were used in the study. The original group of 30 cows with calves at side was purchased January 30, 1964. Calves on these cows were grown to weaning in 1964. In the fall of 1964, 18 cows were selected from the original 30. About half of these calves were sired prior to buying cows and the other half sired by a Station Hereford bull. Insofar as possible, each crop of calves was from cows calving between October 1 and December 1. Calves were weaned and sold in July and August and weight adjusted to 255 days of age. In addition, an adjustment was made for sex of calf and age of dam. Cows were milked prior to assignment and the milk production data, sire of calf, age of calf, sex of calf, and age and weight of dam were used in allotting cows to a grazing system. Insofar as possible, cows were bred on test (while in the holding area). Cows that bred were retained for use the next season. Since only one bull was placed in the holding area per season, after the first year calves for any one year were by the same sire. Replacement cows were added as required to maintain sufficient experimental units. A total of 37 cows was used 1 or more years during the 4-year experiment. Purchased cows were used to initiate the experiment, but replacements came from a pool of cows maintained for research use. Each year the cows were re-allotted around November 15 to paddocks on the basis of previously mentioned criteria. Cows were rotated among systems from year to year to minimize cow variation. At this time all cows without calves were replaced. Milk production data on the cows were obtained by the oxytocin procedure. In addition to the pre-allotment milking, cows were milked near the end of the first 28-day fescue grazing period and again after all cows were on spring grazing. For the weaning milk-out, the cows were divided into two or three groups depending on weaning dates. BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED 7 Data Collected To characterize the pastures and to measure and explain animal performance on the pastures, the following data were collected: 1. Forage notes each 28 days: (a) botanical estimates (b) per cent ground cover (c) height of forage (d) quality estimate 2. Hay harvested from paddocks 3. Amount of hay and supplement fed per system 4. Grazing days, chronologically 5. 28-day calf weight (weighed when dams were weighed) 6. Calf weaning data: (a) live weight (b) slaughter grade (c) market weight (d) market value 7. 28-day cow weights (throughout test period) 8. Cow milk production 9. Sward dry matter digestibility (by the plant chromogens technique) to provide two measures each of fescue, dallisgrass, white clover, caley peas, and Coastal bermudagrass 10. Fiscal records: cost of establishment, fertilizer and seed inputs, machinery and labor for pasture establishment and maintenance, veterinary fees and drugs for cattle, and purchase and sale records. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Forages Botanical composition. The botanical composition of System 1 pasture and the dallisgrass-white clover-caley pea portion of systems 3 and 4 were almost identical, Figure 1. In March white clover and caley peas predominated. By April caley peas had begun to decline and dallisgrass had begun to grow. In May white clover still made up half of the forage, with dallisgrass accounting for about one-third and small amounts of caley peas and weeds the remainder. White clover declined to 15 to 20 per cent of the JULY B ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Composition , per cent 100 SYSTEM 9080- tSiti Compc on, per ce ent 100SYSTEM 902 9C=white clover 8070605040 30 20- rniavnanc 0 P= coley peos D = dallingrass 9 70 60 50 40 30 * Wweeds 0 dollisgroass C8 CBCoastal bermudogross JUNE CPDCBW PDCBW 20 CPDW MARCH CPDW APRIL CPDW MAY CPDW JUNE JULY P D0BW POCBW MARCH APRIL P058W MAY Composition, per cent SYSTEM 90*807060C0403020103 Composition, per cent SYSTEM 90 4 ElP coley peoo 9D0dollisgross SW=weeds 60 70 Q P=coley peos 9=0dollisgrass *W= weeds 04 30 CPDW MARCH CPDW APRIL CPDW MAY CPDW JUNE CPDW JULY CPDW MARCH CPDW APRIL CPDW MAY CPDW JUNE CPDW JULY FIG. 1. Botanical composition of sword compared among the four systems. BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED 9 Composition, per cent 100 90 SYSTEM 80706050 40 30 20 10 I sit Compo: ion, per cE ent 10090SYSTEM 80706050403020102 n Co!iZ MAMJJ MAMJJ MAMJJ Whiteclover Cley peas Dallisgras s Composition, per cent 100 90 SYSTEM 'A MAMJ J Weeds MAMJJ Composition, per cent 100 90 MAMJJ MAMJJ aley peas Dallisgrass Coastal MAMJ J Weeds SYSTEM 80 4 7060504030-1 20 t0 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 MAMJJ MAMJJ MA MJJ White clover Caleypeas Dolisgrass MAMJ J Weeds MAMJJ MAMJJ MAMJJ White clover Caley peas Dollisgrass MAMJJ Weeds FIG. 2. Monthly trends in botanical composition of species among systems. 10 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION sward in July and dallisgrass accounted for most of the remainder. The accumulated fescue growth on systems 3 and 4 averaged 95 per cent fescue and 5 per cent weeds. It was grazed off during December and January and regrowth was 98 per cent fescue and 2 per cent weeds. Fescue was not grazed from July 1 to December 1 since summer rest increases fall growth. In March the sward of System 2 was equally divided between caley peas and weeds (primarily wild barley), Figure 1. Although weeds are usually objectionable, the wild barley made possible earlier stocking of Coastal bermudagrass-caley peas pasture. In April caley peas remained at about 50 per cent, but wild barley had decreased to 30 per cent and Coastal bermudagrass was up to 20 per cent of the sward. Then in May, June, and July, Coastal was by far the dominating species, making up 80 to 90 per cent of the sward. Weeds made up a small percentage of any of the swards, except for March and April in System 2, Figure 2. As in all other cases, wild barley was the primary weed in this sward. Management to obtain and maintain stands of the scheduled species was genMean ground cover, pct. D=dollisgross, C= white clover, P= coley CB= Coastal bermudagrass, F = fescue peas, 100 - 80 60 D-C-P 40 CB-P F D-C-P F D-C-P SYSTEM FIG. 3. I SYSTEM 2 SYSTEM 3 SYSTEM 4 Per cent ground cover of the systems during winter, spring, summer. BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED 11 erally successful, as illustrated by results with System 1. system, percentage white clover for the fourth year (1968) March, April, May, June, and July, respectively, was 55, 38, and 8, as compared with 47, 50, 51, 38, and 18 per cent 4-year average. In this during 60, 56, for the Agronomic traits. Ground cover by the forages was excellent during the grazing season, falling below 90 per cent only during March and April for System 2, Figure 3. Estimated quality rating of the forages showed a general decrease in quality as the season progressed, Figure 4. The dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas in systems 1, 3, and 4 generally rated very good or excellent. Fescue portions of systems 3 and 4 were rated good. As the caley peas and wild barley matured, quality rating of System 2 declined from very good to fair. However, the rating increased to good as Coastal bermudagrass production increased. Forage height varied greatly depending on the predominating species, weather, and grazing pressure, Figure 5. For System 1, height increased from about 3 inches in February to 7 inches in July. The dallisgrass-white clover portion of System 3 generally Estimated quality, av. D= dallisgrass, C white clover, P= caley CB= Coastal bermudagrass, F= fescue = peas, 5 4 2 D - SYSTEMF YTM2 SSTM3 SSE P U J SYSTEM : r 2 U nn M .... dI U J r M SYSTEM A M J 2 uJYSTEM SYSTEM I- M n 3 SYSTEM 4 FIG. 4. Sword quality rating of the four systems in winter, spring, summer. Quality scale: 1 = poor, 2= fair, 3 = good, 4 == very good, 5 = excellent. 12 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 12~~~ Average height, inches AAAMA AGRnIUTUA EXEIET TTO D= dallisgrass, white clover, P:'.caley peas, GB = Coastal bermudagrass , F:= fescue C= I0 8 6 4 SYSTEM I SYSTEM 2 SYSTEM 3 SYSTEM 4 FIG. 5. Forage height of the four systems during winter, spring, summer. followed the same trend; in System 4, however, the extra grazing pressure on the acre of dallisgrass-white clover caused height to peak at 5 inches in April and then decline. The fescue in systems 3 and 4 was 9 inches tall when grazing began in December but rapidly decreased to about 3 inches in January. System 2 showed TABLE 1. FORAGE DIGESTIBILITY AS DETERMINED BY THE CHROMOGENS TECHNIQUE 1 Digestibility , by forage systems' Foaeo edSystem ysem4 Sstm , System 2 1, D-C-PoCB-P',D-C-P+1/2 D-C-P + 1 D-C-P CB-P acre fescue Per cent 68.0 (2) Per cent Hay-cottonseed meal---------- Per cent 56.7 (1) acre fescue Per cent 72.1 (2) Caley peas-white Dallisgrass-white clover------Dallisgrass------------------ clover ------- 57.5 (1) 65.1 (4) 67.3 (8) 63.4 (3) 68.4 (1) 62.9 (3) 62.5 (1) 65.0 (3) 64.0 (4) Wild barley-caley peas-------. 64.9 (3) Coastal bermudagrass--------65.4 (4) 65.1 (4) Tall fescue-----------------1 Number in parenthesis to right of each digestibility indicates number of years averaged to get per cent digestibility. 2 Abbreviations: D dallisgrass, C= white clover, P= caley peas, and CB - Coastal bermudagrass. BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED 13 an early season decline in height of forage, but it increased in June and July as Coastal bermudagrass became dominant. Digestibility of forages. An attempt was made to measure dry matter digestibility at intervals of the year to represent the major species in the sward. These determinations were made by the plant chromogens technique. The data collected over the 4 years of the experiment, Table 1, reveal no important digestibility differences among the swards and support the conclusions stated later for animal performance. Grazing Season Weather. The grazing season was influenced by prevailing rainfall and temperature. A description of weather conditions during the study period aids in interpretation of the results. The average yearly rainfall of 50.40 inches during 1965-68 is equal to the long time average of 50.17 inches, Table 2. Wide fluctuations occurred between and within years, however, with 1965 and 1968 being drier than normal and 1966 and 1967 wetter than normal. Each of the 4 years had periods of inadequate rainfall for good forage production during the growing season. Notable dry periods were April and May in 1965; May, June, and July in 1966; March and April in 1967; and March, May, June, August, and September in 1968. Average maximum and minimum monthly temperatures deviTABLE 2. MONTHLY RAINFALL AT THE BLACK BELT SUBSTATION, 1965-68 Rainfall by months Month 1965 Pct. In. of normal 1966 Pet. In. of normal 1967 In. Pet. of normal 1968 In. Pct. of normal Mean In. Pct. of Nornorin. mal 123 3.97 101 4.97 56 6.67 64 5.78 61 3.53 91 3.84 93 5.69 187 3.19 127 2.72 173 1.71 109 3.26 128 4.83 100 50.17 Jan........ 5.36 Feb........ 4.21 Mar........ 5.82 Apr........ 1.58 May .18 6.50 June July _...... 5.40 Aug.-...... 3.92 Sept.-..... 5.53 Oct._...... 1.21 Nov........ 1.55 De.c...... 3.58 TOTAL__ 44.84 -..... 135 6.46 85 9.72 87 4.20 27 5.39 05 2.62 169 1.90 95 3.24 123 10.12 208 4.39 71 4.32 48 4.67 74 5.47 89 62.50 163 3.59 196 4.61 63 2.34 93 1.41 74 4.44 49 3.80 57 6.13 317 8.20 161 2.99 253 5.20 143 3.06 113 7.07 125 52.84 90 4.07 93 1.55 2.65 35 6.39 24 126 1.41 99 1.76 108 6.40 257 1.70 110 .93 304 1.07 94 4.89 146 8.61 105 41.43 103 4.87 5.02 31 40 3.75 111 3.69 40 2.16 46 3.49 112 5.29 53 5.98 34 3.46 63 2.95 150 3.54 178 6.18 83 50.40 14 14 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL TABLE 3. EXPERIMENT STATION TEMPERATURES AVERAGE MONTHLY MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM AT THE BLACK BELT SUBSTATION, 1965-68 Month Temperature, degrees F Average maximum Average minimum 1965 1966 1967 1968 Mean 1965 1966 1967 1968 Mean 56.8 68.4 37.0 37.0 43.0 55.7 33.1 38.3 42.6 52.7 35.9 35.2 47.4 56.4 33.3 29.1 39.4 52.3 34.8 34.9 43.1 54.3 61.8 51.7 58.1 jan.------------------------- 55.5 53.7 Feb 61.3 60.2 56.3 Mar. 63.4 67.1 74.8 68.2 79.6 78.5 82.4 78.0 Apr. May_________________________ 83.4 83.0 88.8 81.9 June _______________________ 88.5 88.0 89.8 93.4 90.7 94.5 87.6 91.0 July________________________ 91.0 89.8 85.9 92.8 Aug.-----------------------Sept.------------------------ 87.7 86.5 84.5 80.3 76.0 75.6 76.5 Oct.------------------------- 79.6 Nov.-----------------------70.4 68.9 66.0 64.2 Dec. 61.5 58.4 62.1 56.3 57.9 -----------------------. ----------------------79.6 -----------------------84.3 89.9 91.0 89.9 84.8 76.9 67.4 59.6 59.6 66.4 69.3 68.6 66.1 51.4 47.7 35.9 ------------------------36.7 59.9 62.8 69.9 64.8 63.1 50.6 42.8 58.0 65.6 66.3 66.6 58.9 47.2 38.9 42.0 58.4 66.2 68.2 68.7 61.2 52.0 40.7 33.3 59.0 65.2 68.4 67.2 62.3 50.3 42.5 37.0 ated much less from the normal than did average monthly rainfall, Table 3. December, January, and February are generally too cold for significant plant growth. The cool season species tested (caley peas, white clover, and fescue) usually make good growth in October, November, March, and April if moisture is adequate, but are restricted by maturity and hot weather in May through September. Dallisgrass is productive from April through October. Coastal bermudagrass requires warm temperatures and makes little growth until late May or early June. When moisture is adequate Coastal is highly productive in June, July, and August; production then tapers off during September and October when temperatures often drop below 600. Beginning and end of grazing season. The 4-year average beginning dates of spring grazing for systems 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, were March 9, April 2, March 8, and March 3, Table 4. Systems 3 and 4 (with 12 and 1 acre of fescue, respectively) also furnished grazing from December 1 to middle to late January TABLE 4. BEGINNING DATE OF SPRING GRAZING FOR THE FOUR PASTURE SYSTEMS SystemBeginning Sytm1965 1. Dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas_____ 2. Coastal bermudagrass-caley peas_______ 3. Dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas 1966 3-3 3-29 3-3 date of spring grazing 1967 1968 Mean 2-26 3-23 3-3 3-23 4-12 3-15 3-12 4-5 3-12 3-9 4-2 3-8 + 1/2 acre fescue --------------- 4. Dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas + 1 acre fescue_________________ 2-19 3-2 3-6 3-12 3-3 BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED 15 TABLE 5. DAYS OF HAY FEEDING REQUIRED FOR THE FOUR SYSTEMS Days fed hay System Winter 1 Summer " Total No. 1. 2 acres dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas. 2. 1 acre Coastal bermudagrass-caley peas 3. 11/ acres dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas + 1/2 acre fescue------------------------- . 98 122 65 No. 10 22 15 No. 108 144 80 4. 1 acre dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas + 1 acre fescue 1 46 34 80 2 Fed while in holding area. Fed while on pasture. each year. However, in none of the 4 years was there sufficient accumulated fescue growth on December 1 to eliminate the need for feeding stored feed. After the pastures were stocked for spring grazing the cows and calves remained on pasture. In some instances hay was fed during spring and summer when grazing was not sufficient. After the calves were weaned, cows remained on their respective pastures for the remainder of the season. The cows were weighed when the calves were weaned, but not later in the season. The number of days when grazing was insufficient, necessitating feeding hay, was greatest for System 2 and least for systems 3 and 4, Table 5. Fescue (in both systems 3 and 4) replaced 64 hay feeding days when compared to the Coastal bermudagrasscaley pea system and 28 days when compared to the dallisgrasswhite clover-caley pea system. System 4, with its acre of fescue per cow and calf, required hay feeding the least number of days in the winter. Since it required the most days of hay feeding in the summer, its winter advantage was lost. However, some cattlemen may prefer summer feeding since weather conditions usually make feeding hay more difficult and disagreeable in winter. Nevertheless, none of the systems tested came near to eliminating the need for feeding stored roughages. Hay production and consumption. Hay harvested from surplus grazing varied from 1,800 to 3,500 pounds per acre among the various systems, Table 6. The amount consumed was directly related to number of days that hay was fed. Systems 1 and 3 produced more hay and systems 2 and 4 less than was required by the cows and calves in these systems. The year-to-year hay yield fluctuated quite a bit, so deficits and surpluses occurred within 16 TABLE 6. ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT HAY PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION PER STATION Cow FOR THE FOUR SYSTEMS 1 Hay Hay System prouced 4-yr. av. consumed 4-yr. av. Net hay supply 1965 1966 1967 Lb. -161 1968 Lb. 3,811 4-yr. av Lb. 987 -615 315 -7 Lb. Lb. 1. 2 acres dallisgrass-white 9 290 clover-caley peas ......... 3,513 2,526 2. 1 acre Coastal bermudagrass-caley 2,771 3,386 peas_________________________________ -361 -1,785 Lb. Lb. 3. 11/2 acres dallisgrasswhite clover-caley peas 1,137 -1,450 -1,083 470 1,777 -600 + 1/2 acre fescue.4. 1 acre dallisgrass- 2,254 1,797 1,939 1,804 860 1,053 -295 -953 white clover-caley peas + 1 acre fescue_____________ 1 Production less amount fed in system. each system. Of the 4 years, deficits occurred 1, 3, 2, and 2 years, respectively, for systems 1, 2, 3, and 4. Cow-Calf Grazing Days During the period December through July, the dallisgrasswhite clover-caley pea sward provided grazing an average of 129 days and required 100 days hay feeding off the paddock. The last hay feeding occurred in mid-March, Table 7. When 1/ acre of the 2-acre paddock was seeded to tall fescue, grazing time was 165 days and hay feeding was 66 days. Increasing tall fescue to 1 acre further reduced the hay feeding days and increased grazing days. The Coastal bermudagrass-caley pea sward (System 2) required more feeding days off pasture and provided fewer grazing days than any of the other swards. The cattle were fed off this system an average of 122 days. They grazed the paddock an average of 106 days. Cows assigned to this sward were fed hay in a holding area from December through early April. Data in Table 7 clearly indicate that substituting fescue for part of the land area normally established to dallisgrass-white clover-peas reduced hay feeding days when the same stocking rate was used (one cow with calf on 2 acres). Putting half of the pasture land in tall fescue reduced hay feeding days more than when one-fourth of the area was in fescue. Although the Coastal sward required more hay feeding days than the other pastures, BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED 17 BEEF COWe GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED TABLE 7. DAYS FED OFF PASTUBE AND DAYS GRAZED BY TREATMENT, BY PERIOD, 1965-68 AVERAGE 1 System 1' System 2' System System 4' Off On Off On Off On Off On pasture pasture pasture pasture pasture pasture pasture pasture Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days i.Dec.-------------------- 28 0 28 0 4 23 1 27 2. Jan.-------------------28 0 28 0 25 4 13 15 3. Feb.------------------. 30 0 30 0 26 4 24 6 4. Mar.-----------14 _----11 25 0 11 14 9 16 5. Apr. 0 35 11 23 0 35 0 35 6. May------------------0 28 0 28 0 28 0 28 7. June------------------0 27 0 27 0 28 0 27 8. July-------------------0 28 0 28 0 29 0 28 TOTAL----------------- 100 129 122 106 66 165 47 182 Period' 3' ------------------- 'System 1 = dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas, System 2 Coastal bermudagrass-caley peas, System 3 = dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas -- 2 acre fescue, and System 4 = dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas 1 acre fescue. 2Approximate period dates. + it had twice the stocking rate of the other swards. Therefore, actual carrying capacity (cow days) was considerably greater for Coastal-caley peas than for any of the other swards. Calf Performance Calf weight per cow. Market weight of calves was lowest for the Coastal bermudagrass-caley pea sward, Table 8. For any one year this difference was not significant, but when calves were pooled for all years, those from System 2 (Coastal) were lighter TABLE 8. MARKET WEIGHT OF CALVES AT WEANING AS AFFECTED 2 BY PASTURE TREATMENT' System 1965 Lb. 1. 2 acres dallisgrass-white clovercaley peas------------------478a 458a Calf market weights 1966 1967 1968 Lb. Lb. Lb. 467a 416a 487a 424a 505a Mean Lb. 484a 441b 2. 1 acre Coastal bermudagrasscaley peas------------------- 465a 3. 11/2 acres dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas +f 1/2 acre fescue---------------4. 1 acre dallisgrass-white clovercaley peas + 1 acre fescue----Mean----------------------1-Means 471a 478a 470 468a 454a 447 469a 468a 458 503a 503a 491 478a 476a 466 within a column with like letter (s) are not significantly different. 2250 days of age; adjusted for sex of calf and age of dam. 18 18 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL TABLE EXPERIMENT STATION AT WEANING 9. MARKET WEIGHTS PER 2-ACRE PADDOCK OF CALVES AS AFFECTED BY PASTURE TREATMENT' Calf market weights Systemz 1965 1966 1967 1968 Mean Lb. Lb. Lb. Lb. Lb. 1. 2 acres dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas 478b 4671) 487b 505b 2. 2 acres Coastal bermudagrasscaley peas------------------------------------916a 832a 849a 929a 3. 11/2 acres dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas + acre fesue ------------------- 471b 468b 469b 503b 4. 1 acre dallisgrass-white clovercaley peas - 1 acre fescue 478b 454b 468b 503b M ean ----------------------------------------589 564 537 550 1/2 -------------------------484b 882a 478h 4761 --------- 560 Means within a column with like letter(s) are not significantly different. '250 days of age; adjnsted for sex of calf and age of dam. 1 in weight than those from the other three systems. No differences in market weights were measured among calves from systems 1, 3, and 4. At the .10 level of probability there was a difference between years with the 491-pound average for 1968 being greater than the 447-pound average for 1966. The relative calf ance of each system was essentially the same from year to year since the interaction between pasture systems and years was nonsignificant. perform- Calf weight per acre. There was a large and consistently higher weight per 2-acre paddock for the calves from System 2 than for the other systems, Table 9. This weight advantage for System 2 was significant for each year of the test, reflecting the higher stocking rate on Coastal bermudagrass. No calf weight differences TABLE 10. AVERAGE DAILY GAIN OF CALVES AS AFFECTED AND PASTURE TREATMENTS' BY SEASON SystemDaily SytmWinter gain Summer Total Lb. 1. 2 acres dallisgrass-white clover-caley 2. 1 acre Coastal bermudagrass-caley peas------- Lb. 2.09 1.83 Lb. 1.70 1.47 peas----- 1.17 1.16 3. 11'/2 acres dallisgrass-white clovercaley peas +±12acre fescue---------------4. 1 acre dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas 1.32 1.47 2.02 1.90 1.65 1.66 + 1 acre fescue--------------------------(P= Differences, were not significant .05 per cent). BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED 19 were measured among systems 1, 3, and 4 on a per paddock basis. At the .10 level of probability there was a difference between years with the 589-pound average for 1968 being greater than the 537-pound average for 1966. Average daily gains did not differ significantly among treatments, Table 10. Slaughter grades. Calves on cows grazing the Coastal bermudagrass-caley pea sward weaned at a significantly lower slaughter finish than the calves from the other swards, Table 11. The average slaughter grade of all calves was Good, but those on systems 1, 3, and 4 averaged high Good and those on System 2 averaged low Good. The lower slaughter grade for the calves on the Coastal bermudagrass-caley pea sward resulted in part from an apparent deficiency of high quality forage for selection by the calves. TABLE 11. STEER SLAUGHTER GRADES BY TREATMENT, 1965-68 AVERAGE Treatment Years No. Calves Average slaughter grade' per Numerical score treatment No. 16 24 16 16 11.2a 9.8b 10.6a 10.8a high Good low Good high Good high Good 1. 2 acres dallisgrass-white clovercaley peas 2. 2 acres Coastal bermudagrasscaley peas 3. 11/2 acres dallisgrass-white clovercaley peas + 1/ acre fescue ....... 4. 1 acre dallisgrass-white clovercaley peas + 1 acre fescue------- 4 4 4 4 Values having the same letter(s) are not significantly different at a 5 per cent level of probability. Cow Performance Cow changes in live weight. Average live weight changes of brood cows assigned to each system for the December to July interval are summarized for the 4 years in Table 12. Cows assigned to Coastal bermudagrass-caley peas gained significantly less than cows on the other swards. The accumulated weight changes are reported by monthly intervals since this represents a more meaningful appraisal of cow weight changes. For the dallisgrass-white clover-caley pea sward (System 1) and for both swards with fescue (systems 3 and 4), the cows were in positive weight balance be- 20 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 20 TABLE 12. ALABAMA AGRICULTURLEPIMN 1965-68 AVERAGE Cow weight change, by forage systems' ST IO COW WEIGHT CHANGE BY TREATMENT AND BY PERIOD, Period (approximate) System 3, System 1, D-C-P System 2, CB-P D-C-P + Lb. 1 22 acre fescue System 4, D-C-P + 1 acre fescue 1. December----------2. -1 3. February------------11 4. March-------------66 5. April--------------31 6. May--------------37 7. June--------------8 8.July---------------lAbbreviations : D dallisgrass, C Coastal bermnuda. January Lb. 23 2 -31 Lb. 7 Lb. 32 60 -4 -11 33 17 36 12 - -11 0 57 28 30 11 -1 7 56 36 28 12 caley peas, and CB white clover, P ginning in April, Table 13. In contrast, cows on System 2 re- mained in negative weight balance through April. Thus, by the end of July the average positive weight gain was only 56 pounds for cows on the Coastal bermudagrass-caley pea sward. Stocking rate always affects cow weight gain, especially when the pasture is overgrazed. It is probable that one cow per acre on System 2 represented a stressed stocking that adversely affected cow gain. Since the interval covered by the data in tables 12 and 13 was only 8 months, cows on all swards had 4 additional months during their non-productive season to restore body weight. The cows remained on the grazing paddocks until DeTABLE 13. ACCUMULATED WEIGHT CHANGE BY AND BY PERIOD, 1965-68 AVERAGE Cow, BY TREATMENT Accumulated cow weight change, by forage systems' Period System 1, D-CP D-CP Lb. 23 -11 -9 System 2, C-P Lb. 7 -25 -29 C-P& -39 System 3, D-C-P -L 1/2 acre fescue System 4, 1 D-C-P -+ acre fescue Lb. 1 -23 -35 Lb. 32 -28 -26 1. 2. 3. -33 4. March--------------33 5. April--------------64 6.May---------------100 7. June--------------104 8. July---------------1 Abbreviations: D= dallisgrass, C Coastal bermuda. - December----------January------------February------------ -35 -20 - -5 12 48 56 white clover,. P 36 72 100 107 =- caley peas, and CB 22 50 80 86 BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED 21 cember. Cows were not weighed after calves were weaned, but weight increase was apparent. Milk Production There were no major differences among the systems with respect to milk production of cows, Table 14. Average production of cows on all swards was uniform. The somewhat lower production reported for cows on Coastal bermudagrass-caley peas at the time calves were weaned is accounted for by two cows that were already dry. The fact that these cows were dry when the calves were weaned most likely was not specifically related to the forage system. Over the years the Experiment Station has collected numerous data concerning milk production of beef cows. In this research, it was not unusual for a few calves to become weaned before they were actually separated from dams at about 250 days of age. It is concluded that all the swards were of sufficient quality to support average milk production by the beef cows. TABLE 14. PRODUCTION OF 4 PER CENT FCM, 24-HouR BASIS, BY SEASON System Initial' production Lb. 4-year average daily production Winter Spring Weaning Lb. 9.6 9.5 10.3 10.8 Lb. 9.7 8.3 8.8 8.0 Lb. 8.7 6.9 8.4 9.3 1. 2 acres dallisgrass-white clovercaley peas 2. 1 acre Coastal bermudagrasscaley peas 3. 11/2acres dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas + 11.1 12.1 12.1 12.4 1/2 acre fescue 4. 1 acre dallisgrass-white clovercaley peas + 1 acre fescue..... AVERAGE.. SInitial production 11.9 figures are 1965-66 10.0 averages, while 8.7 all others 8.3 represent averages of 1964-67. Total Digestible Nutrients Per Acre Through Grazing The Coastal bermudagrass-caley pea sward (System 2) produced more forage per acre and supported twice the stocking rate of any of the other systems. This means, of course, that the Coastal forage produced more energy per acre through photosynthesis than any other sward. Another way of expressing this difference is to compare the TDN consumed per acre by the grazing 22 22 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION STATION animals. The TDN used by the cows was computed using the procedure by Neville,' and that consumed by the calves was calculated using the procedure developed by Winchester 2. The 4-year average TDN production per acre for each system was as follows : System System System System 1 2 3 4 Dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas Coastal bermuda-caley peas Dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas-1/ acre fescue Dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas-1 acre fescue 1,450 2,118 1,360 1,382 lb. lb. lb. lb. These data reveal the great superiority of System 2 over the other swards in terms of TDN production. Despite its superiority in terms of productivity, Coastal bermuda apparently lacked sufficient nutritive value to support high individual animal performance. Therefore, high forage production proved insufficient to support high individual animal performance. The Coastal bermudagrass sward did produce two animals of weaning age, whereas each of the other swards produced only one. Although not as profitable as the other systems under conditions of this experiment, this far greater productivity per acre should not be completely discounted. Under other systems of comparison, the superiority of Coastal bermudagrass for dry matter production could show practical advantage. Economic Analysis Costs and returns for the four different systems are reported in Table 15. The gross returns are based on adjusted market weight and sale of calves. Neither cull cows nor death loss was taken into consideration when calculating returns. Excess forage was baled and the hay not required for feeding was credited to each system as sale of excess forage. System 2, Coastal bermudagrass-caley peas, had much higher gross returns than any of the other systems, $231.63 compared with the next highest return of $132.87. This higher gross return was because System 2 maintained two cows and the other systems had only one. But on the expense side, annual costs for the Coastal bermudagrass-caley peas were much higher than for any of the other systems. These high annual costs resulted primarily NEVILLE, W. E., JR. 1971. Effect of Age at Calving on Energy Requirements of Lactating Hereford Cows. J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 32, No. 2. USDA Tech. Bull. 1071, July 1953. 2 BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED 23 BEEF COW~ GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED TABLE 15. COSTS AND RETURNS OF BEEF CATTLE PRODUCTION OF GRAZING SYSTEM, 4-YEAR AVERAGE BY TYPE 2 Item System 1 2 3 4 $121.45 3.81 125.25 9.80 10.07 1.12 4.01 6.92 1.87 4.85 3.70 .90 2.00 4.13 1.00 50.37 74.88 37.44 4.00 4.00 17.10 2.75 .50 28.35 9.09 18.18 Final corrected market value of calves $122.59 Value of excess hay $20/ton 10.28 Total returns -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- 132.87 Annual costs 12.81 Fertilizer (mixed) ---------7--Ammonium nitrate-___________ 0 Haul and apply ammonium nitrate $7.50/ton - - -0 --Seed-caley peas $08/lb. and white clover $1.10/lb. 7.62 Hay expenses Cut, rake, and bale $20/bale 11.31 Hauling $2.10/ton-3.68 - - - - - Feed Hay $25/ton-- -- -- -- -- - - -.50 7.76 Protein supplement_______ Sa lt - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .90 2.00 4.13 1.00 Total annual -______________ 51.71 sold $225.94 $122.82 5.69 6.59 231.63 129.41 12.01 28.14 3.21 8.40 16.57 5.83 22.46 20.05 1.80 4.00 8.25 2.00 132.72 98.91 49.45 5.00 8.00 23.10 2.75 .50 39.35 10.10 10.10 10.60 5.04 .56 6.02 7.71 2.36 4.31 5.30 .90 2.00 4.13 1.00 49.92 79.49 39.74 4.00 4.00 17.10 2.75 .50 28.35 11.39 22.78 @@ costs Returns above annual costs per Returns above annual costs per plot ------acre Non-cash 81.16 40.58 4.00 4.00 17.10 2.75 .50 28.35 12.23 24.46 costs per acre Pasture depreciation----------- --------- Bull charge $8.00/cow.---__-___________ Interest on investment 6 %'_________-_ Dep. on bldgs., fences, mach., and equip. Taxes, property----------------- ------Total non-cash costs._________________ Returns to operator's labor and mgt. /acre-- @ Returns to operator's labor and ' mgt./cow -- buildings Prices used for capital investment were: cow-$200/head, and fences-$ 15 /acre, machinery and equipment-$20 / acre. land-$150/acre, from the expense of baling hay produced and buying hay and protein supplement. The cows in System 2 were fed hay 144 days per year compared with 108 days for System 1 and 80 days each for systems 3 and 4. Another cost item contributing to the high expenses for System 2 was $28.14 for ammonium nitrate. This is based on $65 per ton undelivered and not applied. When comparing returns above annual cash expenses, System 2 looked fairly good with approximately $10 advantage over the other three systems. But non-cash costs were much higher for System 2 because of increased investment for two cows compared with only one cow for the other systems. Also the establishment 24 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION cost of Coastal bermudagrass was $1 per acre higher on a prorated life of the pastures. The important returns to consider, especially for a long period, are returns to operator's labor and management. There was little difference among the four treatments when returns to operator's labor and management were compared on a per acre basis. Although there was no real difference between systems 1 and 3, System 3 required 28 days less hay feeding per year than System 1. Returns under System 2 were $2.13 less than System 1. System 4, with 1 acre of fescue and 1 acre of dallisgrass-white clovercaley peas, had the lowest return on a per acre basis, $9.09. These data indicate that System 2 was paying a lower return to labor than the other three systems because there was an extra cow to feed and care for with this system. Another way of comparing returns is on a per cow basis. On this basis, System 2 had a much lower return to operator's labor and management-only $10.10 compared with $24.46 for System 1 and $22.78 for System 3. Again the system with 1 acre of fescue and 1 acre of dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas (System 4) had a lower return than all dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas or 1 acre fescue and 11/2 acres dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas. In comparing returns per cow, it is noted that System 2 had a lower labor requirement than the others because only 1 acre of land was required per cow while the other systems required 2 acres per cow. Another disadvantage of System 2 was a wider annual variation. This went from a high of $25.26 returns to operator's labor and management per acre in 1967 to a low of -$6.85 in 1966. Annual comparisons of the four systems are reported in Appendix Tables 2 to 5. Based on this 4-year test, fescue is not an economical substitute for winter feeding of hay for maintenance of the brood cow and calf. Dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas without any fescue gave the highest return to operator's labor and management on a per acre and a per cow basis. Net returns declined as the proportion of dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas decreased and proportion of fescue increased. Value of the excess forage was a major item, especially in System 1 where it amounted to $10.28 of the $12.23 total returns to operator's labor and management per acre. This indicates strongly BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED 25 the importance of utilizing all forage produced either as grazing or hay. How different grazing systems affected reproduction of brood cows was not taken into consideration because cows that did not calve were replaced with cows that had calves. Therefore, these data would have to be adjusted to an expected calving percentage before the net returns could be computed for a herd of cattle. Assuming each system would have the same per cent calf crop, then System 1 would still give the highest returns unless cost of nitrogen was low enough to make System 2 comparable. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 1. Pasture systems replacing one-fourth and one-half of the normal dallisgrass-white clover-caley pea allocation per cow and calf (2 acres) with tall fescue each reduced the required hay feeding period by 28 days. The reduction was 64 days when compared with a Coastal bermudagrass-caley pea system. However, feeding stored roughages was necessary each year for all four systems. 2. A system utilizing Coastal bermudagrass-caley peas at twice the stocking rate of dallisgrass-white clover-caley peas with or without tall fescue produced significantly more weight gain (880 vs. approximately 480 pounds) per 2-acre paddock. However, the calves were significantly lighter (440 vs. approximately 480 pounds). 3. The botanical compositions of the dallisgrass-white clovercaley pea portion of systems 1, 3, and 4 were almost identical. White clover made up about 50 per cent of the sward during March, April, and May, but decreased to 40 per cent in June and 20 per cent in July. 4. Coastal bermudagrass constituted only about 20 per cent of the sward of System 2 in April, but dominated in May, June, and July, making up from 80 to 90 per cent of the sward. 5. Dry matter digestibility as determined by the plant chromogens technique revealed no important differences among the swards. 6. The 4-year average beginning date of spring grazing for systems 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, was March 9, April 2, March 8, and March 3. 26 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 7. Cows assigned to the Coastal bermudagrass sward gained significantly less than cows on the other pastures. For systems 1, 3, and 4, the cows were in positive weight balance beginning in April; but cows on Coastal bermudagrass-caley peas remained in negative weight balance through April. 8. The computed TDN used by the grazing animals revealed a great superiority of Coastal bermudagrass-caley peas over the other swards. Despite its superior productivity, however, this system did not support high individual animal performance. 9. There was not a great deal of difference among the four treatments when comparing returns to operator's labor and management on a per acre basis. 10. On a per cow basis System 2 had a much lower return to operator's labor and management than did systems 1 and 3. Return to System 4 was intermediate between these extremes. 11. Value of the excess forage was a major item, especially in System 1, emphasizing the importance of using all forage produced, either in grazing or hay. BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED 27 APPENDIX APPENDIX TABLE 1. SOIL TEST RESULTS AND CORRECTIVE TREATMENT APPLIED TO COMPENSATE FOR PREVIOUS LIME AND FERTILIZER TREATMENTS Paddock no. System no. Soil test results' pH P/acre Lb. K/acre Lb. 123 149 91 141 176 159 173 212 129 176 144 201 191 191 191 Corrective treatment Lime/ acre Tons 2 5 5 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 3 P/acre Lb. 70 106 88 70 70 70 70 70 88 70 70 70 106 106 106 K/acre Lb. 100 100 199 100 50 50 50 50 100 50 100 50 50 50 50 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 3 1 4 3 4 1 2 3 2 4 2 1 1 4 3 5.7 5.0 5.0 5.3 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.2 5.9 5.7 5.3 5.3 5.3 33 3 14 25 22 28 24 25 12 25 22 22 5 5 5 Samples taken in May 1963. 28 28 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION APPENDIX TABLE 2. COSTS AND RETURNS OF BEEF CATTLE PRODUCTION BY TYPE OF GRAZING SYSTEM, 1964-65 Item System 1 $110.60 .09 110.69 11.73 0 0 6.40 7.70 2.59 2 3 4 $109.49 10.53 120.02 10.25 11.18 1.12 :3.20 8.45 2.31 0 1.73 .10 7.00 4.00 1.00 46.14 73.88 36.94 4.00 4.00 17.10 2.75 .50 28.35 8.59 17.18 Final corrected market value of calves sold Value of excess hay $20/ton Total returns-- - - - - - - - - - - -- - Annual costs Fertilizer (mixed)-------- -- ------ -- -- --- Ammonium nitrate--Haul and apply ammonium nitrate $7.50 /ton-- - - -- - - Seed-caley peas ) $.08/lb. and white clover $1.10/lb. Hay expenses $209.02 $110.57 0 8.60 209.02 119.17 11.73 25.92 2.70 6.40 20.47 7.41 9.02 16.99 1.80 4.00 8.00 2.00 116.44 92.58 46.28 5.00 8.00 23.10 2.75 .50 39.35 6.93 6.93 10.45 5.59 .56 4.80 7.70 2.40 0 3.25l .90 2.00 4.00 1.00 42.65 76.52 38.26 4.00 4.00 17.10 2.75 .50 28.35 9.91 19.82 @ Cut, rake, and hale $20/bale $2.10/ton-- -- Feed H ay $25/ton-- - --- - - --- -- -- - -Pra-ei n s up p le m e n t-ot -Salt~ ________________ Veterinary $2.00/cow unit Hauling 0 6.62 .90 2.00 4.00 and hauling --------Commission, yardage, 1.00 Electricity $1.00/cow ---------- ---------Total annual costs------------- ------- 42.94 67.75 plot -------Returns above annual costs per 33.87 above annual costs per acre._______ Returns Non-cash costs per acre Pasture depreciation.____________________ Bull charge $8.00/cow------------------Interest on investment Dep. on bldgs., fences, mach., and T axes, @ 6%1 Total property------------------ ------non-cash costs___________________ equip .- __ Returns to operator's labor and mgt. to operator's labor and Returns mgt. /cow --- 11.04 5.52 /acre --- 4.00 4.00 17.10 2.75 .50 28.35 1 Prices used for capital investment were: cow-$200/head, land-$150/acre, machinery and equipment$20 buildings and fences-$ 15 /acre, / acre. BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED 29 BEEF COWY GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED APPENDIX TABLE 3. COSTS AND RETURNS OF BEEF CATTLE PRODUCTION BY TYPE OF GRAZING SYSTEM, 1965-66 2 Item System 1 2 3 4 Final corrected market value of calves $116.79 $209.04 $117.63 $112.88 Value of excess hay $20/ton 2.90 0 0 0 Total returns -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- 119.69 209.04 117.63 112.88 Annual costs 12.18 12.18 10.87 10.07 Fertilizer (mixed)---------- ----Ammonium nitrate----------0 30.83 5.14 10.28 Haul and apply ammonium nitrate $7.50/ton - -0 3.38 .56 1.12 --- - - Seed-caley peas $08/lb. and white clover $1.10/lb. 8.10 6.40 7.27 4.85 Hay expenses Cut, rake, and bale $20/bale 9.15 9.00 5.95 3.90 Hauling $2.10/ton-------3.08 3.26 1.96 1.02 Feed H ay $25/ton-- - -- - -- --- -- - -- 0 44.59 3.69 11.91 Protein supplement-----7.62 18.60 5.82 4.54 Sa l t -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - .90 1.80 .90 .90 Veterinary $2.00/cow unit 2.00 4.00 2.00 2.00 Commission, yardage, and hauling.-------. 4.00 8.00 4.00 4.00 Electricity $1.00/cow------------------1.00 7.00 1.00 1.00 Total annual costs-------------------48.03 144.04 49.16 55.59 Returns above annual costs per plot------71.66 65.00 68.47 57.29 35.83 32.50 34.23 28.64 Returns above annual costs per ------Non-cash costs per acre Pasture depreciation-------------------4.00 5.00 4.00 4.00 Bull charge $8.00/cow-----------------4.00 8.00 4.00 4.00 Interest on investment 6 %-----------17.10 23.10 17.10 17.10 sold @@ acre Dep. on bldgs., fences, mach., and @ Taxes, property-----------------------Total non-cash costs -----------------Returns to operator's labor and mgt. /acre-Returns to operator's labor and mgt. A~???FDAIl ) r~CIrA r~r(I~lrr~r v equip.--/cow--. 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.75 .50 .50 .50 .50 28.35 7.48 14.96 39.35 -6.85 ~ -6.85II 28.35 5.88 11.76 28.35 .29 II .58 I 1'Prices used for capital investment were: cow-$200/head, land-$150/acre, buildings and fences-$ 15 /acre, machinery and equipment-$20 /acre. 30 30 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT APPENDIX TABLE 4. COSTS AND RETURNS OF BEEF CATTLE BY TYPE OF GRAZING SYSTEM, 1966-67 Item 1 2 STATION PRODUCTION 3 System 4 $128.50 4.70 1-33.20 8.79 9.75 1.12 4.00 10.72 2.73 0 5.35 .90 2.00 4.00 1.00 50.36 82.84 Final corrected market value of calves sold Value of excess hay $20/ton Total returns-- - - - - - - - - - - - - Annual costs Fertilizer (mixed) .--------Ammonium nitrate----------Haul and apply ammonium nitrate $7.50/ton - - - - - - - - Seed-caley peas $08/lb. and white clover $1.10/lb. Hay expenses Cut, rake, and bale $20/bale Hauling $2.10/ton--Feed H ay $25/ton-- - - -- - - --- - - - - - Protein supplement------ $128.86 $227.84 $126.54 0 22.75 0 128.86 250.59 126.54 17.20 0 0 8.00 7.00 2.31 2.01 7.93 .90 2.00 4.00 1.00 52.35 76.51 38.25 4.00 4.00 17.10 2.75 .50 28.35 10.72 28.60 3.38 9.60 22.40 8.19 0 22.67 1.80 4.00 8.00 2.00 121.36 129.23 64.61 5.00 8.00 23.10 2.75 .50 39.35 10.70 4.88 .56 6.00 4.20 1.03 13.54 6.51 .90 2.00 4.00 1.00 55.32 71.22 35.61 4.00 4.00 17.10 2.75 .50 28.25 @@ Sa lt --- --- -- - - -- - - -- - - -- - - -- - - -- - -Veterinary $2.00 /cow unit Electricity Commission, yardage, and hauling _------$1.00/cow------------------- Total annual costs------------ -------- Returns above annual costs per plot------Returns above annual costs per acre.----_-Non-cash costs per acre Pasture depreciation.------------------- 41.42 4.00 4.00 17.10 2.75 Bull charge $8.00 /cow -----------------Interest on investment @a6 % -----------Dep. property-----------------------Total on bldgs., fences, mach., and equip.--non-cash costs -----------------Taxes, Returns to operator's labor and mgt. /acre--Returns to operator's labor and r r C ILL. _' mgt. /cow--o . .lvv 28.35 9.90 25.26 7.26 13.07 19.80 _____________________ 25.26 14.52 26.14 'Prices used for capital investment were: buildings and fences-$ 15/acre, machinery and equipment-$20 / acre. cow-$200/head, land-$150/acrc, BEEF COW GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED 31 BEEF~ COW( GRAZING SYSTEMS COMPARED APPENDIX TABLE 5. COSTS AND RETURNS OF BEEF CATTLE PRODUCTION BY TYPE OF CRAZING SYSTEM, 3 1967-68 2 Item Final corrected market value of calves sold Value of excess hay $20/ton Total returns .-- - - - - - - - - - - - Annual costs Fertilizer (mixed)---------- ----Ammonium nitrate.- -- -- - -- -- Haul and apply ammonium nitrate $7.50/ton -$.08/lb. and Seed-caley peas white clover $1.10/lb. Hay expenses Cut, rake, and hale $20/bale Hauling $2.10/ton-------Feed H ay $25/ton-Protein supplement-Sa l t -- -- -- - -- -- -- - -- -- -- - -- -- -- - -- -- Veterinary $2.00/cow unit Commission, yardage, and hauling-------Electricity $1.00 /cow ------------------ System 1 3 4 $134.12 $257.86 0 38.11 172.23 257.86 10.12 0 0 8.00 21.40 6.72 0 8.87 .90 2.00 4.50 1.00 63.51 108.72 54.36 4.00 4.00 17.10 2.75 .50 28.35 26.01 52.02 13.40 27.22 3.38 11.20 14.40 4.48 36.25 21.92 1.80 4.00 9.00 2.00 149.05 108.81 54.40 5.00 8.00 23.10 2.75 .50 39.35 15.05 15.05 $136.52 $134.91 17.77 0 154.29 134.91 10.38 4.54 .56 6.00 13.00 4.07 0 5.63 .90 2.00 4.50 1.00 52.58 101.71 50.85 4.00 4.00 17.10 2.75 .50 28.35 22.50 43.00 10.08 9.08 1.12 4.00 4.60 1.43 7.50 :3.20 .90 2.00 4.50 1.00 49.41 85.50 42.75 4.00 4.00 17.10 2.75 .50 28.35 14.40 28.80 @@ - ------ - - -- - - - - Total annual costs------------ -------- Returns above annual costs per plot------- Returns above annual costs per acre------Non-cash costs per acre Pasture depreciation.------------------Bull charge $8.00/cow-----------------Interest on investment @a6 % 1----------Dep. on bldgs., fences, mach., and equip.-Taxes, Total property----------------- ------non-cash costs------------------ Returns to operator's labor and Returns to operator's labor and mgt. / cow-- mgt. /acre-- Prices used for capital investment were: cow-$200/head, land-$150/acre, buildings and fences-$ 15/acre, machinery and equipment-$20 /acre. AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SYSTEM OF ALABAMA'S LAND-GRANT UNIVERSITY With an agricultural research unit in every major soil area, Auburn University serves the needs of field crop, liveL 0 stock, forestry, and horticultural producers in each region in Alabama. Every citizen of the State has a stake in this research program, since any advantage from new and more_economical ways of producing and handling farm products directly benefits the consuming public. 13 6 0 o h! Research Unit Identification 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. Tennessee Valley Substation, Belle Mina. Sand Mountain Substation, Crossville. North Alabama Horticulture Substation, Cullman. Upper Coastal Plain Substation, Winfield. Forestry Unit, Fayette County. Thorsby Foundation Seed Stocks Farm, Thorsby. Chilton Area Horticulture Substation, Clanton. Forestry Unit, Coosa County. Piedmont Substation, Camp Hill. Plant Breeding Unit, Tallassee. Forestry Unit, Autauga County. Prattville Experiment Field, Prattville. Black Belt Substation, Marion Junction. Tuskegee Experiment Field, Tuskegee. Lower Coastal Plain Substation, Camden. Forestry Unit, Barbour County. Monroeville Experiment Field, Monroeville. Wiregrass Substation, Headland. Brewton Experiment Field, Brewton. Ornamental Horticulture Field Station, Spring Hill. Gulf Coast Substation, Fairhope.