Animal Science, Department of
Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports
Date of this Version
2024
Citation
2024 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report
UNL Beef, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Abstract
A study was conducted to determine which winter-hardy small cereal grain was best suited for early spring grazing. Three species were evaluated: winter wheat, cereal rye, and winter triticale, as a double-cropped forage in a continuous soybean rotation. Within this rotation the number of grazing days is limited, but all three species provided high rates of cattle weight gain, with an average daily gain (ADG) of 3 lb/d in April. However, in a year where freezing conditions occurring after cattle started grazing, cattle grazing cereal rye had the greatest ADG, likely due to greater forage growth. Thus, cereal rye may be a better choice if early spring grazing is the goal.
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