Teff Grass as a Warm Season Forage for Backgrounding Calves in the Shenandoah Valley Brian Jones – Agronomy Jason Carter – Animal Science
Background Teff is a warm season C4 annual grass –African origin, used as a grain crop Gaining popularity as a summer annual forage –Primarily marketed as high quality horse hay
The Teff plant
Objective To compare the weight gain and profitability of calves rotationally grazing a Teff grass forage system to calves continuously grazing a typical Shenandoah Valley cool season pasture
Establishment Seeded following barley (wrapped haylage) May 23: Turbo-till May 25: Pasture harrow May 31: Fertilizer –64 lb –83 lb –52 lb 30% UAN May 31: Herbicide –1.5 qt/A Gramoxone
Establishment Seeded June 3 7 lbs/A “Tiffany” teff –Coated seed –1.3 million seeds/lb
Establishment Brillion seeder Must seed no deeper than ¼”
First Cutting July Days after planting Analysis: CP: 16.5% TDN: 66% RFV: 94
Experimental Design “Gate cut” two groups of calves –48 in each group –Calves weaned 30 days prior to study Calf data: –Weight –Frame score –Switch length
Experimental Design Group A –Rotationally grazing Teff grass pasture –20 acres Group B –Continuous grazing cool season pasture (fescue/OG/clover) –40+ acres Grazed for 69 days (September 30)
Calf Beginning Weights
Start Grazing July Days after cutting Teff 20” tall Rotational system –8 2.5A paddocks –Portable water trough –3-4 day rotation
Water Consumption Water meter to measure calf H 2 O intake Drank 5 gal/hd/day Typical intake is 10.2 gal/hd/day
August 3 Teff grew 16” in 23 days after cutting!
August 13
August 18
Finished Grazing Sept. 30 Teff pasture was completely utilized Pulled calves, sorted, weighed
Efficiency of Gain
QUESTIONS?
Tolerance of Teff (Eragrostis tef) var. “Tiffany” to Several Selective Herbicides Brian Jones Agronomy Extension Agent
Objective Limited literature exists on selective weed control in teff Objective was to examine the effect of several common selective forage herbicides on teff growth and yield
Establishment Variety: “Tiffany” teff Planting date: 3 June, 2009 Seeding rate: 7 lb/A Seeding tool: Brillion seeder Previous crop: Barley harvested as silage Site prep: –Turbo-till vertical tillage (23 May) –Pasture harrow (25 May) Fertilizer applied 31 May: –64 lb –83 lb –52 lb 30% UAN Burndown herbicide applied 31 May –1.5 qt/A Gamoxone Nteon
Herbicide Treatments Treatments applied on 10 August in a randomized complete block design with four replications
Teff on 10 August Treatments applied to teff after 17 days of re-growth occurred from hay cutting
Weed Species Composition Number of common forage weed species present, including –Canada thistle –Bull thistle –Pigweed spp. –Horsenettle –Broadleaf dock Weed composition and cover varied between treatments Teff stand was consistent and above 90% ground cover in all treatments
Teff Yield Teff harvested on 22 September (6 WAT) Sample weight and dry matter determined
NS P ≤ 0.05
Milestone Grazon P+D 2,4-D RifleControl
Summary No difference in teff yield observed between treatments No visual difference in teff performance noted between treatments A more thorough investigation of herbicide application at different teff growth stages should be performed
QUESTIONS?