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Assessing Warm-Season Annual Grasses To Increase Forage Inventory, Andrea Marroquin
Assessing Warm-Season Annual Grasses To Increase Forage Inventory, Andrea Marroquin
Masters Theses
Summers are expected to continue to increase in heat/dryness in the Northeast, causing issues pertaining to forage production during the summer to worsen. Many pastures grow cool season grasses, even during the summer. These grasses enter a dormant period and slowdown in production during the months of July and August, leading to what is referred to as “summer slump”. Some farms grow corn silage during the summer, and while corn silage is a valuable crop, its cultivation often does not support soil biology. This research addresses solutions for both summer slump foraging and more sustainable silage. Summer annuals grow more …
Coping With Drought In Beef Cattle Production: Innovation Through Optimal Warm-Season Forage Systems, Katelynn Elizabeth Zechiel
Coping With Drought In Beef Cattle Production: Innovation Through Optimal Warm-Season Forage Systems, Katelynn Elizabeth Zechiel
Masters Theses
Drought conditions have had detrimental effects on beef cattle production in the southeastern states where forages are the primary source of feed for livestock. Many southeastern states lie within the fescue-belt, where tall fescue is the predominant livestock forage. Tall fescue is a cool-season (CS) grass that thrives in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall, becoming semi-dormant during peak summer temperatures and again in winter. Conversely, warm-season (WS) forage species increase in production during the summer months and exhibit drought tolerant qualities, making them a viable summer forage option to complement tall fescue for beef cattle producers. The primary …
Performance Of Beef Cattle Grazing Native Warm-Season Grasses In An Integrated Forage/Biofuels System In The Mid-South, William Matthew Backus
Performance Of Beef Cattle Grazing Native Warm-Season Grasses In An Integrated Forage/Biofuels System In The Mid-South, William Matthew Backus
Masters Theses
Early season (ES) and full season (FS) grazing strategies were used to evaluate performance of stocker steers grazing native warm-season grasses (NWSG) in 2010, 2011 and 2012 in two experiments. Experiment one was conducted at the Research and Education Center (REC) at Ames Plantation near Grand Junction and experiment two was conducted at Highland Rim REC near Springfield in which Angus and Angus cross steers (268±25kg) were used in completely randomized design with three forage treatments: 1) switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.); 2) a combination of big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman) and indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans); and 3) …
Avian Habitat Response To Grazing, Haying, And Biofuels Production In Native Warm-Season Forages In The Mid-South, Jessie Lee Birckhead
Avian Habitat Response To Grazing, Haying, And Biofuels Production In Native Warm-Season Forages In The Mid-South, Jessie Lee Birckhead
Masters Theses
Declines in grassland birds have been attributed to loss of habitat, habitat degradation, and changes in land management. In the Mid-South, pasture and hayfield management has focused on maintaining dense stands of non-native forages that do not provide suitable vegetative structure for grassland birds or northern bobwhite. Native warm-season grasses have been promoted for livestock forage and biofuels feedstock. However, little information exists on how these practices affect habitat for grassland songbirds or northern bobwhite in the Mid-South. We conducted a study of two cattle grazing treatments, two hay harvest treatments and a biofuels harvest treatment on vegetative structure for …