Life Sciences Commons^™

How To Maximize Energy Content In Forage Grasses, S. Ray Smith, Kelly Prince

Forage Symposium at the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Convention

In a recent paper, Kathryn Watts and Jerry Chatterton (2004) gave an excellent overview of the basic factors affecting carbohydrate levels in forages and how these factors affect forage management.

• Sugars are the substrates for all plant growth, thus, they are critical to plant growth and development.
• Sugars are produced by photosynthesis during daylight.
• At night plants use energy from sugars formed by photosynthesis to grow.
• Whenever the rates of photosynthesis exceed plant growth rates, carbohydrates accumulate.
• At times, plant stresses decrease growth rates more than photosynthesis and carbohydrates accumulate.
• Factors that contribute to plant stress include water and nutrient …

Building A Year Round Grazing System, Christopher D. Teutsch

Forage Symposium at the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Convention

There are three basic ways to increase net returns in ruminant livestock operations. The first is to increase the price we get for our product. Unfortunately in a commodity based system we have little or no control over the price that we receive. The second is to increase total production. By producing more units that have a slim profit margin we can increase net returns. However, at some point we become resource limited; we run out of land or time. The third is to control production costs. Of these three ways to increase net returns, this one has the greatest …

Promote Growth And Animal Health With Isoflavones In Red Clover And Other Legumes, Michael D. Flythe, Glen E. Aiken

Forage Symposium at the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Convention

The field of nutrition has continued to expand since the 18th century. We once thought that the only important components in foods and feeds were proteins, carbohydrates, fats and salts. Evidence was slowly pieced together to show that certain minor components were essential for life, and the vitamins were discovered. Like the doctors that first suspected vitamins were essential, some cattlemen have long noted advantages in animal performance and health on certain diets in ways that cannot be explained by a simple forage analysis. Today, we are learning the roles that phenolic plant secondary metabolites, sometimes called polyphenols, play in …

Foreword [2017], S. Ray Smith, Krista Lea

Forage Symposium at the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Convention

This is the front matter of the proceedings.