Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of Grazing Options During Summer For Growing Heifers – Year 2, J. K. Farney

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Developing methods to provide high quality forage through most of the year is important for cattle operations. The purpose of this study was to determine forage management options to offset the summer “slump” with fescue. Four grass pasture treatments (10 pastures total; 4 acres each) were used in a completely randomized design and stocked with growing heifers (n = 49; initial wt 473 ± 60 lb). Pasture treatments consisted of novel fescue (FES), crabgrass (CRAB), bermudagrass (BERM), and sorghum-sudan interseeded into novel fescue (SS-FES). Heifers were weighed and grazed pastures from April to September (153 d). Heifers on FES were …

Interseeding Sorghum-Sudangrass Into Perennial Cool-Season Western Wheatgrass Pasture, Keith Harmoney, John Guretzky

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Conversion of pastureland into cropland has occurred at a rapid rate on the Great Plains. A reduction in total acreage of pastureland from this conversion has resulted in a decline of total numbers of beef cows in the same region. One method to mitigate the decline in cow numbers is to increase the carrying capacity of the remaining pastureland acres. To achieve this goal, a study was conducted to introduce warm-season annual grass species into perennial cool-season grass pastures to increase dry matter production during the mid-summer time period that perennial cool-season grasses would be most dormant. An increase in …

Reclaiming Old World Bluestem Pasture With Imazapyr Application And Native Grass Overseeding, Keith Harmoney

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Old world bluestems (OWB), mainly Caucasian bluestem (Bothriochloa bladhii) and yellow bluestem(Bothriochloa ischaemum)introduced from parts of eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, have been shown to reduce abundance and diversity of some insect and wildlife species compared to native grasses when these OWB grasses form dense stands. These OWBs have been invading native pastures in the southern Great Plains and are rapidly increasing in the amount of area occupied in Kansas. Two landowners purchased pasture property in Ellsworth County, KS, and observed that Caucasian old world bluestem had increased in the pasture significantly over the course …

Stocker Steer Gains And Fly Numbers As Impacted By Burn Date And Type Of Mineral On Tallgrass Native Range – Year 3, J. K. Farney, M. Frahm

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

This study aims to evaluate effectiveness of two operational management systems for steer gains and fly control. The first strategy evaluated was pasture burn date of March (MAR) or April (APR). The second management strategy was free-choice mineral with spices (SPICE) or without spices (CON). Eight pastures (n = 281 steers; initial weight 572 ± 75 lb) were used in a 2 × 2 factorial treatment structure. Steers were weighed individually, randomly assigned to treatment, and grazed for 87 days. Weekly, 33% of steers were photographed to count flies and evaluated for hair coat score. Neither the date of pasture …

Evaluation Of Implants, Clover, And Fescue Variety On Stocker Steers – Year 2, J. K. Farney, M. Frahm, S. Strnad, T. Bottorff

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Sixty-four growing steers were used in a split-plot experiment, where the whole plot was pasture, and the split-plot was the implant level. Whole plot treatment was a 4 × 2 factorial with four levels of fescue (High Endophyte, Low Endophyte, Novel, or Endophyte Free) and two levels of legume (Legumes or No Legumes). The split-plot included four implant levels (No Implant, Synovex One Grass, Revalor-G, or Ralgro). Data collected were weights, hair coat scores, hair length, rectal temperature (every 28 days), and ultrasound carcass characteristics when steers were coming off grass. Steers on High Endophyte had the lowest average daily …

Effects Of Prescribed Fire Timing On Stocker Cattle Performance And Native Plant Composition: Year 3 Of 6, Z. M. Duncan, A. J. Tajchman, M. P. Ramirez, J. Lemmon, K. J. Suhr, W. R. Hollenbeck, D. A. Blasi, K C. Olson

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Objective:The objective of this experiment was to document the effects of prescribed-fire timing on stocker cattle performance, soil cover, and plant species composition over a six-year period.

Study Description:Yearling stocker cattle were assigned to one of three prescribed-burn treatments: spring (April 9 ± 5.1 days), summer (August 23 ± 4.9 days), or fall (September 29 ± 8.7 days). Calves were grazed from May to August for 90 days. Individual body weights (BW) were recorded at the beginning and end of the grazing season to determine total BW gains and average daily gains. Native plant composition and soil cover …

Roundup 2022: Agricultural Research Center-Hays

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Roundup is the major beef cattle education and outreach event sponsored by the Kansas State University Agricultural Research Center - Hays. This report communicates timely, applicable research information on beef production and rangeland topics.

Effects Of Late Summer Prescribed Fire On Botanical Composition, Soil Cover, And Forage Production In Caucasian Bluestem-Infested Rangeland In The Kansas Smoky Hills: Year 3 Of 4, M. P. Ramirez, A. J. Tajchman, Z. M. Duncan, J. Lemmon, K C. Olson

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Objective:The objective was to document the effects of late-summer prescribed fire on soil cover, botanical composition, and forage production in the Kansas Smoky Hills and associated effects on dense Caucasian bluestem (Bothriochloa bladhii) stands therein.

Study Description:The study took place on a private ranch in Ellsworth County, in the Kansas Smoky Hills. Eighteen one-acre plots were assigned randomly to one of two prescribed-fire treatments: no burn (control) and burn (burned August 14, 2019). Soil cover, plant composition, and forage production were evaluated annually. These data represent plant community effects prior to treatment and one and two …

Herbicide Activity On Old World Bluestems, Keith Harmoney

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Two main species of old world bluestems (OWB), yellow bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum) and Caucasian bluestem (Bothriochloa bladhii), have encroached on rangelands, pastures, and road right-of-ways in Kansas. Patches of these OWB have been shown to reduce species diversity and abundance at multiple trophic levels, and pose a long-term threat to native plant, insect, rodent, and grassland bird populations. These OWB species are utilized by cattle early in the growing season, directly following prescribed burns, and during droughts when other forages lack water uptake and may go dormant. However, these OWB species mature more quickly than native …

Southeast Research And Extension Center Agricultural Research 2022

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Report of agricultural research from Southeast Research and Extension Center, Kansas State University.