Funded by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Government of Canada and Government of Alberta)
Forages play a crucial role in the cow-calf and backgrounding sectors of the beef industry, serving as a major feed component. This includes annual forage crops that are primarily used as stored feed, such as greenfeed, silage, and baleage. In Alberta, oats and barley are the main types of annual forage crops and are considered traditional resources for this purpose. However, as new cereal crop species and varieties become available, it is important to evaluate their potential as forage and their nutritional value in the Peace Region. This study aimed to test different varieties of oat, barley, wheat, and triticale to assess their forage yield and quality.
Objective
To compare some top-performing forage barley, oat, wheat and triticale varieties for yield and quality, and to encourage further adoption of these varieties and integration into the livestock production systems in The Peace.
What we did
The study was carried out at PCBFA’s Fairview Research Farm located on RR#35, MD of Fairview in 2022. The cropping history of the site where the study was conducted was summer fallowed in the previous year. Before seeding, the site was tilled with a plot cultivator followed by harrowing.
Experimental design and treatments: A randomized complete block design was used in four replications in small plots measuring 8 m by 1.14 m.
The following crops/varieties were tested in the trial:
Canmore Barley- 2-row general purpose (feed/malting) with rough awns, seeded at 2.67 bu/ac
AB Advantage Barley- Dual-purpose 6-row feed/forage with smooth awns, seeded at 2.66 bu/ac
CDC Cowboy Barley- 2-row dual-purpose with rough awns, seeded at 3.44 bu/ac
CDC Maverick Barley- 2-row forage/feed with smooth awns, seeded at 3.73 bu/ac
AAC Paramount VB soft white wheat with spike awns, seeded at 1.60 bu/ac
Whistler general purpose wheat, awnletted (awn tipped), seeded at 2.17 bu/ac
AAC Awesome VB soft white general purpose wheat, has spike awns, seeded at 2.67 bu/ac
Candem Oats, seeded at 3.48 bu/ac
CDS Arborg Oats, seeded at 3.00 bu/ac
Ore3542M Oats, seeded at 3.50 bu/ac
CDC Haymaker Oats, seeded at 3.91 bu/ac
AC Sadash VB triticale (spring triticale), has awns, seeded at 2.67 bu/ac
Seeding
Seeds were treated with Vibrance Quattro® cereal seed treatment before seeding.
Target seeding rates were: 300 plants/m2 (barley); 333 plants/m2 (oats); 333 plants/m2 (triticale), and 333 plants/m2 for wheat. The target seeding rate calculation was based on the 1000 kernel weight, germination, plot area, and 5 % mortality rate. The seeding rate equivalents in bushels/acre (excluding 5 % mortality rate) are provided above for the crops used in this trial.
Seeding was done on May 20, 2022 and the soil temperature and moisture at seeding were 10.1° C and 8.1 % volumetric water content (VWC) measured at 6".
Fertility
Soil test results from 0-6" were used to determine fertilizer rates for N, P, K and S. The fertilizer blend applied was 283 lbs/acre (blended NPKS).
Spraying
A pre-emergent spray was carried out with glyphosate at 0.67 L/acre
In-crop spraying was with Prestige XL at 0.81 L/acre as early as when the plants were at 4 to 5 leaf stage.
Harvesting
Harvesting was completed on August 12, 2022 with a forage harvester when the barley was at the soft dough stage and oats at the late milk stage.
What we found out
Forage dry matter yield varied significantly between varieties with all cool-season cereals yielding more than 3,000 lbs/acre of forage dry matter. Sadash Triticale, Maverick Barley, CDC Cowboy barley, and Paramount short white wheat were the high yielders with each yielding more than 5,000 lbs/acre.
Crude protein (CP) ranged between 7.1 and 12.6% and varied significantly between cool season cereals (Table 5). Only four crop varieties, particularly barley varieties (Canmore, AB Advantage, CDC Cowboy Barley, CDC Maverick) produced forage with greater than 10% CP. Oats, triticale and soft white wheat varieties tested here all had less than 10% CP.
Fibre (NDF and ADF) and energy (TDN) both varied significantly (0.001) between cool season cereals with ranges of 43 - 58% for NDF; 24 - 35% for ADF and 69 - 73% for TDN (Table 5).
The forage quality analysis included a select number of macro and trace minerals (Table 5). Calcium ranged from 0.22 - 0.32%; K ranged from 0.97 to 1.57% while Na ranged from 0.05 to 1.06% and varied significantly between cool-season cereals. Phosphorus and Mg did not vary significantly between cereal species and varieties and ranged from 0.12 to 0.16% and 0.22 to 0.27% respectively. Copper (not shown) ranged from 3.4 to 4.5 ppm; Zn (24 to 30 ppm); Mn (39 to 87 ppm); Cl (0.3 to 0.6 ppm).
What do the results mean?
In 2022, the growing season was dry, though not as dry as the previous year (2021) so, in general, the cereal species and varieties tested produced lower dry matter yield (Figure 1) than the normal growing season years. Nevertheless, 4 crop varieties (AAC Paramount VB soft white wheat, CDC Maverick barley, CDC Cowboy barley and AC Sadash VB triticale) tested here conveniently produced 2.5 tons/acre forage DM yield or slightly more indicating a greater resiliency of these varieties in dry weather conditions than other crops. For producers whose greenfeed bales weigh about 1,500 lb/bale, this means that these same 4 crop varieties were still able to produce at least 3.3 bales/acre compared to lower than that for other crop varieties with less 2.5 tons/acre forage DM yield.
Protein wise, the nutrient requirements for dry pregnant cows at mid-term (7% CP) were made by all tested forages while at least 75% of tested forages will meet the nutrient requirements of dry pregnant cows at the third trimester of pregnancy (9% CP). Only the barley varieties (Canmore, AB Advantage, CDC Cowboy Barley, CDC Maverick) tested here adequately met the CP needs of a lactating beef cow (11% CP). AB Advantage barley distinguished itself as the lone forage that could meet the minimum CP requirements of growing beef calves which require 12-14% CP.
All tested forages were energy-rich and will conveniently meet and even surpass the energy requirements of all beef cattle stock (55-60-65% TDN). Unlike the oat varieties, the forage barley, triticale, general purpose and soft white wheat were in excess of the TDN requirements of mature beef cattle.
According to the information provided, Table 5 shows that all crop varieties had sufficient amounts of Ca needed by a beef cow in mid and late pregnancy. However, after calving, none of the crop varieties met the required Ca level of 0.33%. Only AB Advantage was able to meet the 0.16% P requirement for gestating beef cows.
In terms of K and Mg levels, all crop varieties had adequate amounts for both young and mature beef cattle. However, neither Whistler GP wheat nor Sadash triticale met the minimum Na requirements for beef cattle.
To meet the nutritional needs of growing and finishing calves as well as lactating cows, supplementation with Ca and P mineral sources will be necessary when feeding solely each of these cereal varieties. Additionally, the micro-mineral Cu will require supplementation as the levels were below the required 10 ppm for beef cattle.
In summary, while the crop varieties tested had varying levels of Ca, P, Na, and Cu, supplementation will be needed to meet the specific nutritional requirements of beef cattle at different stages of production.
Conclusion
In terms of forage DM yield under a dry weather, four crop varieties in particular, i.e., AAC Paramount VB soft white wheat, CDC Maverick barley, CDC Cowboy barley and AC Sadash VB triticale did better than others. The levels of Cu in the crop varieties tested here were far below the 10 ppm required by beef cattle, so mineral supplementation that includes Cu would be needed when feeding any of these cereal crops.
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