Seasonal Hay Feeding for Cattle Production in Tennessee
W 839 Seasonal Hay Feeding for Cattle Production in Tennessee University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture Andrew P. Griffith, Associate Professor; Christopher N. Boyer, Associate Professor; Christopher D. Clark, Professor; and Burton C. English, Professor Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics Oklahoma State University Dayton M. Lambert, Professor Department of Agricultural Economics Adapted from: Boyer, C.N., D.M. Lambert, A.P. Griffith, C.D. Clark, and B.C. English. 2019. Seasonal Hay Feeding for Cattle Production in the Fescue Belt. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics. Introduction Despite its wide adaptation, tall fescue presents several managerial challenges including being dormant during the winter and causing fescue toxicosis during the summer. This can reduce cattle conception rates and weight gains (Looper et al., 2010). To overcome tall fescue’s shortcomings, it is common for producers to provide a supplemental feed such as hay during periods of low forage production. An alternative to supplemental feed is diversifying forage to extend the grazing season. The incorporation of alternative forages, such as crabgrass, bermudagrass and winter annuals, into a tall fescue system can reduce overgrazing and extend the number of grazing days (Muir, Pitman, and Foster, 2011; Byrnes et al., 2018; Stanley et al., 2018), which would reduce the number of days feeding hay and total hay costs (Ward et al., 2008). Understanding the advantages of diversifying forages is important as there may be challenges to cool- and warm-season grazing systems. In general, a cool- and warm-season grazing system may require upgrading infrastructure, such as fencing and water sources, and/or require additional labor and management (Gillespie, Kim, and Paudel, 2007; Gillespie et al., 2008; Johnson et al., 2010; Pruitt et al., 2012).
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