FORAGE YIELD AND QUALITY OF WARM SEASON ANNUAL CEREAL CROPS IN THE NORTHERN ALBERTA OF CANADA

Abstract

In Alberta Canada, many livestock producers look at alternative ways to reduce their winter feed costs through a series of options to extend the summer grazing season into the fall and winter months. Cool season cereals, such as oat and barley play significant role in providing winter feed in the form of greenfeed hay, silage and swath grazing. The objective of the present study was to evaluate warm season cereals (9 com hybrids, 2 millet varieties and a forage sorghum hybrid, CFSH 30) in a temperate environment compared to temperate cool season cereals (2 oat varieties - controls) for forage dry matter (DM) yield and nutritive value. The corn hybrids mostly had higher forage DM yield than other crop types (millets, sorghum and oat). The forage DM yield significantly (P<0.05) varied from 3878 kg ha' for German millet to 11529 kg ha for 39M26 corn hybrid.Both millets and CFSH 30 had significantly higher crude protein (CP) than corn hybrids as well as the two cool season crop controls (oat). The forage CP was lowest (8.15% ) for 39F44 corn hybrid and highest (14.8%) for German millet. The forage Ca, P, K and Mg respectively varied from 0.21-0.40%, 0.11 -0.29%, 0.96-2.82% and 0.09-0.47%. The forage energy (total digestible nutrients, TDN) was mostly >60.0% for all crops tested. The findings from the present study are discussed as relating to selecting warm season crops for use in the beef cattle production systems in parts of the Peace Country region of Alberta, Canada, with focus on nutritive value in relation to the nutrient requirements of a mature beef cattle.