Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Accomplishment Report - Objective 1 - Colorado - Joe Brummer presented information and preliminary results from 3 projects that have implications for grazing: 1. Evaluation of yield and quality of 4 grasses or grass mixtures grown under simulated grazing in conjunction with 4 legumes or with 3 levels of composted dairy manure (0, 5, or 10 tons/ac). Tall fescue or mixes with tall fescue in them had the greatest yields in the first year of production. Compost additions stimulated more growth, especially of the pure tall fescue stands. 2. Evaluation of 15 cool-season grasses for yield and quality when grown under 3 irrigation regimes (full, spring and fall, or spring only). This was the establishment year and no data were taken, but results have application for use as hay, pasture, or cellulosic biofuel. 3. Evaluation of perennial legumes for use as living mulches in annual cropping systems such as corn. This system has many potential benefits, one being the production of a value added crop for fall grazing. The clover provides a high protein source and the corn stover provides a high energy source, so the diet is more balanced. Suppression of the legume is essential to avoid yield reductions of the annual crop. Strip tillage in conjunction with herbicide applications appears to be the best method of suppressing the legume in trials where corn was grown. Idaho - Several research and extension people attended the meeting from Idaho and reported on projects applicable to the group: Christi Falen reported on some demonstration work that looked at the use of various annual forages to extend the grazing season in the early spring and fall/winter time period as well as during the summer slump. She investigated turnips, turnip/oats, triticale/peas, Willow Creek winter wheat, pearl millet, and teff. Sheep refused the teff but liked the turnip/oat combination for grazing. On the other hand, cattle loved the teff. The winter wheat appeared to be well suited to fill the early spring forage void. Chad Cheyney reported that the emphasis at the Nancy Cummings Research and Extension Center was moving away from irrigated pasture to more livestock reproduction and genetics. Although this change is being implemented, there was some limited plot work looking at using warm-season annuals for fall and winter grazing. The use of various annual forages to extend the grazing season appeared to be a common theme among a number of those in attendance. Glenn Shoemaker and a former graduate student reported on the use of various techniques to measure standing biomass in irrigated pastures. As would be expected, some of the techniques were better at predicting actual standing crop compared to others. One of the goals was to calibrate the Missouri Pasture Stick for use under Idaho conditions. It appears that the pasture stick can be used to estimate standing biomass if adjustments are made. Montana - Dennis Cash reported that Montana does not currently have any research personnel in forages, so he had only a few things to report on that he is doing as the extension specialist. He is evaluating Willow Creek winter wheat for spring grazing which has been successful with results similar to those from Idaho. He also surveyed 12 alfalfa stands for persistence in relationship to management and found that producers often do not follow appropriate practices to prolong stand life in lieu of short term yield gains. North Dakota - Paul Nyren reported on several grazing projects of interest to the group. They are investigating the use of smorgasbord plantings (multiple species) for fall grazing. Varieties of forage turnips and radishes have been successful. They are also looking at swath grazing of foxtail millet and creep grazing of turnips and a variety of other forages. Oregon - Mylen Bohle is doing some work with T-sum as a tool to determine the optimum time to fertilize grass pastures and hayfields. It has better application on the west side of the Cascades. He has also been doing some work in conjunction with grass variety trials looking at the effect of severity of clipping at the end of the season on forage production and quality the following year. Shelby Filley has been doing some work on fertilizing grass pastures with selenium in low selenium areas to bring the concentration up in the forage. This approach has been successful. Steve Norberg has been doing some teff trials. He has noticed poor germination when using coated seed. Utah - Jennifer MacAdam reported on her work looking at the use of birdsfoot trefoil for grazing. She presented some very interesting preliminary data. Birdsfoot trefoil contains tannins that not only prevent bloat, but also increase the amount of by-pass protein in the forage. She is investigating trefoil varieties with varying levels of tannins and recorded gains between 3 and 5 lbs per day for steers grazing the birdsfoot trefoil variety with the highest tannin content. She also documented lower milk urea nitrogen when dairy cows grazed pastures high in birdsfoot trefoil. Objective 2 - Colorado - Two forage extension publications are currently being revised with anticipated publication in the spring of 2009. One is a forage guide that describes basic establishment and management of forages and contains descriptions of the major forage species that can be grown in Colorado. This publication is targeted for small acreage landowners. The second is a more in depth forage production manual that is targeted for distribution to extension agents, NRCS field personnel, crop consultants, large scale producers, etc. It is designed to specifically serve producers in western Colorado and other intermountain states. Idaho - The Lost River Grazing Academy was held in the spring of 2008 with 19 in attendance. This has been a very successful extension program over the years. Approximately 200 people have received training in the area of Management Intensive Grazing (MIG) of irrigated pastures. After attending the 4-day academy, several participants made changes to their operation and have gone from operating in the red to positive cash flow. One goal of this WERA is to bring the Lost River Grazing Academy to other states or produce materials that extension agents and specialists in other states can use to put on similar programs. North Dakota - The Central Grasslands Research and Extension Center at Streeter, ND puts out a yearly extension type publication that is inserted into several local newspapers with an annual circulation of about 50,000. This has proven to be an excellent method of distributing research based information to the general public and could serve as a model for other institutions to follow. Objective 3 - Oregon - David Hannaway at Oregon State University maintains the Forage Information System website that serves as a clearinghouse for forage related information. On his site, he has a list of seed venders, certified seed growers, and legume seed inoculant companies and their contact information. As with any large database, it is always difficult to keep information up to date. Instead of starting another website for dissemination of this type of information, we decided at the meeting that everyone should review the information on the FIS website for their respective state and pass any additions or corrections on to David in an effort to keep the site up to date and satisfy part of this objective. For small quantities of legume inoculant, John Kosanke at the Nitragin Co. can be contacted at: john.kosanke@emdcropbioscience.com.