Non-traditional Forages for Central Appalachia

1. Non-traditional Forages for Central Appalachia Kim Cassida USDA-ARS, Appalachian Farming Systems and Research Center Beaver, West Virginia

2. Control points for GIN in pastures • Direct control • Biochemical – plant secondary compounds toxic to GIN • Mechanical – • structure of plant or sward impedes larval migration • interruption of GIN life cycle (tillage, haying) • Indirect control • better nutrition helps animals tolerate GIN load

3. Legume Pastures for Finishing Goats

4. Legume Pastures for Finishing Goats Objective: improve nutrition 2005 - 2007 June – Sept. Rotational stocking 10 paddocks 40-day grazing cycle (4d graze, 36d rest) Stocking rate= 16 kids/acre

5. Legume Pastures for Finishing Goats – Alfalfa • Good yield • Best nutritive value • ‘Alfagraze’ persisted for four years under haying/grazing • Requires well-drained, neutral pH site • High-maintenance • P, K, and B fertilizer • Lime to maintain pH • Leafhopper control • Post-grazing stubble should be mowed short

6. Legume Pastures for Finishing Goats – Red Clover • Animal performance equal to alfalfa in the first year when clover was a pure stand • Proved difficult to maintain as a pure stand • Stubble should not be mowed after grazing • Poor regrowth during dry spells

7. Stockpiled Prairie Brome for Grass-finishing Lambs • Cool-season perennial bunchgrass • Grows best in spring & fall, but also has good summer growth • Adapted throughout Appalachia • Will reseed itself • Good yield when well fertilized (150 lb N/acre/year) • Very palatable • Prone to downy mildew (control by harvesting and applying N) • 2008/2009 – severe winterkill at AFSRC for unknown reasons Stockpiled prairie brome, September 2007

8. Stockpiled Prairie Brome for Grass-finishing Lambs • ‘Dixon’ prairie bromegrass • Grazed in 2006 and 2007 • Harvested two cuts of hay (May, July) • Stockpiled forage for ~60 days (from Aug. 1 to Sept. 25) • Strip-grazed by Polypay-cross ewe lambs (79 lb start wt) for 24 days (Sept. 25 – Oct. 18)

9. Stockpiled Prairie Brome for Grass-finishing Lambs Oct. 10, 2006 3969 lb forage/acre CP 19.2 % TDN 68.3 % IVTD 75.0 % TNC 9.0 %

10. Chicory____________________________________ • Short-lived perennial forb (2 to 3 year stand life) • Excellent forage quality, high mineral content, good yield • Easy to establish • Has helped control GIN in New Zealand • Reduced adult worms (Marley et al., 2003) • Reduced numbers of larvae on forage • Reduced anemia (Burke et al., 2009)

11. Chicory is Not Always Palatable________________ • Sesquiterpene lactones are bitter! • S.L. content varies with variety and fertility • Sheep preferred Puna • and Lacerta over • Forage Feast (Foster • et al., 2002) • Goat kids showed no • preferences among • Puna, Lacerta, and • Forage Feast (Cassida • et al., 2008)

12. Phosphorus Fertilizer and Chicory______________ • P fertilizer did not affect stand establishment • Increasing soil test P from 25 to 47 lb/acre increased annual chicory yield by 27% in WV • P fertilizer did not have practical benefit on stand persistence

13. Chicory Varieties Compared_____________ • All varieties yielded best in second year • In PA, peak yield single-year from Lacerta but it died by third year • In WV, Puna and Lacerta yielded well in second year, Puna best in third year • Forage Feast susceptible to frost-heaving

14. Condensed Tannins_________________________ • PRO • Prevent bloat • Reduce protein degradability • Anthelmintic activity • Reduced FEC, egg hatch, larval activity, and number of adult worms in grazing goats (Min et al., 2004; 2005) • Increased goat weight gain and immune response (Min et al., 2005) CON • Unpalatable • Toxic in very high concentrations • Needs to be a constant part of the diet, anthelmintic effect disappears within 7 d of removal from diet

15. Sericea Lespedeza_________________________ • Warm-season perennial legume • Tolerates poor fertility and pH • Anthelmintic activity when fed as pasture, hay, or pelleted hay • PROBLEMS: • Reputation as a noxious weed • Slow establishment • Poor cold tolerance (very short growing season, high risk of winterkill) • Slow regrowth • Poor tolerance of continuous stocking • Limited flexibility for grazing in WV • Our research focused on use as hay in our region

16. Birdsfoot Trefoil_____________________________ • Cool-season perennial legume • Non-bloating • Tolerates wetter and more acid soils than many legumes • Good cold tolerance • Anthelmintic activity when fed as pasture, but unclear whether benefit is CT or better nutrition • Establishment is a problem • Slow and risky to establish • Best sown in mixtures • Can be frost-seeded

17. Birdsfoot trefoil variety tannin comparison at AFSRC Birdsfoot Trefoil Research_____________________ • Do not use Pursuit herbicide to control broadleaf weeds in trefoil! • Varieties differ in CT content • Common variety ‘Norcen’ has one of the lowest CT values (1.3%) • ‘Pardee’ has twice the CT of Norcen (2.6%) • 2.5 to 4.5% CT is the desirable reference range for GIN control (Min et al., 2003) • Grazing Trial • began this year • compare trefoil, red clover, and chicory for finishing goats Birdsfoot trefoil and red clover pastures, 8 July 2009

18. Forage Brassicas___________________________ • Annual forbs (turnips, tyfon, rape, kale, swedes) • Outstanding cold tolerance – excellent for fall stockpiling • Typical yield up to 6000 lb/acre • Outstanding forage quality (“high moisture concentrate”) • Pasture finished lamb ADG of 0.24 to 0.55 lb/d • Historically used as forage for dairy goats in Europe • Potential for meat goats unknown

19. Forage Brassicas & No-Till_____________________ • No-till with herbicide sod suppression not a reliable method for turnip or rape establishment on hill pastures (planting failed 37% of time, especially for turnip) • Using Roundup for sod suppression reduced next-year hay yields by up to 42% • Conclusion: brassicas should not be no-tilled into productive pastures, but can be useful as first step of renovation of poor pastures

20. Forage Brassicas & Haemonchus______________ • Brassica plants are toxic to pathogenic soil nematodes • Brassicas can cause anemia • ? How do brassicas interact with GIN ? • In a 4-week pen-feeding study: • GIN-free goats fed hay-based diet gained more weight than those fed turnip-based diet … but parasitized goats gained more weight on turnips than hay • Parasitized goats were anemic on both diets…but turnips did not make anemia worse • In a laboratory assay: • Turnip and rape extracts did not reduce Haemonchus larval motility • More research needed to resolve conflicting results…