Abstract
<p>The objective of this study was to determine the chemical composition and <em>in situ</em> rumen degradability of whole plant barley (<em>Hordeum vulgare</em>), whole plant foxtail millet (<em>Setaria italica</em>) and smooth bromegrass (<em>Bromus inermis</em> <em>Leyss</em>)-alfalfa (<em>Medicago sativa </em>L.) (grass-legume) hay, collected during a companion field grazing study. Relative to grass-legume hay, barley and millet were higher (P = 0.05) in crude protein (CP) and soluble CP, and lower (P = 0.02) in neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), lignin, neutral detergent insoluble CP, and acid detergent insoluble crude protein. The potentially undegradable fraction of CP averaged 32% lower for barley and millet, compared to grass-legume hay, while CP soluble fraction was 36 and 64% higher (P &lt; 0.05) for barley and millet, respectively, than for grass-legume hay. Millet had the highest NDF degradability (P = 0.03) and grass-legume hay the least. Barley and millet had greater (P = 0.02) effective degradability of dry matter (DM), CP, and NDF than grass-legume hay. Millet had the highest (P = 0.01) degradable and lowest undegradable fractions of DM and NDF, and lowest soluble fraction of NDF and rate of CP degradation (P &lt; 0.05). Results indicate that whole plant barley and millet have greater nutritive value than grass-legume hay and may be suitable annual forages for extensive grazing.</p>
Highlights
Backgrounding of beef cattle is defined as a controlled rate of growth for weaned beef calves to promote muscle deposition and maximize frame size prior to feeding a nutrient dense diet for deposition of fat to obtain a greater carcass weight at slaughter (Vaage et al, 1998)
This study was conducted to quantify the chemical composition and rumen degradation characteristics of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) of two annual forages, field harvested whole plant barley and whole plant foxtail millet compared to perennial grass-legume hay
As barley forage was harvested at soft-dough stage and millet forage at 30% heading, the composition of these annuals differed (P = 0.04) from the perennial grass-legume hay baled at 30% bloom in mid-summer (Table 1)
Summary
Backgrounding of beef cattle is defined as a controlled rate of growth for weaned beef calves to promote muscle deposition and maximize frame size prior to feeding a nutrient dense diet for deposition of fat to obtain a greater carcass weight at slaughter (Vaage et al, 1998). Annual forages are well suited to provide high quality forage compared to perennial crops due to flexible seeding dates and greater yields resulting in improved cattle performance in backgrounding systems (McCartney et al, 2008; Aasen et al, 2004). Whole-plant barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) or whole plant millet (Setaria italica L.) can be alternative annuals to perennial forages for winter swath grazing because of the relatively high yield and nutritive value (Mackay et al, 2003; McCartney et al, 2008; McCartney et al, 2009). This study was conducted to quantify the chemical composition and rumen degradation characteristics of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) of two annual forages, field harvested whole plant barley and whole plant foxtail millet compared to perennial grass-legume hay
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