Reducing Annual Cow Cost by Grazing Windrowed Millet

Abstract

The objective was to determine whether grazing millet stored in windrows is a viable alternative to baling and feeding hay to beef cows. Sixty spring-calving heifers (458 kg, 5.9 BCS) were randomly allotted to windrow grazing or bale feeding to determine whether performance would differ between treatments. Research was conducted from November 5, 1997 to January 8, 1998. Millet was planted in early July and harvested in early September. Two fields were paired into similarly yielding strips, which were either baled or left as windrows. Small square bales from the baled strips were weighed to estimate forage amounts in the windrows of similarly yielding strips. Field 1 (19.7 ha) was divided into six sections, three baled and three left as windrows. Field 2 (2.1 ha) was divided into one baled section and one section left as windrows. Treatments were: 1) windrow grazing with forage allocation controlled to 13.2 kg·heifer−1·d−1 by moving a temporary fence daily, and 2) daily bale feeding of 13.2 kg·heifer−1·d−1. Heifer weight and BCS were measured at the beginning, d 28, d 56, and the end of the study. Weight or BCS change was not different for any time period (P>0.10). Forage samples were collected every 2 wk for analysis. Differences in forage nutrient composition were found based on storage method. Overall, similar cow performance was attained, whereas the costs of baling and feeding hay were eliminated by grazing the windrows.