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Researchers look at increasing forage production for farmers Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Agri News staff writer
MORRIS, Minn. -- Can double-cropping corn silage and winter rye increase forage production for dairy farmers?
West Central Research and Outreach Center scientists are conducting research to find out at the Center's crop plots.
Their research project was included in recent crop and livestock tours at the WCROC Summer Center Day.
The center is conducting the study in several trials comparing only corn plantings with double cropping rye and corn. In the double cropping trials, winter rye is planted in the fall and harvested in May. Corn is planted a few weeks later and is chopped for corn silage. Researchers say corn plantings need to wait a few weeks after the rye harvest since the crop leaves properties in the soil that can stunt corn growth.
All the trails were fertilized using cow manure, he said.
Farmers need to consider yield and environmental impacts, Krueger said. Although yield data isn't conclusive, research has found beneficial environmental impacts. More ground cover reduces wind and water erosion and there is less leaching.
Other projects included small grain variety research of oats, barley and wheat; weed management; nitrogen and phosphorus application rates on corn; the latest research data on crossbreeding dairy cattle; using glycerol in swine rations; and renewable energy projects of hybrid wind and biomass gasification systems.
Dairy crossbreeding has shown positive results for cow fertility while maintaining good milk production, said WCROC dairy specialist Dennis Johnson. Holstein, Jersey, Montbeliarde and Swedish Reds are used in the crossbreeding program at the Morris center and the U of M's St. Paul campus.
The center's swine program researchers have found glycerol, a biodiesel co-product,doesn't produce big results in swine rations. Glycerol offers the energy pigs need but doesn't have the protein or phosphorus, said swine researcher Lee Johnston. Dried distillers grains offer energy, phosphorus and proteins.
Yuzhi Li, WCROC's swine scientist studying animal behavior, is conducting studies on sow fear and piglet pre-weaning mortality in loose farrowing systems.
She's found a large variation in piglet mortality among individual sows. Sow fear is a stressor affecting maternal ability and results in restless and difficult farrowing, impairs piglet vitality at birth and is associated with poor maternal care.
Li has tested the group using human approach and novel object approach tests, she said.
The 91 sows in the test group were ranked in confident, neutral and fearful groups. The confident group had an average of 11.5 live births, the neutral had 10.6 and the fearful had 10.1 live births. The fearful group also had the higher percentages of stillborns with 0.9 stillborn compared to 0.8 in the neutral group and 0.6 among confident sows.
Fearful sows had a 22 percent piglet mortality rate compared to 15 percent for confident sows. Fearful sowswean an average of eight pigs compared to 10 for confident sows.
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