News Release Distributed 05/10/10

ROSEPINE, La. – LSU AgCenter researchers at a recent Rosepine Research Station field day (May 5) gave cattle producers several ideas for using forages to feed their herds.

Cattle producers who can identify a customer base for grass-fed beef may be able to develop a specialty market, said Guillermo Scaglia, a beef researcher at the LSU AgCenter Iberia Research Station. He said grass-fed beef has higher a concentration of certain nutrients and higher levels of beneficial fats.

Scaglia said experts predict grass-fed beef could capture up to 15 percent of the beef market. Some upscale retailers, institutional food services and consumers are demanding forage-fed beef because of the health aspects of the meat, Scaglia said. Also, he said Internet sales are possible for the specialty meat.

Weight gains for forage-fed cattle may not be at a constant rate but rather follow the changes of forage nutritive value through the seasons, Scaglia said. Once cattle start grazing cool-season grasses and legumes, they will gain a lot of weight and be in good condition.

“Once they get that high-nutritive-value forage, they will gain a lot of weight per day,” Scaglia said.

He cautioned against quickly starting a grass-fed beef-finishing operation without doing research and identifying customers.

“Don’t get into any of this unless you have the market to sell your product,” he said.

Scaglia said a research project is under way at the Iberia Research Station to evaluate steers that are fed three different 100 percent forage diets – what he called “forage systems.” Forage systems are evaluated in terms of productivity and economics of production, and cattle are evaluated in terms of performance, carcass characteristics and the fatty acid profile of the meat produced.

Wink Alison, an LSU AgCenter research agronomist, said clover has good potential as forage that will increase cattle weight. But clover is a finicky plant to grow, he said, and ryegrass is predictable.

Clover can add nitrogen to the soil, he said, but grazing the clover will remove the nitrogen. “If you remove the plant, you remove the nitrogen.”

Mike McCormick, an LSU AgCenter cattle researcher at the Southeast Research Station, said baled, high-moisture hay wrapped in layers of plastic can provide beef producers with high-quality stored forage. He said this bale silage system was originally used by dairy producers, but it has worked well with beef herds.

“We know some people who have 600, 700 or 1,000 calves on this system,” McCormick said.

The plastic protects the hay from rain, he said, and it can have a higher nutrient value than unprotected bales.

McCormick said the LSU AgCenter is conducting a study to determine the optimum time to cut ryegrass to be wrapped. He said the study will show how much protein is lost when hay is cut at different growth stages.

Dwarf elephant grass has good forage potential that can lead to two pounds of weight gain per day on a calf, said LSU AgCenter research agronomist Buddy Pitman. The plant requires well-drained soil and must be planted vegetatively because it doesn’t produce seeds.

Pitman said eastern gamma grass, cowpeas and the perennial peanut are good forage alternatives for specific purposes. The peanut makes good-quality hay, he said.

“We’ve got a lot of opportunities that we really haven’t tapped for forage-based beef production,” Pitman said.

Bruce Schultz