185 Opportunities and Challenges of Conducting Grazing Experiments in Pasturelands

Grasslands cover approximately 30% of the world area and research conducted in pasturelands has been crucial to realize the benefits of grassland contributions to livestock production and ecosystem services. The Forage and Grazing Terminology Task Force has developed a list of recommended nomenclature for grazing lands research and this effort has been a landmark to avoid misleading terms in research reports. Other challenges remain. The intrinsic variability of pastureland research data limits the capacity of researchers to detect differences among treatments. In addition, the quantity of resources and labor required by pastureland experiments may lead researchers to decrease the size of experimental units and/or number of replicates, exacerbating the limitations in detecting differences among treatments. In general, experimental units in grazing studies encompass relatively large areas, which may pose a challenge to identifying representative sampling units that reflect the experimental area. The use of indirect measurements to estimate forage mass is a feasible approach to increase the representativeness of forage quantity evaluations. The nutritive value determination of forage samples from grazing studies also has many limitations. The collection of samples representing the animal diet and the methods of nutritive value determination, primarily digestibility, are major areas of concern. For animal performance evaluations, determination of the correct experimental unit has been a frequent issue. Among animal measures, forage intake is one of the most influential factors affecting animal performance and the existent methodology to estimate forage intake by grazing animals has limitations, reducing the accuracy of the results. Development and validation of mathematical models to estimate the benefits of grasslands on livestock performance and ecosystem services are important steps in the evolution of grassland science, but in some cases additional data are needed to support this effort.

PSX-B-3 Effect of infrequent nitrogen supplementation on forage utilization

Our objective was to determine the effects of differing levels of supplemental nitrogen offered daily, or every 3 d on nitrogen balance, forage intake, and digestibility in cattle consuming low-quality forage. Five ruminally cannulated Angus × Hereford steers (BW = 350 ± 71 kg) were used in a 5 × 5 Latin square design. Steers consumed low-quality bluestem hay (67.7% NDF, 4.7% CP; DM basis) ad libitum. Treatments were no supplement (CON), or cottonseed meal offered at levels providing 120 mg N/kg BW each day (L/1D) or every 3 d (L/3D), 240 mg N/kg BW every 3 d (M/3D), or 360 mg N/kg BW every 3 d (H/3D). Hay, ort, urine, and fecal samples were collected during the last 6 d of each period and ruminal fluid during the last 3 d. Total digestible OM intake was greater in L/1D (6660 g/d; P < 0.01) compared to CON (4498 g/d) and increased linearly in steers supplemented intermittently (5145, 6170, and 6698 g/d for L/3D, M/3D, and H3/D, respectfully; P < 0.01). Total tract OM digestibility was similar between CON and L/1D, L/3D, and H/3D (58.21, 61.21, 60.82, and 60.91%, respectively; P ≥ 0.10) but was greater in M/3D steers (63.30%; P ≤ 0.02). Reducing frequency of protein supplementation to every 3-d improved forage intake and utilization similar to daily supplementation when provided at medium (240 mg N/kg BW) or high (360 mg N/kg BW) levels. Improved efficiency of nitrogen recycling likely buffered disruptions in protein supply, maintaining intake and digestibility of low-quality forage without daily supplementation. Supplementation of protein every 3 d at 240 g N/kg BW appears to the most biologically effective strategy, increasing intake of LQF and maximizing OM digestibility and N utilization.

Water and forage intake, diet digestibility, and blood parameters of beef cows and heifers consuming water with varying concentrations of total dissolved salts

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of water quality on water intake (WI), forage intake, diet digestibility, and blood constituents in beef cows and growing beef heifers. This was a replicated 5 × 5 Latin square with five drinking water treatments within each square: 1) fresh water (Control); 2) brackish water (100 BRW treatment) with approximately 6,000 mg/kg TDS; 3) same TDS level as 100 BRW achieved by addition of NaCl to fresh water (100 SLW); 4) 50% brackish water and 50% fresh water to achieve approximately 3,000 mg/kg TDS (50 BRW); and 5) same TDS level as 50 BRW achieved by addition of NaCl to fresh water (50 SLW). Each of the five 21-d periods consisted of 14 d of adaptation and 5 d of data collection. Animals were housed individually and fed mixed alfalfa (Medicago sativa) grass hay cubes. Feed and water intake were recorded daily. Data were analyzed with animal as the experimental unit. Age, treatment, and age x treatment were fixed effects, and animal ID within age was the random variable for intake, digestibility, and blood parameter data. Water and feed intake were greater than expected, regardless of age or water treatment. No treatment x age interactions were identified for WI (P = 0.71), WI expressed as g/kg body weight (BW; P = 0.70), or dry matter intake (DMI; P = 0.21). However, there was an age x treatment tendency for DMI when scaled to BW (P = 0.09) in cows consuming 100 BRW compared to fresh water. No differences were found for the other three treatments. Heifers provided 50 SLW water consumed less (P < 0.05) feed (g/kg BW) compared to heifers provided fresh water and 100 BRW. No differences (P > 0.05) in water, DMI, feed intake or diet digestibility were found due to water quality treatment. In conclusion, under these conditions neither absolute WI, absolute DMI, nor diet digestibility were influenced by the natural brackish or saline water used in this experiment. These results suggest that further research is necessary to determine thresholds for TDS or salinity concentration resulting in reduced water and/or feed intake and diet digestibility.

Forage intake by heifers on alexander grass (Urochloa plantaginea (Link.) Hitch) fertilized with different levels of nitrogen

This work was conducted to study the efficiency of using nitrogen on Alexander Grass (Urochloa plantaginea (Link.) Hitch) through information about the characteristics of the pasture and forage intake of beef heifers. The experiment was carried out at the Federal University of Santa Maria (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, UFSM) in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, from January to April of 2014. The treatments consisted of doses of zero, 150, or 300 kg/ ha nitrogen (N) in the form of urea. The study used a rotational pasture method and 16 Angus heifers with a mean initial age and body weight (BW) of 15 months and 276 ± 17.4 kg, respectively. Forage intake was evaluated by treating two picketed test heifers with chromium oxide (Cr2O3) for eleven days as an external indicator of fecal production. The experimental design was completely randomized, and the measurements were repeated over time with three treatments and two repetitions per area. Crude protein content was 3.4% higher under 300 kg/ha nitrogen fertilization compared to 150 kg/ ha (18.7%). Independent of the N application rate, the heifers ingested 2.2 ± 0.09 kg DM 100/ kg BW of forage. Nitrogen fertilization of Alexander grass modified the structure of the pasture, increasing the quality and total production of the forage. Heifers pastured on Alexander grass fertilized with 300 kg/ha nitrogen harvested forage with higher levels of crude protein. The structural change in the canopy let the heifers reduce their consumption of forage at the end of the Alexander grass life cycle.

Effects of bale feeder design on hay waste, intake, and apparent diet digestibility in gestating beef cows

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of feeder design on hay intake, apparent diet digestibility, and hay waste in gestating beef cows. Native tallgrass prairie hay and a protein supplement was fed throughout both experiments. In Exp. 1, 56 crossbred cows were used in a Latin square arrangement. Feeder design treatments included a conventional open bottom steel ring (OBSR), an open bottom polyethylene pipe ring (POLY); a sheeted bottom steel ring (RING), and a sheeted bottom steel ring with a basket (BASK). Cows were weighed and allotted based on BW to one of four previously grazed 2.0 ha paddocks equipped with a concrete feeding pad. Fourteen cows were assigned to each paddock and three round bales were fed consecutively within each treatment period. The cows acclimated to the feeders while the first bale was being consumed. Subsequently, hay waste data was collected while the 2 nd and 3 rd bale within each period were being consumed. Waste was measured for each bale at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h after each bale was introduced into the pen. Hay waste was significantly affected by hay feeder design with 19.7, 21.1, 12.4, and 5.5% of original bale weight wasted for OBSR, POLY, RING and BASK, respectively (P < 0.01). There was a feeder design x day interaction (P < 0.01) with greater waste when the bale was first introduced into the pen in OBSR, POLY, and RING feeders and gradually declining thereafter, while waste from the BASK feeder was consistently low. There was a tendency (P = 0.06) for cows eating from OBSR feeders to consume less hay than cows eating from RING feeders. Feeder design did not influence apparent diet digestibility (P = 0.46). In Exp. 2, sixty-four crossbred cows (BW = 590 ± 59 kg) were used to determine waste, forage intake and apparent diet digestibility when hay was fed from a sheeted bottom steel ring (RING) or a RING feeder with a cone insert (CONE). More hay was wasted when cows were fed from RING feeders compared to CONE feeders (11.9% vs. 4.8%, P < 0.01). Feeder design had no effect on DMI or apparent digestibility (P > 0.45). Hay savings from adopting a more conservative feeder design can have a dramatic influence on hay utilization by beef cows and thus on cost of production.

Influence of energy supplementation on associative effects in Nellore bulls on a tropical pasture during the rainy season

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of energy supplementation on associative effects between forage and concentrate supplements and on the performance of beef cattle on a tropical pasture during the rainy season. Twenty-eight Nellore bulls averaging 19 months of age and 325.2 ± 4.1 kg were allotted to a completely randomized design and distributed into four paddocks of two hectares each with a tropical pasture for 84 d. The treatments consisted of bulls on Urochloa brizantha cv. Xaraés pasture without concentrate supplementation or bulls on Urochloa brizantha cv. Xaraés pasture receiving concentrate supplementation at 15 (S15), 30 (S30) or 45% (S45) of the total digestible nutrients (TDN) requirement All bulls had ad libitum access to mineral supplementation. The amount and chemical composition of the supplement were adjusted every 28 d. Forage and supplement intakes were evaluated in all animals using fecal markers. Crude protein: digestible organic matter ratio decreased with supplementation; consequently, the imbalance between dietary protein and energy increased. Forage intake decreased with increasing supplementation. The substitution rates of pasture for supplementary feed were 0.14, 0.33, and 0.46 for bulls from S15, S30, and S45 treatments, respectively. However, the apparent DM digestibility increased linearly with supplementation level. Supplementation improved the assimilation of ammonia-N in the rumen. Energy supplementation for Nellore bulls on tropical pastures during the rainy season provides excess energy relative to protein, resulting in a substitution effect of supplement intake on forage intake. Moreover, energy supplementation does not improve body weight gain. Protein sources should be added to supplements for balancing protein and energy levels, thereby reducing a likely substitution effect.