Selecting the Right Species Anti-nutritional Factors

187 Cold Winter Climates

9.2.5. Selecting the Right Species

Success of a livestock enterprise often depends on selection of the forage species best suited to the production system and environment. There is little beneit in sowing a forage that is not well-adapted to a given environment, nor is there any point in growing a forage that is inappropriate within a given farming or management system. Having determined a number of forage options for a particular farm, it is then important to know the efect the forage might have on a particular type or class of livestock. Forages vary markedly in their dry matter productivity, feed quality, palatability and soil adaptation. Well fertilised grasses tend to produce higher dry matter yields than legumes, whereas legumes tend to have higher quality than grasses. Consequently, animal production per hectare may be higher with grasses, but production per animal higher with legumes. This is a generalisation, Table. 9.4. Common perennial grasses suited to most winter climates, and their tolerance to drought, and soil acidity and alkalinity. Adaptation of these species to local conditions is dependent on annual rainfall and requires local validation. Source: Forage Adaptation; Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. and is very dependent on the species involved and the level of management applied.

9.2.6. Anti-nutritional Factors

Many forages have the potential to adversely afect certain livestock by virtue of anti-nutritional chemicals in the tissues e.g. alkaloids, coumarins, tannins, and oestrogenic compounds. However, the fact that a forage can produce an adverse efect in livestock should not necessarily preclude its selection. Many grasses and legumes can have a deleterious efect on animal health and production, but if managed correctly, they can produce greater beneit than a problem-free species. For example Alfalfa Medicago sativa, often referred to as the “King of legumes”, can cause bloat and death in grazing livestock, but in the right environment and system, and with careful management, it can be a wonderful asset. Common Name Scientiic Name Tolerance of Winter Drought Acidity Alkalinity Altai Wild Rye Elymus angustus High High Moderate Moderate Crested Wheatgrass Agropyron cristatum High High Low High Intermediate Wheatgrass Thinopyrum intermedium Good Moderate Low High Meadow Bromegrass Bromus biebersteinii Good High Moderate Moderate Kentucky Blue Grass Poa pratensis High Moderate High Low Meadow Fescue Festuca pratensis Good Moderate Moderate Low Meadow Foxtail Alopecurus pratensis Good Low High Moderate Orchard Grass Dactylis glomerata Moderate Moderate High Low Perennial Ryegrass Lolium perenne Poor Low Moderate Moderate Pubescent Wheatgrass Agropyron trichophorum Good High Low Moderate Russian Wildrye Elymus junceus High High Moderate High Smooth Bromegrass Bromus inermis High Moderate Moderate Moderate Tall Fescue Festuca arundinacea High Good High High Tall Wheatgrass Thinopyrum ponticum High Low Moderate Moderate Timothy Phleum pratense Good Low High Low 188 Beef Breeder MANUAL

9.3. Establishing Pastures and Forages