Effects of Various Grazing Systems on Grazing and Subsequent Effects of Various Grazing Systems on Grazing and Subsequent Finishing Performance Finishing Performance

Summary A total of 360 mixed black yearling steers were used to compare grazing and subsequent finishing performance from pastures with ‘MaxQ’ tall fescue, a wheat-bermudagrass double-crop system, or a wheat-crabgrass double-crop system in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Daily gains of steers that grazed MaxQ fescue, wheat-bermudagrass, or wheat-crabgrass were similar ( P > 0.05) in 2010, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Daily gains of steers that grazed wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass were greater ( P > 0.05) than those that grazed MaxQ fescue in 2011 and 2012. Daily gains of steers that grazed wheat-crabgrass were greater ( P > 0.05) than those that grazed wheat-bermudagrass and similar ( P > 0.05) to those that grazed MaxQ fescue in 2013. Daily gains of steers that grazed wheat-crabgrass were greater ( P > 0.05) than those that grazed wheat-bermudagrass or MaxQ fescue in 2014. In 2015, daily gains of steers that grazed wheat-crabgrass were greater ( P < 0.05) than those that grazed wheat-bermu-dagrass or MaxQ fescue and daily gain of steers grazing wheat-bermudagrass was greater ( P < 0.05) than that of those that grazed MaxQ fescue. Finishing gains were similar ( P > 0.05) among forage systems in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016. Finishing gains of steers that grazed MaxQ fescue were greater ( P < 0.05) than those that grazed wheat-bermudagrass in 2011 and greater ( P < 0.05) than those that grazed wheat-bermudag-rass or wheat-crabgrass in 2015. In 2017, finishing gains of steers that grazed wheat-crabgrass were greater ( P < 0.05) than those that grazed MaxQ fescue.


Introduction
MaxQ tall fescue, a wheat-bermudagrass double-crop system, and a wheat-crabgrass double-crop system have been three of the most promising grazing systems evaluated at the Southeast Research and Extension Center in the past 30 years, but these systems have never been compared directly in the same study.The objective of this study was to compare grazing and subsequent finishing performance of stocker steers that grazed these three systems.

Results and Discussion
Grazing and subsequent finishing performance of steers that grazed MaxQ tall fescue, a wheat-bermudagrass double-crop system, or a wheat-crabgrass double-crop system are presented in Tables 1, 2 , 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively.Grazing performance only for 2018 is presented in Table 9. Daily gains of steers that grazed MaxQ tall fescue, wheat-bermudagrass, or wheat-crabgrass were similar (P > 0.05) in 2010, but total grazing gain and gain/a were greater (P < 0.05) for MaxQ tall fescue than wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass because steers grazed MaxQ tall fescue for more days.Gain/a for MaxQ fescue, wheatbermudagrass, and wheat-crabgrass were 362, 286, and 258 lb/a, respectively.MaxQ tall fescue pastures had greater (P < 0.05) average available forage dry matter (DM) than wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass.Grazing treatment in 2010 had no effect (P > 0.05) on subsequent finishing gains.Steers that grazed MaxQ were heavier (P < 0.05) at the end of the grazing phase, maintained their weight advantage through the finishing phase, and had greater (P < 0.05) hot carcass weight than those that grazed wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass pastures.Steers that previously grazed wheatbermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass had lower (P < 0.05) feed:gain than those that grazed MaxQ.
In 2011, daily gains, total gain, and gain/a of steers that grazed wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass were greater (P < 0.05) than MaxQ fescue.Gain/a for MaxQ fescue, wheat-bermudagrass, and wheat-crabgrass were 307, 347, and 376 lb/a, respectively.MaxQ tall fescue pastures had greater (P < 0.05) average available forage DM than wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass.This was likely due to greater forage production by MaxQ and/or greater forage intake by steers grazing wheat-bermudagrass and wheat-crabgrass.Steers that grazed MaxQ had greater (P < 0.05) finishing gain than those that grazed wheat-bermudagrass and lower (P < 0.05) feed:gain than those that grazed wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass.Carcass weight was similar (P > 0.05) among treatments.
In 2012, daily gains, total gain, and gain/a of steers that grazed wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass were greater (P < 0.05) than MaxQ fescue.Gain/a for MaxQ fescue, wheat-bermudagrass, and wheat-crabgrass were 226, 325, and 313 lb/a, respectively.MaxQ tall fescue pastures had greater (P < 0.05) average available forage DM than wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass.Grazing treatment had no effect (P > 0.05) on subsequent finishing performance or carcass characteristics.
In 2013, daily gain was greater (P < 0.05) for steers that grazed wheat-crabgrass than for those that grazed wheat-bermudagrass, and daily gain from MaxQ fescue and wheatbermudagrass were similar (P > 0.05).Gain/a for MaxQ fescue, wheat-bermudagrass, and wheat-crabgrass were 338, 244, and 316 lb/a, respectively.Gain/a was greater (P < 0.05) for MaxQ fescue and wheat-crabgrass than for wheat-bermudagrass.Overall gain was not different between forage systems; however, steers grazed MaxQ fescue for 49 more days than wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass.Overall daily gain was greater (P < 0.05) for wheat-crabgrass than for MaxQ tall fescue.MaxQ tall fescue pastures had greater (P < 0.05) average available forage DM than wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass and wheat-bermudagrass pastures had more (P < 0.05) available forage DM than wheat-crabgrass.Grazing treatment had no effect (P > 0.05) on subsequent finishing daily gain or carcass characteristics.
In 2014, daily gain was greater (P < 0.05) for steers that grazed wheat-crabgrass than for those that grazed wheat-bermudagrass or 'MaxQ' fescue, and daily gain from MaxQ fescue and wheat-bermudagrass were similar (P > 0.05).Gain/a for MaxQ fescue, wheatbermudagrass, and wheat-crabgrass were 370, 282, and 383 lb/a, respectively.Gain/a was greater (P < 0.05) for MaxQ fescue and wheat-crabgrass than for wheat-bermudagrass.Overall gain and overall daily gain for wheat-crabgrass were greater (P < 0.05) than for wheat-bermudagrass or MaxQ fescue, while overall gain and overall daily gain for MaxQ fescue and wheat-bermudagrass were similar (P > 0.05).MaxQ tall fescue pastures had greater (P < 0.05) average available forage DM than wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass, and wheat-bermudagrass pastures had more (P < 0.05) available forage DM than wheat-crabgrass.Grazing treatment had no effect (P > 0.05) on subsequent finishing daily gain or carcass characteristics.
In 2015, daily gain was greater (P < 0.05) for steers that grazed wheat-crabgrass than for those that grazed wheat-bermudagrass or MaxQ fescue, and daily gain from wheat-bermudagrass was greater (P < 0.05) than for those that grazed MaxQ fescue.Gain/a for MaxQ fescue, wheat-bermudagrass, and wheat-crabgrass were 291, 337, and 396 lb/a, respectively.Gain/a was greater (P < 0.05) for wheat-crabgrass than for wheat-bermudagrass or MaxQ fescue and greater (P < 0.05) for wheat-bermudagrass than MaxQ fescue.Overall gain for MaxQ fescue was greater (P < 0.05) than for wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass, while overall gain for wheat-bermudagrass and wheat-crabgrass were similar (P > 0.05).Overall daily gains were similar (P > 0.05) among forage systems.MaxQ tall fescue pastures had greater (P < 0.05) average available forage DM than wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass, and wheat-bermudagrass pastures had more (P < 0.05) available forage DM than wheat-crabgrass.Slaughter weight, finishing gains, hot carcass weight, and ribeye area of steers that grazed MaxQ fescue were greater (P < 0.05) and feed:gain was less (P < 0.05) than those that grazed wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass.Much of this difference in finishing performance can be attributed to 2019 SEREC Agricultural Research muddier feedlot conditions during the time that the wheat-bermudagrass and wheatcrabgrass steers were being finished for slaughter than for the MaxQ fescue cattle.
In 2016, daily gains were similar (P > 0.05) for steers that grazed MaxQ tall fescue, a wheat-bermudagrass double-crop system, or a wheat-crabgrass double-crop system.However, MaxQ tall fescue pastures were grazed 61 days longer and as a result produced greater (P < 0.05) steer grazing gain, heavier (P < 0.05) steer ending weight, and greater (P < 0.05) gain per acre than wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass pastures.Gain/a for MaxQ fescue, wheat-bermudagrass, and wheat-crabgrass were 368, 280, and 287 lb/a, respectively.Average available forage DM for MaxQ tall fescue was greater (P < 0.05) than for the wheat-bermudagrass double-crop system or wheat-crabgrass double-crop system and average available forage DM for the wheat-bermudagrass double-crop system was greater (P < 0.05) than for the wheat-crabgrass double-crop system.Grazing treatment had no effect (P > 0.05) on finishing gain or feed:gain; however, final finishing weight and hot carcass weight of steers that grazed MaxQ fescue were greater (P < 0.05) than those that grazed wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass.Overall gain of steers that grazed MaxQ tall fescue was greater (P < 0.05) and overall daily gain was lower (P < 0.05) than that of those that grazed wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass.This was due to steers that grazed wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass spending a greater percentage of time in the finishing phase than those that grazed MaxQ tall fescue.
In 2017, daily gains were similar (P > 0.05) for steers that grazed MaxQ tall fescue, a wheat-bermudagrass double-crop system, or a wheat-crabgrass double-crop system.However, MaxQ tall fescue pastures were grazed 63 days longer and as a result produced greater (P < 0.05) steer grazing gain, heavier (P < 0.05) steer ending weight, and greater (P < 0.05) gain per acre than wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass pastures.Gain/a for MaxQ fescue, wheat-bermudagrass, and wheat-crabgrass were 411, 312, and 332 lb/a, respectively.Average available forage DM for MaxQ tall fescue was greater (P < 0.05) than for the wheat-bermudagrass double-crop system or wheat-crabgrass double-crop system and average available forage DM for the wheat-bermudagrass double-crop system was greater (P < 0.05) than for the wheat-crabgrass double-crop system.Finishing gains of steers that grazed wheat-crabgrass were greater (P < 0.05) than those that grazed MaxQ tall fescue and similar (P > 0.05) to steers that grazed wheatbermudagrass.Steers that grazed MaxQ tall fescue had higher (P < 0.05) feed:gain and higher (P < 0.05) marbling scores than those that grazed wheat-bermudagrass or wheatcrabgrass.
In 2018, daily gains were similar (P > 0.05) for steers that grazed MaxQ tall fescue, a wheat-bermudagrass double-crop system, or a wheat-crabgrass double-crop system.However, MaxQ tall fescue pastures were grazed 56 days longer and as a result produced greater (P < 0.05) steer grazing gain, heavier (P < 0.05) steer ending weight, and greater (P < 0.05) gain per acre than wheat-bermudagrass or wheat-crabgrass pastures.Gain/a for MaxQ fescue, wheat-bermudagrass, and wheat-crabgrass were 403, 305, and 302 lb/a, respectively.

SEREC Agricultural Research
Hotter and drier weather during the summer of 2011 and 2012 likely provided more favorable growing conditions for bermudagrass and crabgrass than for fescue, which was reflected in greater (P < 0.05) gains by cattle grazing those pastures.Lack of precipitation also reduced the length of the grazing season for MaxQ fescue pastures in 2012, which resulted in less fall grazing and lower gain/a than was observed for those pastures in other years.Means within a row followed by the same letter do not differ (P < 0.05).

Table 1 .
Effects of forage system on grazing and subsequent performance of stocker steers, 1 500 = small, 600 = modest, 700 = moderate.Means within a row followed by the same letter do not differ (P < 0.05).

Table 2 .
Effects of forage system on grazing and subsequent performance of stocker steers, SoutheastResearch and Extension Center, 2011

Table 3 .
Effects of forage system on grazing and subsequent performance of stocker steers, SoutheastResearch and Extension Center, 2012

Table 4 .
Effects of forage system on grazing and subsequent performance of stocker steers, SoutheastResearch and Extension Center, 2013

Table 5 .
Effects of forage system on grazing and subsequent performance of stocker steers, SoutheastResearch and Extension Center, 2014

Table 6 .
Effects of forage system on grazing and subsequent performance of stocker steers, SoutheastResearch and Extension Center, 2015

Table 7 .
Effects of forage system on grazing and subsequent finishing performance of stocker steers, Southeast Research and Extension Center, 2016 Means within a row followed by the same letter do not differ (P < 0.05).

Table 8 .
Effects of forage system on grazing and subsequent finishing performance of stocker steers, Southeast Research and Extension Center, 2017 , 600 = modest, 700 = moderate, 800 = slightly abundant.Means within a row followed by the same letter do not differ (P < 0.05).

Table 9 .
Effects of forage system on grazing performance of stocker steers, SoutheastResearch and Extension Center, 2018