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Comparison of 3 tall fescue-based stocker systems
1Division of Plant Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia 65211, USA.
Journal of Animal Science
|January 1, 2010
Summary
Supplementing stocker calves with distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) or using silage improved weight gain compared to controls. DDGS supplementation provided consistent gains for both spring and fall-stocked steers.
Area of Science:
- Animal Science
- Ruminant Nutrition
- Forage Management
Background:
- Rotational stocking is a common practice for grazing stocker calves.
- Optimizing weight gain and forage utilization in stocker cattle production systems is crucial.
- Alternative feeding strategies, such as distillers grains or silage, may enhance performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) supplementation and round-bale silage in rotational stocking systems for stocker calves.
- To compare the effects of these systems on steer performance, including total body weight (BW) gain and average daily gain (ADG).
- To assess the impact of stocking timing (spring vs. fall) on steer performance within different management systems.
Main Methods:
- A 2-year production study involving 144 stocker calves (72 spring-stocked steers [SSS] and 72 fall-stocked steers [FSS]).
- Three treatments were applied: control (rotational stocking only), distillers grains (rotational stocking with DDGS supplementation), and silage (rotational stocking with supplemental silage).
- Steers were stratified by initial body weight and randomly assigned to treatments; forage availability and nutritive value guided DDGS supplementation.
Main Results:
- Total BW gain/ha was significantly greater for DDGS and silage treatments compared to the control (459 and 402 kg/ha vs. 276 kg/ha, respectively).
- Steer ADG for SSS was higher in the DDGS and silage groups (0.79 and 0.81 kg/day) compared to the control (0.62 kg/day).
- DDGS supplementation resulted in consistent ADG for both SSS and FSS, while silage and control groups showed reduced gains later in the season; FSS ADG was 0.72 kg/day for DDGS, 0.53 kg/day for silage, and 0.29 kg/day for control.
Conclusions:
- Supplementation with DDGS or utilizing silage in rotational stocking systems can significantly enhance stocker calf performance over control systems.
- DDGS supplementation offers a consistent performance advantage, particularly for fall-stocked calves, by adapting to forage quality.
- Managing forage maturity through removal (silage) or strategic supplementation (DDGS) improves overall production efficiency in stocker grazing operations.
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