Forage Continued from Page 19
height difference with forage sorghum. Some of the forage varieties inour trials at Kearney will grow as high as 10 feet tall.” Grain sorghummust be harvested on time or the grainwill harden, and the an- imals will be unable to use it. A genetic discovery that made it possi- ble to breed varieties with reduced lignin resulted in sorghumthat is easier for ani- mals to digest. “Around 1970, a gene called the BMR— brownmid-rib trait—was discovered and we startedmoving it into forage sorghum, because it produced sorghum with less lignin, which meant better digestibili- ty for the animals,” Dahlberg said. “But without the lignin, the sorghum lodged.” The lodging problem was mitigated by breeding varieties with shorter inter- nodes, which made for plants that are sturdier, even with reduced lignin. Nutrient- and irrigation-management programs remain important, Dahlberg said, to prevent growing plants so vigor- ous that they lodge. “We typically see less tonnage, because people apply too much water and have lodging, or too little water,” he said. The latest in forage sorghum is the de- velopment of varieties that flower late, which lets them grow tall and produce impressive amounts of forage. “We have forage varieties that won’t flower until late October or November,” Dahlberg said. “This is good for produc- ing high tonnage, lots of tonnage.” Sorghum cannot be substituted one for one with corn in feed, the UC spe- cialists said, because it provides a dif- ferent mix of nutrients, which means the nutritionist must reformulate the feed for the dairy. AUC survey showed that asmore dair- ies try sorghumas awater-wise forage al- ternative, they find quite different results
Sorghum grown for for- age can grow as high as 10 feet tall, whereas grain sorghum typical- ly grows to combine height. UC researchers say each type of sor- ghum brings its own re- wards and challenges.
in both yields and feed quality. Eight dairies reported their yields for 2016 in a survey conducted by UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Jennifer Heguy, and although they aver- aged 17.8 tons, the yields ranged from 8 to 25 tons. One issue that affected results in the two-year survey, which included 16 dair- ies of different sizes, was that the sugar cane aphid appeared in the state andhad a significant impact on both yield and quality at some dairies. There was also a wide variation when it came to the quality of the forage, as represented by a chemical analysis of 10 truckloads. The protein content, for example, aver- aged 9.7%but ranged from7.7% to 14.4%. “There was a large variation in all the values, including protein, ADF, NDF, ash, NFC and starch,” Heguy said. “Sorghum is not corn, and we need to keep that in mind.” Because there is a chance sorghum could once again become a more im- portant alternative, UC researchers are studying how to manage the crop and develop new varieties. Hutmacher is continuing his trials of
growing forage sorghumwithwidely dif- ferent amounts of irrigation water and learning when deficit irrigation should be imposed. Dahlberg is evaluating different plant- ing and harvest dates and collecting ger-
mplasm that could be useful in breeding sorghum varieties for a combination of forage, grain or biofuel purposes. ( Bo b J o hn s o n i s a r e p o r t e r i n Sacramento. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@gmail.com.)
2021
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WAE sets dairy seminars Fourdairy-specificseminarswill bepre- sented during the onlineWorldAg Expo. The sessionswill bepresentedFeb. 9-11 and may be viewed via the expo’s online platformat www.worldagexpo.com. February 9 ket. Presenters: Karleigh Lewis, Livestock Water Recycling, and Nick Facciola, 3 Degrees Inc. 12-12:55 p.m. February 10
•Feedsupplementationof adefinedna- tive microbial rumen consortiumduring lactation. This seminar will provide an overview of a large-scale survey intend- ed to identify the most beneficial core commensal microbial strains for dairy cow rumen, and their potential benefits for Holstein cattle. Presenter: Cameron Martino, NativeMicrobials. 4-4:55 p.m. February 11 •Sustainability: Technology inthedairy. Thesessionwilldescribenewtechnologies beingadoptedindairyoperationsandhow they contribute to overall dairy sustain- ability. Presenter: KyleThompson, Fresno StateUniversity. 1:15-1:30 p.m.
•ALUSBehavior.Cainthus,manufactur- er ofALUSNutrition—notedas aWorldAg ExpoTop10NewProduct for 2021—intro- ducesALUSBehavior, adigital dairy-man- agement solution. Presenter: Cainthus. 11-11:55 a.m. • From data insights to carbon credits and renewable natural gas: How to put your manure to work for you. The semi- nar will describe three aspects of manure management: nutrient analysis to opti- mize soil health and crop uptake; chang- inga farm’smanure footprint toqualify for carbon credits; and a hub-and-spoke ap- proach to the renewable natural gas mar-
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