Abstract Detail

Agronomy

Juskiw, Patricia [1], Swift, Mary Lou [2], Baron, Vern [3], Doce, Raquel [4], Nyachiro, Joseph [5], Heckman, Lindsay [3].

Rolling up the data . . . forage barley.

Beef animals (Bos taurus) are an important segment of agricultural production in Alberta Canada. At certain stages of their life cycle, i.e. overwintering pregnant cows and backgrounding young animals, whole plant barley (Hordeum vulgare) is a major feed source either for swath grazing or silage. Two factors affect the economy of barley as a whole plant feed: yield and forage quality. The objective of this work was to integrate these two components into estimates of economic returns for overwintering cows and backgrounding animals. These estimates were then used to evaluate a range of barley lines and cultivars from the Western Canada Cooperative Forage Barley Registration Tests (Forage Coop) run under the auspices of the Prairie Recommending Committee for Oat and Barley (PRCOB). These trials are used to evaluate merit and to make recommendations on lines for registration by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). These trials were run at seven locations in 2012, 2013 and 2014. One site (Roblin 2012) was lost due to adverse weather. Quality was determined on ground samples by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) using a Foss 6500^rtm with previously validated calibrations. For backgrounding animals, average daily gain and cost of gain were the two parameters estimated. Lines FB438, FB441, FB016, FB018 and FB017 were identified as having the lowest cost of gain; while lines FB454, FB440, FB453, FB206, and FB447 had high cost of gain. For overwinter cows, carrying capacity and daily feed costs were the two parameters estimated. Lines FB018, FB449, FB206, FB439 and FB450 were identified as having low daily feed costs; while lines FB441, FB444, FB017, FB438, and FB440 had high feed costs. Traditionally, yield would be given the highest priority for selecting and advancing lines in the Forage Coop. However, when combining yield with quality into an economic return, different lines were identified. For the lines under consideration, FB018 combined the quality needed for low costs of gain with the yield needed for low costs of daily feed; while FB440 had high costs for both. Some lines were superior for backgrounding (FB438, FB441 and FB017), but they fell apart for daily cost of gain; and one line (FB206) had good daily cost of gain but fell apart for cost of gain. Comparing lines in this way gives breeders a new tool to determine truly superior varieties of barley that could increase the profitability of beef cattle operations.

Related Links:
Field Crop Development Centre

1 - Field Crop Development Centre, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, 5030 50th Street, Lacombe, AB, T4L 1W8, Canada
2 - Livestock Branch, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Lethbridge, AB, T1J 1W8, Canada
3 - Lacombe Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Lacombe, AB, T4L 1W1, Canada
4 - Lacombe Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe, AB, T4L 1W1, Canada
5 - Field Crop Development Centre, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, 5030 50th Street, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Lacombe, AB, T4L 1W8, Canada

Keywords:
barley
Forage
economics
breeding.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 62
Location: Salon 8/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Wednesday, July 29th, 2015
Time: 10:15 AM
Number: 62008
Abstract ID:1104
Candidate for Awards:None