Forages and forage harvesting, ingredient identification Flashcards
define forages
vegetative plant parts (stems, leaves) cotnaining high levels of structural carbohydrates (fiber) that is at least partially indigestible by mammalian enzymes
what are forages usually fed as
hay, silage cubes or pellets
forages are primarily fed to which species
ruminants, and hindgut fermenters that hsot fibre digesting micro-organisms in their digestive tracts
T/F: concentrates are not readily digestible by both mammalian and microbial enzymes
FALSE! concentrates can be digested by both
compare the nutrient concentration in concentrates vs forages
concentrates contain higher concentrations of nutrients than forages
what usually comprises concentrates
reproductive plant parts (seeders and tubers) including starch-rich feed grains such as corn adn barley as well as those containing high levels of lipid such as oilseeds (canola, soybeans
what usually comprises high protein concentrates
oil-seed meals (canola mean, soymeal), animal byproducts and industrial by-products such as corn gluten meal and distillers grains
3 categories in the first classification of forages
perennials, biennials, annuals
describe perennials
plants that live for 2+ years and grow vegetative reproductive structures (bulbs, tubers, woody crowns, rhizomes) that allow them to adapt to living from one year to the next
describe biennials
re-emerge from vegetative reproductive structures for only a second growing season
describe annuals
produce seeds to continue the species as a new generation. Seeds survive the cold or dry period to begin growth when conditions are suitable
second classification for forages
grasses vs legumes
describe grasses
- herbaceous: do not develop woody tissues
- produce seed
- die down at the end of the growing seasons
- are monocotyledonous (one leaf sprout from the seed), have slender leaves sheathing a reproductive stem and may be annual or perenial
describe legumes
- herbaceous
- produce seeds in pods
- dicotyledonous - two leaves emerge from the seed at germination
-perennial, biennial or annual - under favourable conditions have N fixing bacteria on roots (rhizobia)
monocot vs dicot and examples of each
monocot = one leaf ex. grasses
dicot = 2 leaves
ex. legumes
2 classifications of perennial grasses
warm-season or cool season
warm season grasses fix energy into. ____ carbon units and are referred to as _______*****
warm season grasses fix energy into 4 carbon units and are referred to as C4 grasses
what do warm season grasses do more efficiently compared to cold season grasses
fixing carbon dioxide in hot weather
at what temperatures do warm season grasses make most active growth
when minimum temp is greater than 15C and soil temp is greater than 13C. Optimum is 30-35*C
T/F: warm season grasses are grown in canada!
FALSE
examples of warm season perennial grasses
buffalograss, cordgrass, switch grass, bahiagrass, bermudagrass
describe some characteristics of bromegrass
- perennial cool season grass
- drought hardy
- survives in extreme temperatures
- often mixed with grasses and legumes
- most commonly used companion to alfalfa in mixtures grown on dryland
describe orchard grass
- cool season perennial grass
- grows in bunches
- commonly used for pastures in alberta
- bush type, tall growing
- tolerant to shade
- fairly drought resistant
- moderate winter hardiness
- adapted to black and grey wooded soil zones and irrigates areas of southern alberta
what is tall fescue used for
pasture and hay
what is tall fescue best adapted for
cool season grass available for stockpiling for use in fall and winter (holds nutritional value well after fall frost
limitation of tall fescue
limited winter hardiness
what kind of grass is timothy grass
cool season perennial grass
what is timothy grass used for
hay and pasture
what is the downside of timothy grass
does not tolerate drought
what does timothy grass work well in
mixtures with legume plants
what is timothy grass adapted to
higher rainfall areas of the gray wooded and black soil zones
most common grain crop forages in western canada
barley, corn, oats, rye, triticale and wheat
at what stage is grain harvested for hay
in boot stage ???
at what stage is grain harvested for silage
when grain is in early stage of development before the digestibility of the vegatative parts decline significantly
what is grain crop forage reffered to after field drying
greenfeed or cereal-crop hay
what is grain crop forages referred to when harvested and stored whet
grain crop or cereal crop silage
6 examples of grain crop forages
barley, corn, wheat, rye, oats, triticale
legume forages are primarily fed to livestock as..
hay and silage
when ensiled, perennial grasses and legumes are often referred to as what??
hay-crop silage (to differentiate them from grain-crop silage
in comparison to grasses, legumes are higher and lower in what***
in comparison to grasses, legumes are higher in protein, Ca, Mg, S, Cu,
Lower in Mn, Zn
legume forages risk developing what in cows***
frothy bloat
why dont you want to feed alfalfa to a calving cow
hypercalcemia
describe the relationship between nutritional quality and plant maturity for legumes? what is the reason behin this?
as plant matures, stems elongate, proportion of leaf to stem decreases, fibre increases and protein decreases
5 examples of legume forage
alfalfa, red clover, sainfoin, birdsfoot trefoil, cicer milkvetch
relationship between bloat causing forages and digestibility
the more rapidly/easy digestible by rumen microbes , the more bloat causing
describe how % leaves, % NDF + %CP in stems and leaves changes as the plant matures
as the plant matures:
- %leaves decreases
- %NDF in leaves and stems increase
-%CP in leaves and stems decreases
which plant has higher calcium: grasses or legumes
legumes!
2 methods to preserve and store forages
- controlled fermentation: reducing pH of forage to a level where growth of bacteria is inhibited
- dehydration: removing the level of water to inhibit microbial activity
going from fresh vegetation to preserved forage… what 2 things can be lost
dry matter losses and quality losses
loss of dry matter can be due to? (3)
- plant metabolism
- microbial metabolism
- physical losses (shattering/breaking plant material)
DM yield of fresh forage is lesser/greater than that of preserved vegetation
DM yield of fresh forage is greater than that of preserved vegetation
