Collaborators: Pat & Jay Eaton’s Ranch (Valleyview), Denis Bouvier (Guy) & DuPont Pioneer
Research Coordinator: Dr. Akim Omokanye
From: Peace Country Beef & Forage Association 2015 Annual Report
In parts of the Peace, the practice of extended winter grazing with standing forage corn is continuing to gain more popularity among producers as new low corn heat unit varieties become available. The selection of corn hybrids for grazing should be narrowed to hybrids bred for silage or grazing. These have been bred for high forage yields, high digestibility, low fiber levels, and high fiber digestibility. Hybrid selection should start with identifying a group of hybrids that are adapted to the area in terms of days to maturity and the required heat units, disease and insect resistance, drought tolerance, and tonnage. Standing corn has the nutritive composition to meet the requirements for many categories of livestock. Research studies have shown that stocker cattle, beef heifers, and cows have excellent weight gains grazing corn. The objective was to evaluate growth, forage yield and quality of new versus old corn hybrids.
Site 1 - Corn Variety Evaluation (Pat & Jay Eaton’s Ranch, Valleyview, MD of Greenview)
Methods
Trial site: The study was carried out on Alder Ridge Road by RGE road 204 between Guy and Valleyview.
The following 5 DuPont Pioneer Roundup ready corn hybrids were seeded: