CIAS has supported work on the production, economics, and environmental benefits of various forages for pasture-based livestock systems.
Forage Fescues in the Northern USA
Tall fescue, meadow fescue and festulolium have potential value as forages for grazing operations in the northern USA. Meadow fescue is the most cold tolerant of these grasses, with excellent forage quality and palatability, and relatively high drought tolerance. Tall fescue has the highest yield potential, good palatability for soft-leaf varieties and excellent heat and [...more]
Tall fescue and Kura clover for dairy and beef stockers (Research Brief #76)
Do orchardgrass, fescue or legume/grass combinations produce more meat on growing, pastured beef animals? Do beef steers, beef heifers or dairy steers show the most gain on pastures? Researchers in the departments of Animal Sciences and Agronomy at UW-Madison recently finished a three-year study to answer these questions. [...more]
Grass Clippings: August 2008
Grass Clippings features grazing research from the University of Wisconsin and beyond. In this issue:
Orchardgrass, tall fescue, and meadow fescue response to nitrogen rate
Meadow fescue in the Driftless Region, part two
Influence of fertility on pasture species diversity, yield and quality, part two
From the files of yesteryear: Making reed canarygrass seed more available in Wisconsin
Read this [...more]
Grass Clippings: April 2008
Grass Clippings is a newsletter that features grazing-related research from the University of Wisconsin and beyond. The April issue features:
Pure live seed
Meadow fescue
Different dairy farm systems yield similar satisfaction
Fertility and pastures
Wisconsin’s beef industry
Custom heifers on pasture
Read this newsletter (pdf file)
[...more]
Grass Clippings: August 2007
Grass Clippings is a quarterly newsletter that features grazing-related research from the University of Wisconsin and beyond. The August issue features:
Invasive weeds on the move in Wisconsin: Hill mustard and perennial pepperweed
Stockpiling pastures
Cheese from the pasture strikes a chord
Upcoming events: Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers available at three sites
Read this newsletter (pdf [...more]
Managed Grazing Education and Research in Wisconsin
This report describes managed grazing projects funded by the Wisconsin Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative from 2002-2003. Seventeen education projects supported a variety of networking activities, as well as programs for beginning and transitioning farmers. Five research projects looked at ground and surface water quality, nitrogen management strategies, late season grass growth, soil compaction, and outwintering [...more]
Grass Clippings: May 2007
Grass Clippings is a quarterly newsletter that features grazing-related research from the University of Wisconsin and beyond. The May issue features:
Interseeding legumes vs. applying nitrogen fertilizer
Performance of birdsfoot trefoil in northern Wisconsin
How much grass seed do we need?
Soil quality and the grass farm, part 3
Upcoming events
Read this newsletter (pdf file)
[...more]
Grass Clippings: February 2007
Grass Clippings is a quarterly newsletter that features grazing-related research from the University of Wisconsin and beyond. The February issue features:
Persistence of grazed red clover varieties
Carbon crediting for agricultural soil management practices
Upcoming events
Soil quality and the grass farm, part
Issues and opportunities for the Wisconsin grazing community
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[...more]
Holstein steers show good gains on kura clover (Research Brief #59)
Is kura clover a good legume choice in rotationally grazed pastures? A study conducted at the UW Lancaster Agricultural Research Station says yes, with excellent beef production on kura clover/grass pastures. Kura's persistence and leafy growth led to higher Holstein steer growth rates on kura/grass pastures than red clover/grass pastures.
[...more]
Low-input forage rotation: similar returns, reduced costs (Research Brief #53)
Dairy farmers can reduce their purchased inputs without cutting into their profits. An ongoing twelve-year study of two forage rotations similar to those found on Wisconsin dairy farms compared a diversified, low-input system with a less diverse rotation requiring high levels of commercial inputs. While the two systems returned similar profits, the low-input system incurred [...more]