The wildryes, like Altai and Russian wildryes, are the only perennial grasses in the world that retain crude protein levels near the requirements of lactating beef cows during mid October to mid November and can improve late season calf weight gain compared to gains on native rangeland.
During the 30 day fall grazing period on Altai wildrye between mid October and mid November, a cow-calf pair would be allotted 1.39 acres at a pasture cost of $12.18. Calf weight gain was 1.76 lbs/day and 37.99 lbs/ac, with accumulated weight gain at 52.80 lbs. When calf weight was assumed to have a value of $1.00/lb, the gross return was $52.80 per calf and net returns after pasture costs were $40.62 per cow-calf pair and $29.22 per acre.
During the 30 day fall grazing period on native rangeland between mid October and mid November, a cow-calf pair should be allotted 4.04 acres at a pasture cost of $35.39. Calf weight gain was 0.59 lbs/day and 4.38 lbs/ac, with accumulated weight gain at 17.70 lbs. When calf weight was assumed to have a value of $1.00/lb, the gross return was $17.70 per calf and the net returns after pasture costs were a loss of $17.69 per cow-calf pair and a loss of $4.38 per acre.
Despite the improved livestock weight performance and economic return, wildryes are not a popular fall forage pasture in the Northern Plains. This low acceptance of wildrye fall pasture is not the grasses fault. The wildryes require different management techniques than the typical grasses of the Northern Plains.
All native cool and warm season grasses, crested wheatgrass, and smooth brome grow and behave as if they were types of perennial spring wheat. The Altai and Russian wildryes from western Asia grow and behave as if they were types of perennial winter wheat.
In all typical spring type grasses, vegetative tillers from axillary buds are activated by partial defoliation by grazing in the spring during vegetative growth of lead tillers before the flower stage. While similar early season grazing of the wildryes actually decreases tiller basal cover. Vegetative tillers on the winter type wildryes are greatly increased from fall grazing during mid October to mid November when and only when 50% of the aboveground herbage biomass remains standing at the end of the grazing period. The carryover tillers that survive in the 50% residual herbage biomass regreen in the early spring and provide the carbohydrates used for growth of the new current season lead tiller leaves and for development of the future vegetative tillers.
Typical management of wildrye pastures removes greater than 50% of the herbage biomass during the fall grazing period causing termination of a major portion of the living crown tillers, which prevents full development of next seasons lead tillers and vegetative tillers. These hugh reductions in tiller growth cause the depletion of the wildrye stand in less than 20 years.
This short stand longevity has incorrectly been attributed to characteristics of the wildrye grasses. And these grasses have also been incorrectly blamed for not growing when the seeds have been planted deeper than an inch into the soil and for not tolerating the allelopathic effects from Russian thistle and kochia or the shading effects from pigeongrass. In reality, these perceived problems of low grass tiller survival and poor seedling development are the direct result of the typical standard misapplied treatment practices used to manage the wildryes.
Altai and Russian wildryes are excellent fall pasture forage during mid October to mid November. However, they do grow and develop differently from the typical perennial spring type forage grasses of the Northern Plains and consequently these winter type wildrye grasses require specific modifications to management practices and seedbed preparations in order to accommodate these growth and development differences.
For More Information Go To:
