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Beef Cattle Finishing and Narrow Strip Cropping System in Kansas, USA
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| Overview | Using strip cropping residues and cover crops, cattle can be finished for slaughter, reducing supplemental feed requirements while increasing soil nitrogen fertility. |
| Scale | farm, region |
| Location | Salina, Kansas, USA (38.5°N, 97.4°W) |
| Elevation | 300 to 600 meters |
| Climate | Peoria, continental forest climate; warm summer (Dfa) |
| Agricultural Region | Crop Farming, Grain or Cotton Dominant (I) |
| Population Density | 1-10 persons / square kilometer |
| Principle Crops | Cowpeas (Vigna sinensis L.), Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.), Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and Eastern Gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides (L.)L.) |
| Domestic Animals | Beef Cattle (Gelbvieh sire X Texas longhorn dam crosses) |
| Soils | Specific: Cozad silt loam (coarse-silty, mixed, mesic Fluventic Haplustoll) General: Ustolls, Temperate to hot; dry for >90 days (incl. some Chestnut and Brown soils) - (M5) |
| Natural Vegetation | Broadleaf deciduous trees (D), Oak-hickory (17) |
| Ecoregion | Temperate Steppe Province, Medium to short steppe grassland (D5) |
| Basic Principles addressed | Conserve Resources, Use Renewable Resources, Manage Ecological Relationships, Adjust to Local Environments, Diversify, Manage Whole Systems, Maximize Long-Term Benefits |
| Page Author and Date | Chris Bley from studies by compiled by the Organic Farming and Research Foundation |
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Up to one-half of the cost of beef production in Kansas, USA is due to cattle feed, so farmers are interested in forage systems that can reduce this input. Studies on pasture-based finishing in Salina, Kansas finished seven Texas longhorn beef yearlings in a 14 acre field without additional feed in an attempt to obtain efficient beef production without reducing soil quality. Fields contained alfalfa stubble, eastern gamagrass, cowpeas and pearl millet. Pearl millet and cowpeas were part of an existing narrow strip cropping system. |
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Pasture-based cattle finishing is an example how a farm can provide it's own feed and fertilizer for cattle production. Existing strip cropping systems can provide cattle with feed while benefiting soils for subsequent crops, like grain sorghum. Cowpea cover crops in grazed fields were shown to stimulate nitrogen fixation, while disking manure after grazing encouraged soil microbial activity, leading to efficient nutrient cycling. Yearling cattle gained an average of 121 pounds each during finishing and soil in the grazed strips increased in nitrates compared to ungrazed plots. Grazed areas had no yield loss in grain sorghum the following year. Cowpea strip crops are especially useful because of their rapid growth and nitrogen fixation after grazing- crop residues do not have this advantage. Integrated farming systems like these can help close the nutrient cycle between cattle and crops. |
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Conserve Resources Finishing cattle using forage reduces farm expenditures. Use Renewable Resources Cowpea cover crops improve soil fertility using biological nitrogen fixation. Manage Ecological Relationships Integrating livestock into an existing cropping system benefits both the livestock and the soil. Adjust to Local Environments Introduction of beef cattle to an existing cropping system adapts animals to the farm environment and matches cropping systems with the productive potential of the farm environment by using cropped areas for animal production during a normally fallow period. Diversify Consumer preference for pasture-finished beef demands higher prices in alternative markets. Manage Whole Systems Feeding cattle within cropping systems integrates manure and feed production across farm landscapes. Maximize Long-Term Benefits Using pasture-based feeding systems for cattle improves soil fertility over the long-term, incorporating long-term sustainability into agroecosystem management. |
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Bender, M. 1998. Beef Cattle Finishing in Summer/Fall in a Strip Cropping System. Grant
Report to the Organic Farming Research Foundation, Grant #96-02
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