By Linda Geist
Livestock producers across Missouri continue to face rising feed costs, unpredictable weather and seasonal forage shortages during the summer. A recent study led by University of Missouri Extension agronomy specialist Rudra Baral found that forage soybean shows promise for bridging the summer forage gap.
Baral’s research shows that forage soybean can deliver high forage biomass, strong forage quality, good water use efficiency and a positive economic return under rain-fed conditions.
Planting date is critical
Forage soybeans yielded an average of 6 tons per acre of dry matter when harvested at the R3 (beginning pod) growth stage.
“Delaying planting to early July reduced yield by 51% at the same stage, showing that planting date is one of the most important management decisions for this crop,” says Baral.
The study also reported a water use efficiency of 450 pounds per acre per inch of water and a net profit of around $135 per acre with a 32% return on investment.
“The crop is attractive not only for yield but also for feed value,” says Baral. Crude protein stayed relatively stable at about 19% to 21% from V3 to R3, while late planting improved forage quality by reducing fiber and lignin and increasing digestibility. Researchers noted that forage soybean biomass was almost double under optimum planting compared with late planting, and the crop can reach about 5 feet under good conditions.
“For Missouri, that makes forage soybean a strong candidate for bridging the summer forage gap, especially in double-crop systems after wheat harvest,” says Baral.
It can be used as grazing, hay, green chop or silage, and it may also complement sorghum-Sudangrass or pearl millet in forage rotations. “Because it fixes nitrogen and performs well in rain-fed systems, it offers producers both agronomic and economic advantages,” says Baral.
Source : missouri.edu