Cattle grazing alfalfa is usually a recipe for disaster. But is there some way it can be done successfully? Baz Fritz, Livestock Agrologist with Sask. Agriculture and Food said that over the years, beef producers have asked about how to manage alfalfa in a grazing system but no real information has been available. When the Districts 12 & 13 ADD Board Demo Farm needed a livestock component in its operation, Fritz saw the chance to do a little investigating.
"In 1994, we seeded six paddocks", explained Fritz. "One paddock has a pure stand of Meadow Bromegrass and one has a stand of Crested Wheatgrass. The grass paddocks were planted to lengthen the grazing season in both the spring and the fall. The remaining four paddocks were seeded to alfalfa. Of these, 2 paddocks each have a different variety of tap rooted alfalfa and the other 2 paddocks each have a different variety of creeping rooted alfalfa." Some grazing of the paddocks occurred in 1995. In the spring of 1996, 36 steers were purchased by Heartland Livestock Services over a two week period. The first batch of steers was turned out on the Crested wheatgrass May 23. All the steers were turned on to the Meadow bromegrass, May 30. On June 5, all the steers went to the alfalfa.
To reduce the risk of bloat when the animals were turned into the alfalfa, an anti bloat agent had to be introduced. Finding a method of giving the bloat agent that was palatable to the animals proved to be interesting. "We did two things to try to ensure all the animals were getting adequate levels of the Bloat Guard. We mixed the product with free choice salt and tried to feed about 1 lb per day of rolled oats mixed with molasses and topdressed with Bloat Guard. Unfortunately, only about one third of the animals would eat the oats once they had been treated with the Bloat Guard," said Fritz. He, therefore, could not be sure that all the animals were protected.
"The next method we tried that seemed to work was a barley pellet made with molasses and the Bloat Guard mixed right in to the pellet", said Fritz. The cattle were also being fed a limited amount of timothy hay to keep the rumen functioning normally and aid in the expulsion of gas. "The steers were fed the hay in the morning. On days when they were to be switched to a different paddock, we'd feed them again in the evening."
The study with the steers has enabled theADD Board and SA & F staff to make a number of observations about the risks associated with grazing alfalfa. When the alfalfa growth is very fast and the plant is in the pre-bud stage, the risk of bloat increases. Fritz said, "At this time, the alfalfa is at its most palatable so large amounts can be ingested in a very short time. As well, the cattle don't want for anything else so intakes of hay, topdressed grain or salt and minerals can be inconsistent." By feeding the highly palatable pellets to the steers, Fritz feels enough Bloat Guard is being ingested to counter the problems of too much alfalfa in the rumen.
Moving the cattle from one paddock to a fresh paddock also increases the risk of bloat. " The cattle will generally eat more than normal because the leaves are so succulent, " said Fritz. The pellets and hay help to prevent them from eating so much in a short time.
Bloat is also a risk at night when the days have been very hot. "When daytime temperatures are very high, the cattle spend more time resting than grazing. Then in the evening, they graze voraciously because they are so hungry," explained Fritz. Again, the pellets and the hay help because there is already something "in the gut" when the cattle resume grazing.
Do the different rooting styles of the alfalfa make a difference to the bloating potential? The answer is no. "We haven't been able to see a noticeable difference in the incidence of bloat between the types of alfalfa," said Fritz which is in accordance with research done at the Ag. Canada Research Stations in Kamloops and Brandon.
Fitz has been with Sask. Ag and Food for over 20 years. For more information on grazing forages and bloat management, contact Baz Fritz at the Yorkton Rural Service Centre(786-1509).