Evaluation of a Year-Round Grazing System: Summer Cow-Calf Progress Report

A comparison was made between two different summer grazing systems. One system was the summer component of a year-round grazing system, involving the rotational stocking of smooth bromegrass--orchardgrass--birdsfoot trefoil pastures and winter stockpiles pastures with cowcalf pairs co-grazing with stocker yearlings at .75 animal units per acre. That system was compared with a minimal land system involving the rotational stocking of smooth bromegrass--orchardgrass-- birdsfoot trefoil summer pastures with cow-calf pairs grazing at .64 animal units per acre and hay removal from 25% of the pasture. Stocker yearlings or hay removal were used as management tools to remove excess forage and optimize forage quality. Hay was removed once from three fourths of the winter stockpiled pastures and one fourth of the allocated summer pastures. Cow-calf pairs grazing in the year-round system utilized on fourth of the winter stockpile pastures due to lack of forage, whereas cow-calf pairs grazing with hay removal were supplemented with harvested hay for two weeks during the summer. Grazing system did not affect cow body weight, condition score, or daily calf weight gain. Growing animal production per acre was affected by grazing system, with the minimal land system having a higher production level.

Evaluation of a Year-Round Grazing System: Summer Cow-Calf Progress Report

A comparison was made between two different summer grazing systems at the McNay Research Farm. One system was the summer component of a year-round grazing system, involving the rotational stocking of smooth bromegrass-orchardgrass-birdsfoot trefoil pastures and winter stockpile pastures with cow-calf pairs co-grazing with stocker yearlings at .75 animal units per acre. That system was compared with a minimal land system involving the rotational stocking of smooth bromegrass-orchardgrass-birdsfoot trefoil summer pastures with cow-calf pairs grazing at .64 animal units per acre and hay removal from 25% of the pasture. Stocker yearlings or hay removal were used as management tools to remove excess forage and optimize forage quality. Hay was removed once from three fourths of the winter stockpiled pastures in 1996 (Yr. 1) and all the pasture in 1997 (Yr. 2). One hay removal occurred on one fourth of the allocated summer pastures in Year 1 and one half of the pastures in Year 2. In Year one, cow-calf pairs grazing in the year-round system utilized one fourth of the winter stockpile pastures due to a lack of forage on the summer pastures, whereas in Year 2 cowcalf pairs grazed winter stockpile pastures to remove forage as a second cutting of hay. Cow-calf pairs grazing with hay removal were supplemented with harvested hay for two weeks during the summer of Year 1 due to lack of grazable forage; in Year 2, no supplementation was needed. Grazing system did not affect cow body weight, condition score, or daily calf gain in either year. Growing animal production per acre was affected by grazing system, with the minimal land system having a higher production level in Year 1 and Year 2. The year-round system also produced more net winter forage than did the minimal land system in Year 1. Differences in forage yield and quality were only observed between winter stockpile forages of tall fescue-red clover and smooth bromegrass-red clover and summer pastures during the months of June, July, and August.

Open Access and Digital Repositories

Funded by the Library and the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, Digital Repository @ Iowa State University is a service for Iowa State's faculty, students and staff to manage, preserve and provide access to their scholarship. This presentation provides an overview of open access and introduces the repository to the Library Liaisons.

Estimating the Value of Source Verification in Iowa Feeder Cattle Markets

Source verification and pooling of feeder cattle into larger lots resulted in higher selling prices compared to more typical sales at a southern Iowa auction market. After higher prices due to larger lot sizes were accounted for, cattle that received a specified management program and were source verified as to origin received additional price premiums. The data do not distinguish between the value of the specific management program and the value of the source verification process. However, cow–calf producers participating in the program took home more money.

Estimating the Value of Source Verification in Iowa Feeder Cattle Markets

Source verification and pooling of feeder cattle into larger lots resulted in higher selling prices compared with more typical sales at a southern Iowa auction market. After accounting for higher prices due to larger lot sizes, cattle that received a specified management program and were source verified as to origin received additional price premiums. The data do not distinguish between the value of the specific management program and the value of the source verification process. However, cow-calf producers participating in the program took home more money.

Applying the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process in digital marketing

The fuzzy analytical network process (FANP) is introduced as a potential multi-criteria-decision-making (MCDM) method to improve digital marketing management endeavors. Today’s information overload makes digital marketing optimization, which is needed to continuously improve one’s business, increasingly difficult. The proposed FANP framework is a method for enhancing the interaction between customers and marketers (i.e., involved stakeholders) and thus for reducing the challenges of big data. The presented implementation takes realities’ fuzziness into account to manage the constant interaction and continuous development of communication between marketers and customers on the Web. Using this FANP framework, the marketers are able to increasingly meet the varying requirements of their customers. To improve the understanding of the implementation, advanced visualization methods (e.g., wireframes) are used.

Northwest Iowa On-farm Research Soybean Yield Response to Headline Fungicide

Six years ago the Northwest Iowa On-Farm Research Project was started to cooperate with local farmers to compare crop production methods on a field scale size. Through this project, over 300 replicated comparisons have been done. Beginning in 2012, the Northwest Iowa On-Farm Research project will be recognized as a part of Iowa State University Farmer Assisted Research and Management (FARM) program. This program will also expand to southwest Iowa, north central Iowa, and central Iowa.

Characterizing Overall Response to Two-shot Vaccination for BVDV Type 2 in Angus Weanling Calves

Vaccination is a management strategy utilized to help reduce prevalence of bovine respiratory disease in feedlots. However, not all animals respond similarly to vaccinations. It is believed that an animal’s genetics control part of the ability to respond to a vaccination protocol. In order to evaluate the genetic control of a new trait such as response to vaccination, it is important to understand the non-genetic factors that affect an animal’s response to vaccination. The objective of this study was to characterize the non-genetic factors affecting overall response to a two-shot vaccination for bovine viral diarrhea virus type 2 (BVDV2) in Angus weanling calves.

Soybean Aphid Threshold

Soybean aphid has been a major pest for producers in Northwest Iowa since their first major outbreak in 2003. Control measures for managing this pest are warranted almost every growing season and much research is being done on managing this pest. Insecticide applications have been the sole management technique for soybean aphid and will continue to be important in the future. An economic threshold of 250 aphids/plant is the current threshold level recommended by Iowa State University. This study was conducted to determine if the current recommendations are useful in managing soybean aphid and maintaining profitability for producers.

Effectiveness of Foliar Fungicides by Timing on Hybrid Corn

Fungicides were rarely used on hybrid corn prior to 2007, however, in the past few years, some farmers have included fungicides in their common crop production, particularly as the value of grain has increased. Fungicides are recommended for foliar disease management to protect yield potential. There also have been reports of increased yields in the absence of disease. A number of fungicides are registered for use on corn. The objectives of this project were to evaluate the yield response of hybrid corn to foliar fungicide application at various timings.

BioCentury Research Farm Update

The BioCentury Research Farm (BCRF) had a diversity of users in 2011. Iowa State faculty and staff from agricultural and biosystems engineering (ABE), agricultural systems technology (AST), agronomy, chemical and biological engineering (CBE), civil, construction, and environmental engineering (CCEE), food science and human nutrition (FSHN), horticulture, mechanical engineering (ME), and natural resource ecology and management (NREM) conducted research, teaching, and outreach at the BCRF. Private industry users included Avello Bioenergy, DCE, Frontline BioEnergy, and Virent, Inc.

Phosphorus and Potassium Rates and Placement Methods for Corn and Soybean Managed with No-till or Tillage

No-till management for corn and soybean results in little or no incorporation of crop residues and fertilizer with soil. Subsurface banding phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilizers with planter attachments could be more effective than broadcast fertilization, because in no-till with broadcast fertilizer, both nutrients accumulate at or near the soil surface. A long-term study was initiated in 1994 at the ISU Northwest Research Farm to evaluate P and K fertilizer placement for corn and soybean managed with no-till and chiselplow tillage.

Squash Bug, Squash Vine Borer, and Striped Cucumber Beetle on Butternut Squash and Muskmelon

Alternative agricultural schemes are gaining attention as the demand for organic and sustainable products continues to grow. Pest insects pose a sizeable challenge to agricultural production because their activities reduce crop fitness and productivity. Effective management of pest-insects is, therefore, crucial for successful management, and increasingly entails a multi-dimensional approach.

Aphids in Corn Research

Corn, Zea mays L., is the most abundant field crop in Iowa, and there are many insect pests associated with this field crop. Although aphids are not typically economically important in corn, recent observations have indicated several aphid species developing heavy populations in northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota. Historically, the corn leaf aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis (Hemiptera: Aphididae), has been the most abundant aphid species in corn; however, the bird cherry oat aphid, R. padi (Hemiptera: Aphididae), and several other species have also been detected. Recent observations show a shift to populations peaking later in the summer. Damage potential and management guidelines for aphids in corn are not well defined and this research is aimed at developing economic threshold and sampling protocols.

Converting Land from Poplar Tree Bioenergy Planting to Cropland: An Example

Many landowners ask about the process and costs for returning land to crop production after trees are cut for biomass. A field on the Squaw Creek bottom, Story County, Iowa was planted to hybrid poplar trees in spring 2000. The trees were planted in rows with a 10-ft spacing. The trees were cut in spring 2010. The resulting field was four acres, and this is the account of the first corn crop in 2011 on the area.