Measuring Forage Quality of Hybrid Fall Rye

Background

Cereal forages have been used to replace perennial forages for beef cattle in times of drought or when hay supplies are low. In 2023 approximately 1.3 million acres of cereal greenfeed and silage were harvested in Alberta. Drought reduced hay yields and breaking hay and pasture stands to be replaced by cropland has reduced traditional hay supplies. This has forced beef producers to rely on some annual forage acres originally used for grain.  Cereal silage is a staple feedstuff for the beef backgrounding industry in central and southern Alberta. Producers have experimented with winter cereals for forage, particularly in southern Alberta, and have shown interest in hybrid rye. Hybrid rye is similar to the more common open-pollinated fall rye but has been improved in Germany to be marketed as a hybrid and selection makes it more uniform, shorter in stature, and more resistant to ergot. Hybrid rye has been tested for agronomic suitability for use as grain and has had acceptable winter hardiness and yield. However, it was not tested for forage production and seed is more expensive than most spring cereal forage alternatives such as barley.  We questioned: Did the benefits justify the cost? We wondered:  Is hybrid rye forage quality superior to open-pollinated fall rye and at least equal to barley?

Objectives

• Determine the forage potential (yield and forage quality) for hybrid rye as a silage and greenfeed source for backgrounding beef animals and as a winter feed for cows compared to open pollenated fall rye, winter triticale and wheat, spring barley, oat and soft white wheat
• Determine if the more expensive hybrid rye could provide animal production at the same or less cost as more common forage alternatives such as barley
• Determine how hybrid rye compared to spring cereal forage production in different regions

What they Did

The replicated agronomic trials were set up for Lacombe and Lethbridge, Alberta and Swift Current, Saskatchewan. The trials were attempted three times at Swift Current, but drought and hail prevented successful completion of the trial at that location. Seven location-years were successfully completed at Lacombe and two location years were completed at Lethbridge. The Lethbridge location was conducted under irrigation. Lacombe was a dryland location.

At Lacombe three hybrid rye varieties were compared with fall rye, one winter wheat and a winter triticale variety; a set of spring cereals including two barley varieties, an oat and a spring white wheat variety were compared to the winter cereals each year. At Lethbridge four hybrid rye varieties were compared to the same winter and spring cereal varieties as Lacombe. Yield and quality were assessed at stages suitable for silage harvest (approximately 35% dry matter), so harvest occurred at different dates for each entry. Forage quality was measured determined at Lacombe, AB for both locations.

Cost of production was determined for each winter and spring cereal variety for the two different sites as Lethbridge included irrigation costs. Costs per acre were determined for simulated swath grazing, greenfeed and silage systems. Animal performance such as rate of gain, cost of gain in backgrounding, carrying capacity and empty body weight gain and daily feeding cost for swath grazed cows using a forage evaluation system that was published previously. Cost per kg of dry matter was also determined. Statistical analyses was conducted for all variables on a per plot and replicate basis in analyses of variance within the Lethbridge and Lacombe locations.

What They Learned

Overall, hybrid rye survived over-wintering just as well as open-pollenated fall rye at Lacombe and Lethbridge. However, irrigating and the longer growing season in Lethbridge resulted in some variability in what was observed in Lacombe.

At Lacombe forage yield for winter cereals were on average higher than spring cereals, likely because winter cereals grew under slightly cooler and moister conditions than spring cereals, which experienced drier and hotter conditions later in the growing season. The barley grown at Lacombe was outyielded by hybrid rye by 20% and had lower forage quality because of leaf scald, which infected both barley varieties. At both Lacombe and Lethbridge hybrid rye had the capacity to yield well under good environmental conditions.

At Lethbridge hybrid rye and barley had similarly high forage yields with close to the same forage quality. A significant advantage for hybrid rye in southern Alberta was that silage harvest was as early as mid-June putting it at least a month earlier than barley’s harvest date. Practically, this would allow producers to harvest hybrid rye while still allowing enough time for the planting and harvest of the following barley silage crop. Though the advantage of earlier harvest for hybrid rye over barley would not be as significant at Lacombe. 

Hybrid rye cost of production was greater than the forage alternative at both Lethbridge and Lacombe. However, due to leaf scald for barley at Lacombe, cost of gain in backgrounding was less for hybrid rye than barley. Barley digestibility at Lacombe was reduced to such an extent that made the observed rate of gain uneconomical. Hybrid rye also out-yielded soft white spring wheat for silage at both Lethbridge and Lacombe. At Lethbridge the quality of the barley forage variety Canmore was slightly greater than hybrid rye and resulted in a cheaper rate of gain. The early harvest date of the winter cereals means that they are less suitable for swath grazing than spring cereals at both locations. However, hybrid rye had forage quality that consistently produced a positive cow weight gain.

What This Means

Ultimately, hybrid rye is more expensive to grow than barley, but due to consistent high yield and quality in addition to an early harvest date, hybrid rye provides a viable, flexible alternative for feed production. An advantage not discussed was that hybrid rye did not lodge so it should still be productive in presence of high fertilizer and manure inputs. The early harvest date at Lethbridge would allow optimum harvest management during a busy summer season and perhaps greater dry matter production on the same acreage by following the hybrid rye with barley forage in some years. Leaf scald reduced the performance of barley relative to hybrid rye at Lacombe. In some years when normal rainfall distribution occurs and leaf diseases are not present or varieties with resistance are grown, barley would perform at a higher level. Under these adverse conditions for barley, hybrid rye reduced the risk of losing the entire crop which would have been seen if it had been all seeded to barley. When the trials were initiated at Lacombe the chosen barley varieties Canmore and Austenson had adequate resistance to leaf disease.