A study conducted in eastern Nebraska examined the impact of integrating livestock grazing and cover crops into cropping rotations on grain yield and soil properties. The experiment focused on corn-soybean and corn-soybean-wheat rotations, evaluating factors such as grain yield, soil bulk density, penetration resistance, and soil water infiltration rate.
Two no-till, non-irrigated cropping systems were compared in the study, which was carried out between 2018 and 2020. Beef stocker steers fed on maize residue in the corn-soybean rotation during the autumn and winter months. The oat cover crop and corn residue were both grazed during the corn-soybean-wheat rotation. Before maize was planted, manure was spread over the oat stubble. In this investigation, there was no grazing of soybean residue.
Results indicated that grazing corn residue and cover crops did not have a significant impact on subsequent soybean or corn grain production. Grain yields for corn and soybean remained consistent across the two production seasons (2019 and 2020) following grazing. The corn-soybean-wheat rotation also showed no residual effects on wheat yield from livestock grazing of corn residue two years prior.
Grazing maize residue had no detrimental effects on soil bulk density, penetration resistance, or the rate of initial soil water infiltration. In the corn-soybean-wheat rotation, grazing the oat cover crop had no effect on soil penetration resistance or early water infiltration. Although the soil bulk density increased slightly as a result, it remained below levels that would be harmful to root growth.
These findings suggest that integrating livestock and cover crops into cropping rotations can provide benefits such as diversified income streams, additional food production sources, and improved nutrient cycling and organic matter. The study's results demonstrate that these practices did not adversely affect grain yield or soil compaction during the initial two years of the study.
It is important to note that the study was conducted under typical dryland conditions in eastern Nebraska, and management practices were aimed at representative rather than maximum yields. The results emphasize the feasibility of integrating livestock into cropping systems while maintaining productivity and soil health.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-zoran-zeremski
Categories: Nebraska, Crops, Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, Livestock, Beef Cattle