ROTATION OF PASTURES WITH CROPS TO ACHIEVE PRODUCTIVITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: NRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0191110
• Grant No.: 2001-35107-11126
• Proposal No.: 2001-01233
• Project Start Date: Oct 1, 2001
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2006
• Grant Year: 2001
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE
(N/A)
WATKINSVILLE,GA 30677

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
(N/A)

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

50%

Applied

50%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
102	0110	1070	30%
102	0199	1070	10%
102	0210	2000	40%
112	0110	1000	10%
403	0320	2050	10%

Knowledge Area
403 - Waste Disposal, Recycling, and Reuse; 102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 112 - Watershed Protection and Management;

Subject Of Investigation
0320 - Watersheds; 0110 - Soil; 0210 - Water resources; 0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
2050 - Hydrology; 1070 - Ecology; 1000 - Biochemistry and biophysics; 2000 - Chemistry;

Keywords

cover crops

soil aggregation

soil organic matter

water quality

carbon

livestock production

cattle

crop production

grain

soil microbiology

soil productivity

runoff

crop rotation

pastures

environmental quality

watershed management

soil plant nutrient relations

soil chemistry

hydrology

plant biochemistry

plant ecology

quantitative analysis

performance evaluation

tillage

nitrogen

seasonal patterns

field studies

festuca arundinacea

soil properties

water analysis

Goals / Objectives
In general, our objective is to quantitatively evaluate 3 management factors (tillage, time of grain cropping, and cover crop management) for their impacts on plant and animal productivity, soil quality, and fluxes of potential pollutants to the environment. Specifically, we will (1) quantify soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics, (2) quantify the relative stability of plant production during winter versus summer growing seasons, and (3) develop a minimum dataset approach for assessing the basic changes.

Project Methods
This field experiment will contain 18 paddocks previously in long-term tall fescue with high soil organic matter content. The experimental design is a completely randomized design with a split-plot arrangement within main plots. Main plots will be a factorial arrangement of (1) tillage and (2) time of grain cropping. Split plots will be cover crop management (grazed or ungrazed) in each main plot. Main plots will be replicated 4 times with 2 remaining paddocks devoted to uncropped pastures as controls. Soil properties evaluated will include soil organic carbon, water-stable aggregate distribution, particulate organic carbon, potential carbon mineralization, bulk density, extractable phosphorus, microbial substrate utilization, and fatty-acid methyl ester diversity. Water analyses will include sediment, inorganic nitrogen, and phosphorus from small, edge-of-field runoff collectors. Grain and forage production and animal productivity responses will be assessed during each growing season.

Progress 10/01/01 to 08/31/06

Outputs
This project quantitatively evaluated three management factors (i.e., tillage, time of grain cropping, and cover crop management) for their impacts on plant and animal productivity and soil quality. The factorial arrangement of treatments identified significant interactions among management factors, which has contributed to a better understanding of the processes controlling productivity and environmental quality. Tillage variables included conventional inversion tillage (CT) and no tillage (NT). Cropping systems included summer grain followed by winter cover cropping and winter grain followed by summer cover cropping. Cover crops were either grazed by cattle or left in the field to produce surface residue cover. This project has contributed to the National Programs Goals of the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, specifically Soil Resource Management Goal 5.1.1 (Develop a systems-approach to identify productive, profitable, and sustainable soil management systems that minimize negative environmental impact, require fewer nonrenewable resources, and optimize the inherent biological, chemical, and physical attributes of soils nationwide) and Global Change Goal 1.1.1 (Define animal and cropping system effects, including tillage and residue management, on soil carbon storage, rates of soil carbon change, and carbon quality in different soils and climatic zones, including analysis of long-term experiments). All crops were successfully established, irrespective of tillage and cover crop management. Although pearl millet was often lower in plant stand with NT than with CT, plants compensated with greater biomass on an area basis. Across years, grain yield of sorghum and corn was 25% greater under NT than under CT when the cover crop was not grazed. Wheat grain yield was unaffected by tillage and cover crop management. Grazing rye rather than allowing it to accumulate as surface residue reduced summer grain yield 23% and reduced standing grain-crop dry matter 26% under NT, but had no effect under CT. In contrast, grazing pearl millet rather than allowing it to accumulate as surface residue increased wheat standing dry matter yield by 25%. Ungrazed cover crop production was 17% greater under NT than under CT for rye and 34% greater for pearl millet. Calf daily gain was 9% greater under NT than under CT on rye and 13% greater on pearl millet. Total cattle gain per grazing season was 72% greater with NT than with CT on rye and 17% greater on pearl millet. Net return over variable costs was greater with grazing than without grazing of cover crops (302 vs −63 $/ha). Livestock grazing of cover crops had variable effects on subsequent crop production, but increased economic return and diversity overall. Soil organic matter was preserved with NT compared with CT. Compaction was not evident whether cover crops were grazed or not. Potential nutrient availability was enhanced with NT and grazing of cover crops.

Impacts
An integrated crop-livestock production system with conservation tillage can be recommended as a viable option for producers to (1) diversify farming operations and avoid risk, (2) improve ecological production of crops, (3) sequester large quantities of soil organic carbon, and (4) potentially avoid environmental damage from soil erosion and nutrient loss.

Publications

• Franzluebbers AJ. 2004. Integrated agriculture: Pasture-crop rotation. JPC Research Note 05. (Extension Leaflet).
• Franzluebbers AJ. 2006. Depth distribution of soil organic matter and its consequences on soil properties and crop productivity. World Congress of Soil Science, 9-15 July 2006, Philadelphia, PA. CD-ROM. (Abstract).
• Franzluebbers AJ. 2007. Integrated crop-livestock systems in the southeastern USA. Agronomy Journal DOI:10.2134/agronj2006.0076. (Journal Article).
• Franzluebbers AJ, Stuedemann JA. 2004. Crop management and animal production in yearly rotations under inversion and no tillage. p. 231-238. In: Proceedings of the 26th Southern Conservation Tillage Conference (CD-ROM), 8-9 June 2004, Raleigh NC. (Proceedings).
• Franzluebbers AJ, Stuedemann JA. 2004. Yield and soil properties under two crop/grazing rotations under inversion and no tillage. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings. 31 October-4 November 2004, Seattle WA. CD-ROM. (Abstract).
• Franzluebbers AJ, Stuedemann JA. 2005. Cattle performance and production when grazing rye and pearl millet cover crops. Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management. 5-11 February 2005, Fort Worth TX. (Abstract).
• Franzluebbers AJ, Stuedemann JA. 2005. Soil responses under integrated crop and livestock production. In: Proceedings of the 27th Southern Conservation Tillage Conference (CD-ROM), 27-29 June 2005, Florence SC. (Proceedings).
• Franzluebbers AJ, Stuedemann JA. 2005. Production and soil responses to two integrated crop and livestock strategies in the Southern Piedmont USA. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings. 6-10 November 2005, Salt Lake City, UT. CD-ROM. (Abstract).
• Franzluebbers AJ, Stuedemann JA. 2006. Soil physical and biological responses to cattle grazing of cover crops. p. 117-123. In: Horn R, Fleige H, Peth S, Peng X (Editors), Soil Management for Sustainability, Advances in Geoecology 38, Catena Verlag, Reiskirchen, Germany. (Book Chapter).
• Franzluebbers AJ, Stuedemann JA. 2006. Response of corn to organic matter quantity and distribution in soil. JPC Research Note 11. (Extension Leaflet).
• Franzluebbers AJ, Stuedemann JA. 2007. Crop and cattle responses to tillage systems for integrated crop-livestock production in the Southern Piedmont, USA. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems DOI:10.1017/s1742170507001706. (Journal Article).
• Franzluebbers AJ, Stuedemann JA, Martens DA. 2006. Soil C and N fractions in cropping systems integrated with livestock. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings. 12-16 November 2006, Indianapolis IN. CD-ROM. (Abstract).
• Franzluebbers AJ, Triplett GB Jr. 2006. Integrated crop-livestock systems to conserve soil and water resources in the southeastern USA. p. 2-12. In: Proceedings of the 28th Southern Conservation Systems Conference (CD-ROM), 26-28 June 2006, Amarillo TX. (Proceedings).
• Franzluebbers AJ, Wright DL, Stuedemann JA, Reeves DW. 2005. Integrated crop-livestock systems in humid-subtropical and warm-temperate environments. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings. 6-10 November 2005, Salt Lake City, UT. CD-ROM. (Abstract).
• Russelle MP, Entz MH, Franzluebbers AJ. 2007. Reconsidering integrated crop-livestock systems in North America. Agronomy Journal (accepted October 206). (Journal Article).

Progress 10/01/02 to 09/30/03

Outputs
This report serves to document research conducted under a reimbursable agreement between ARS and the USDA National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program. Additional details can be found in the report for the parent CRIS 6612-12000-011-00D "Enhancing Soil-Water-Nutrient Processes in Southern Piedmont Pasture and Crop Systems". This project is quantitatively evaluating three management factors (i.e., tillage, time of grain cropping, and cover crop management) for their impacts on plant and animal productivity, soil quality, and eventually to fluxes of potential pollutants to the environment. The factorial arrangement of treatments will identify significant interactions among management factors, which should lead to a better understanding of the processes controlling productivity and environmental quality. Tillage variables include conventional inversion and no tillage. Cropping systems include summer grain followed by winter cover cropping and winter grain followed by summer cover cropping. Cover crops are either grazed by cattle or left in the field to produce surface residue cover. This project will contribute to the Soil Resource Management National Program Goal 5.1.1 (Develop a systems-approach to identify productive, profitable, and sustainable soil management systems that minimize negative environmental impact, require fewer nonrenewable resources, and optimize the inherent biological, chemical, and physical attributes of soils nationwide) and Global Change National Program Goal 1.1.1 (Define animal and cropping system effects, including tillage and residue management, on soil carbon storage, rates of soil carbon change, and carbon quality in different soils and climatic zones, including analysis of long-term experiments).

Impacts
We will be able to describe to crop and cattle producers the impacts of cattle traffic during different times of the year when crops grown for grain and forage are rotated on the same field. Crop yield and animal performance data will be used to predict possible economic outcomes.

Publications

• No publications reported this period