Back From The Dead: Full Season Cover vs. Barley
Written by: Dakota Odgers, Territory Manager (Saskatchewan)
Producer Name: Shawn Catherwood
Farm Type: Grain
Soil Zone: Brown
Location: Ceylon, Saskatchewan
Reason For Trial: Full Season Cover vs. Barley (Evaluate soil health benefits, cost of production, animal integration)
On-Farm Research
Seeding
Shawn chose to undertake a trial on his farm comparing mono-crop “cowboy” Barley vs. the Full Season Cover. The trial encompassed 25 acres total and was split between the mono-crop Barley seeded on 13 acres and the Full-Season Cover Crop on 12 acres.
Pre-Burn Application: Yes (Roundup + AIM)
Seeding Date: May 4th, 2024
Barley: seeded at 120 lbs/acre
Full Season Cover: seeded at 60 lbs/ac with N-DURE Inoculant
Fertilizer:
Barley: 200lbs of total product, comprised of 150lbs N (46-0-0) total product and 50lbs of P (11-52-0) total product, not actual.
Full Season Cover: No synthetic fertilizer was applied, nor was any synthetic fertilizer pre-applied or incorporated into the soil.
Figure 1: Full Season Cover germination & nodulation. (June 10th, 2024)
Figure 1: Full Season Cover germination & nodulation. (June 10th, 2024)
on-Farm Research
Growing Season
Coming off a dry growing season in 2023, the soil moisture was a concern for Shawn Catherwood. Based on this, a key goal of Shawn’s was to achieve an early seeding date to capture the maximum amount of spring moisture. Shawn seeded both crops on May 4th with moderate moisture and, in May, received 50mm of rain to allow for good crop germination, as shown in Figure 1 and 2. However, the Ceylon area became very dry after receiving 40mm of rain in June, with the last rain occurring on June 28th. This would be the last rainfall Shawn would receive until August 20th. Shawn would cut both crops on July 13th as moisture deficiencies started appearing and was looking to lock in forage quality. Shawn did not receive any source of moisture for 58 days from June 28th to August 20th on both the Full-Season and Barley crops and for 38 days, respectively, after the crops were cut. Shawn did not apply any in-crop herbicide to the full-season crop but did apply a herbicide to the barley.
Figure 2. Picture of Full-Season and Barley seeded beside each other taken on June 25th ,2024
Figure 2. Picture of Full-Season and Barley seeded beside each other taken on June 25th ,2024
On-Farm Research
Accumulated Rainfall (mm)
See the chart for rainfall totals each month (dark grey) and accumulated rainfall throughout the year (light grey).
Figure 3. Side by side of Full-Season Vs Barley cut taken on July 13, 2024
On-Farm Research
Harvest
Shawn cut the Full-Season and Barley on July 13th, 70 days after seeding, as shown in Figure 3. This would be the ideal cutting time for a Full-Season Cover Crop, and the Barley was also at the proper staging for greenfeed. Shawn would dry bale the Barley and Full-Season, and the feed test would be completed on both trial sets. For the trial, Shawn would harvest an average of 2271 lbs of green feed per acre off the Full-Season crop, with the feed test averaging 9.83% crude protein and a TDN of 66.5% across 12 seeded acres in the trial area as shown in Test 1. Shawn’s trial area of 13 acres for Cowboy Barley was harvested at an average of 2750 lbs of green feed per acre. However, with a higher per lb average across the acres, there was a lower crude protein of 9.34% and TDN of 63.14%, as shown in Test 2, compared to the Full-Season cover crop. Shawn would have liked to push the cutting date back further but became concerned about the high heat the area was experiencing and the lack of moisture.
Figure 4. Trial Comparison Full Season Vs. Barley taken September 10th, 2024
To view entire feed analysis: Click here
To view entire feed analysis: Click here
On-Farm Research
Regrowth
Figure 5. Full-season regrowth taken on August 3rd, 2024
Upon cutting the Full Season on July 13th, Shawn would not receive any source of moisture for 38 days, ultimately leading to the extreme drought stress seen in Figure 5. where the Full-Season Cover Crop appears to be dying. Shawn would not receive any rainfall for 17 days after the photo in Figure 5 was taken on August 3rd. The only green plant during this dry period was the Italian Rye Grass, with almost all 15 other species appearing to brown off and showing signs of heat stress. On August 20th, the drought in the area finally lifted, and Shawn would receive 18mm of rain, with an additional 80mm falling within a week’s time frame. Because Shawn had a living root in the soil, he could capture the available moisture that fell on his fields and, in turn, build the moisture within the soil profile, leading to a healthier functioning soil, as shown in Figure 6. Shawn now had a field of green regrowth across the Full-Season acres. In comparison, as shown in Figure 8, the Barely had very little to no growth to capture the late fall moisture.
Figure 6. Full-Season regrowth September 10th, 2024
On-Farm Research
Animal Integration
Shawn would get 200 cows and 200 calves from a neighbour with a pasture beside the trial, with the cows averaging 1300 lbs and calves 575 lbs to come to graze both the cover crop and barley trial. Due to the water source for livestock containing 15 acres of native pasture that the livestock had open access to, grazing animal units could not be calculated for the Full-Season and Barley, respectively, even though a cross fence separated the Full-Season and Barley for grazing. In consultation with Shawn, the results were that the cattle grazed a 9-acre piece of the cover crop stubble for 4 days and an 11-acre barley piece for 3 days. Due to the lack of study control over the native pasture from the water source, pasture animal units cannot be accurately calculated.
Figure 7. Forage Biomass Maps Barley circled in red, and Full-Season cover crop circled in black. Cover crop grazed acres 9, and Barley grazed acres 11.
On-Farm Research
Cost of Production Comparison
Full Season Cover vs. Monocrop Barley
On-Farm Research
Conclusion
In conclusion, Shawn Catherwood’s Barley vs Full-Season trial highlights the significant benefits of maintaining a living root in the soil, particularly in a fall grazing scenario. Despite similar production costs in this trial, the presence of a living root allowed Shawn to capture economic value following the late fall rains. This was achieved through plants actively growing and feeding soil biology.
By having a living root, Shawn could sustain root exudates and improve water infiltration late into the growing season. The living root of a Full Season Cover crop proved to be a crucial factor in improving soil health and enhancing overall productivity.
Figure 8. Full Season Cover Crop Regrowth and Barley regrowth taken on September 10th, 2024