The Value Of Regrowth (Full Season Cover)
Farm Research Partner: Connor English
Growing Season: 2024
Location: 2 km North of Bradwardine, Manitoba
Soil Zone: Black Soil Zone
Accumulated Rainfall (2024): 289 mm
Researcher & Author: Dakota Odgers
On-Farm Research
Seeding & Germination
Connor English is situated in Manitoba’s Black soil zones, roughly two kilometres north of Bradwardine, Manitoba. The study field covered 20 acres of Full Season Cover crop. The trial field was spot-sprayed using a pre-burn treatment of glyphosate.
Pre-burn Application: Roundup
Fertilizer: 40 Ibs of actual Nitrogen applied through mid-row banders
Seeding Implement: John Deere disc drill
Seeding Date: May 17th
Trial Details: Evaluate the cost of production, regrowth & overall economic analysis of a Full Season Cover.
Figure 2. Picture of Full-Season germination taken on June 7, 2024
On-Farm Research
The Growing Season
The growing season began with sufficient moisture, which benefited Connor’s planting date of May 17th. There was ample moisture in May and June, with a total of 138mm recorded over these two months. The Full Season Cover on the English farm displayed a strong presence of cool-season species due to the wet and cool spring.
Accumulated Rainfall (mm)
However, July proved much more challenging for the Full Season Cover crop, as only 17mm of rain fell throughout the month. The diversity of the crop shone through, as the moisture from May and June had properly infiltrated the soil, promoting canopy development and moisture retention within the soil to nourish the crop during the drier month of July.
Before cutting, warm season species began to appear, but the developing canopy blocked the warm season plants from “capturing” sunlight, resulting in the cool season species making up a large majority of the final biomass.
Upon cutting on July 30th, Connor greatly benefited from having a living root in the soil, positioning him to capitalize on 104mm of rainfall in August and September. This led to robust regrowth of the Full-Season cover crop and allowed Connor to capture sunlight efficiently, thus feeding soil biology and economically benefiting from the fall grazing of livestock.
On Farm Research
Harvest
Connor English cut the Full Season Cover crop on July 30 using a discbine, marking 74 days between seeding and cutting. This duration is considered ideal for the crop, as it is suggested that harvesting should occur between 60-70 days post-germination. Given ideal growing conditions, this length of time allowed Connor English’s farm to maximize the extra growing days for increased tonnage while keeping the plants in a vegetative state to enhance feed value.
After cutting the field with a discbine, Connor allowed the crop to dry for eight days and baled it on August 7. Connor raked half of the field and left the other half in swaths, baling both portions on August 7.
The 20-acre field total averaged a yield of 4,706.80 lbs/acre, with the following feed analysis results:
Protein: 12.99
TDN: 67.09
Click here to view the Feed analysis.
Figure 3: Full Season being cut on July 30th, 2024.
Figure 4. Brian English baling Full-Season on August 7, 2024.
On-Farm Research
Regrowth
After cutting the Full Season Cover on July 30th, Connor English allowed the crop to regrow for 89 days, with harvesting occurring on July 30th and cattle first placed on the field on October 27th. This approach allowed a living root to capture sunlight and moisture for nearly three months!
Figure 5. Full-Season regrowth taken October 1, 2024
The regrowth of the cover crop was notably strong, as illustrated in Figure 5. Connor aimed to utilize the Full-Season regrowth with fall-calving pairs, breeding heifers, open cows, and bulls. This strategy enabled Connor to manage pasture effectively, reducing overgrazing and eliminating winter feed costs while the animals grazed on the regrowth.
The first group placed on the Full-Season regrowth consisted of 41 pairs with an AU of 1.55 per pair, 3 open cows with an AU of 1.3 per cow, 14 bred heifers with an AU of 0.9 per heifer, and 3 bulls with an AU of 1.5, all introduced on October 27th. This group grazed from October 27th until November 1st, when the pairs were removed from the group.
The second group included 6 pairs with an AU of 1.55 per pair, 3 open cows with an AU of 1.3 per cow, 14 bred heifers with an AU of 0.9 per heifer, and 3 bulls with an AU of 1.5, placed on regrowth on November 1st and taken off on November 9th.
The livestock received no supplemental feed at any point, with the only available feed source being the Full-Season regrowth, and bordering pastures were excluded from grazing. The study concluded on November 9th.
Figure 6. Full-Season regrowth taken October 27, 2024
Farm Research
Cost Of Production Analysis
Table 2. The cost for seed is based on the March 15th pre-buy deadline with inoculant. The cost for the sprayer, labour, baler, rake, and discbine is based on the Saskatchewan Farm Machinery Custom and Rental Rate Guide https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/#/products/76527.
Seeder cost is based on rental from the local watershed used in the project. Fertilizer and chemicals based on actual cost.
Seed & Inoculant: $79.00/acre
Fertilizer (40 Ibs x $0.79/Ib): $31.60/acre
Herbicide & Sprayer Cost: $15.00/acre
Seeding Cost: $30.00/acre
Labour: $27.00/acre
Land Cost: $100.00/acre
Discbine: $17.08/acre
Baler (per bale X 2.87 bales/acre): $48.85/acre
Rake: $6.92/acre
TOTAL COST: $355.45/ACRE
On-Farm Research
Total PROFIT/Acre
Feed Value (4706.80 Ibs/acre x 0.07/Ib): $329.48
Feed Replacement Cost ($0.07/lb feed) as compared to regrowth grazing: $70.22/acre
Total Output of Field with Feed and Grazing: $399.70/acre
Total Cost: $355.45
TOTAL PROFIT: $44.25/acre
Regrowth Grazing Data
Date In: October 27th
Date Out: November 1st
Total Days: 5
Total AU: 85.3
Acres: 20
Class of Cattle: Pairs, bred heifers, bulls
AU/day/Acre: 21.31
Calculations:
Pairs = 1.55 Au * 41 pair = 63.55 AU , Open Cows = 1.3AU * 3 cows = 3.9AU , Bred Heifers = 0.9Au * 14 heifers = 12.6AU , Bulls = 1.5AU * 3 bulls = 4.5AU
= 85.3 AU
Regrowth Grazing Data
Date In: November 1st
Date Out: November 9th
Total Days: 8
Total AU: 30.3
Acres: 20
Class of Cattle: Pairs, bred heifers, bulls
AU/day/Acre: 12.12
Calculations:
Pairs = 1.55AU * 6 pairs = 9.3AU , Open Cows = 1.3AU * 3 cows = 3.9AU , Bred Heifers = 0.9AU * 14 heifers = 12.6AU, Bulls = 1.5AU * 3 bulls = 4.5 AU
= 30.3 AU
Regrowth Grazing Total value
Total AU/Day/Acre: 33.44
On-Farm Research
Conclusion
In conclusion, Connor English demonstrated how plant diversity throughout the growing season can drive economic profitability. Cool-season plants dominated the canopy early in the season based on environmental conditions, providing strong initial growth. Following harvest, as drier conditions set in, Warm-Season plants proved highly valuable in the regrowth on the English Farm. Despite high land costs, Connor maximized the land’s productivity by utilizing it twice within a single growing season—extracting value from harvest and grazing while feeding root exudates and soil microbes.
This approach not only improved economic returns but also contributed to the long-term sustainability of the operation with the recovery of existing pastures and nutrients placed back on annual fields through livestock.