Cow and calf grazing performance on Coastal and Tifton 85 pastures with creep grazing and steer performance on Coastal, Russell and Tifton 85 bermudagrass hays

Beef cow and calf performance was determined prior to weaning in 2-yr grazing experiment using replicated Coastal (C) or Tifton 85 (T85) bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)pastures without or with Aeschynomene americana L. creep grazing. The 91-d calf average daily gain (ADG) was 19% higher for calves grazing T85, and 9.4% higher for calves allowed to creepgraze. Higher calf gains on T85, and on creep grazed aeschynomene, could significantly increase producer returns. Steer performance and in situ digestion of Coastal, Russell (R), and Tifton 85bermudagrass hays were determined in a 40-d dry lot experiment. Hays were fed with supplement, and steer ADG and hay dry matter intake was higher on C than R or T85 (0.90, 5.4vs 0.58, 4.0 and 0.55, 4.1 kg). Hay samples incubated in ruminally cannulated steers over 72 h,had similar chemical composition and digestibility. Tifton 85 hay or pasture can improve performance of growing beef cattle.