ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Alta. – When Rick Kwantes agreed to try turnips on his ranch near Rocky Mountain House, he didn’t realize what a treat he was offering his cows.
“I turned 80 cows into it and the next day they turned everything into black dirt,” he said during a farm tour of producers from the Grey Wood Forage Association and Clearwater County.
Working with the forage association, Kwantes tried out a variety of grazing crops, including turnips.
Turnip results were mixed. The plants were seeded too thick but still produced reasonable foliage and good-sized tubers.
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Turnips can be used for extended grazing from mid-August to the fall, when cows eat the tops. If the cattle are removed before they eat the roots, the plants will grow again for later grazing into October. The sweet-tasting roots are white with a smudge of purple around the crown.
“Turnips will stand up to -10 C and will keep on growing well into the fall,” said Ken Pattison of Prairie Seeds, which has seed available.
“(Cattle) will actually get used to them and chew those roots right into the ground. It looks like summerfallow in places when they are done.”
Turnips have been grazed for many years in Europe. They are high in energy and have about 80 percent moisture.
Care must be taken because of ill health effects, but if a bale of straw is included in the field, cattle can get enough fibre to keep the rumen working well.
