Hay & Forage Grower Apr/May 2017

hayandforage.com

April/May 2017

Published by W.D. Hoard & Sons Co.

Precision hay production pg 6 Got milk?

You bet he does pg 14 Priceless grazing pg 16 Inventory like a pro pg 30

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April/May 2017 · VOL. 32 · No. 4 MANAGING EDITOR Michael C. Rankin ART DIRECTOR Ryan D. Ebert ONLINE MANAGER Patti J. Hurtgen AUDIENCE MARKETING MGR. John R. Mansavage ADVERTISING SALES Jan C. Ford jford@hoards.com Kim E. Zilverberg kzilverberg@hayandforage.com ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Patti J. Kressin pkressin@hayandforage.com W.D. HOARD & SONS PRESIDENT Brian V. Knox VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING Gary L. Vorpahl

6 Hay production precision

EDITORIAL OFFICE 28 Milwaukee Ave. West, Fort Atkinson, WI, 53538 WEBSITE www.hayandforage.com EMAIL info@hayandforage.com PHONE (920) 563-5551

Researchers at Clemson University are developing systems to measure and map hay yields.

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Got milk? You bet he does Cow genetics and top-notch forages bring world-record milk production.

Measure bale moisture in real time

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There are now several options to measure hay moisture “on the go.”

The final installment of our series on getting an alfalfa variety to market.

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18

8

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DEPARTMENTS 4 First Cut 11 Pasture Ponderings 12 Forage Shop Talk 24 Dairy Feedbunk 30 Forage Analysis 34 Beef Feedbunk

GRASS-FINISHED BEEF NEED HIGH-ENERGY FORAGES

WASHED-OUT ALFALFA

SILO BAGS TO TRASH BAGS

PLAN TO SUPPRESS

PRICELESS GRAZING

20

ASSESS YOUR BERMUDAGRASS PLANTING OPTIONS

35 42 42

Forage Gearhead Forage IQ Hay Market Update

It’s on the tag and in the bag

THESE PASTURE FACTORS MADE MILK

28

HORSES SHOW ANNUAL GRASS PREFERENCES

ON THE COVER Early-June timothy is cut by Standlee Premium Western Forage based in Kimberly, Idaho. The company harvests 31,000 acres of alfalfa and grass crops annually. It exports hay and also packages forage products for the domestic horse, small animal, and livestock markets.

Photo by Mike Rankin

HAY & FORAGE GROWER (ISSN 0891-5946) copyright © 2017 W. D. Hoard & Sons Company. All rights reserved. Published six times annually in January, February, March, April/May, August/September and November by W. D. Hoard & Sons Co., 28 Milwaukee Ave., W., Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin 53538 USA. Tel: 920-563-5551. Fax: 920-563-7298. Email: info@hayandforage.com. Website: www.hayandforage. com. Periodicals Postage paid at Fort Atkinson, Wis., and additional mail offices. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Free and controlled circulation to qualified subscribers. Non-qualified subscribers may subscribe at: USA: 1 year $20 U.S.; Outside USA: Canada & Mexico, 1 year $80 U.S.; All other countries, 1 year $120 U.S. For Subscriber Services contact: Hay & Forage Grower, PO Box 801, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 USA; call: 920-563-5551, email: info@hayandforage.com or visit: www.hayandforage.com. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to HAY & FORAGE GROWER, 28 Milwaukee Ave., W., Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin 53538 USA. Subscribers who have provided a valid email address may receive the Hay & Forage Grower email newsletter eHay Weekly.

April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 3

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Mike Rankin Managing Editor

Regrowth and death

P

ERHAPS no physiological phenomenon is more important to the livestock industry than that of plant regrowth. Where would we be without it?

Regrowth occurs each spring after winter dormancy, following severe summer droughts or untimely freezes, after forage harvesting or grazing, and, fortunately, after wildfires.

We depend on perenniality. Even elite purebred livestock operators have told me that everything goes as the forage enterprise goes. Sure, we could plant annual forage and grain crops as the sole source of nutrition, but I’d hate to see the budget analysis, not to mention the soil loss totals.

This spring, farmers will take inventory of their alfalfa fields, searching for green, growing plants. Some will smile, while others will cry as a result of those walks. I’ve seen 2017 pictures that would elicit both emotions. Grasses, thankfully, are often a surer bet to reawaken each spring.

Once spring regrowth is assured, then it becomes a game of making decisions for further regrowth success — fertilize, don’t cut too often, and don’t graze too short. These are annual battle cries.

Yes, we owe a lot to regrowth. It was largely forage regrowth that provided the hundreds of loads of hay, donated by benevolent farmers from throughout the U.S., to those ranchers who fell prey to wildfires. It is also regrowth that will green those torched prairies long before much of the infrastructure is rebuilt. In time, some of those acres may be better than ever, but first there is a lot of hurt and hard work to endure; our prayers are with you. We wish all of those affected a speedy road to normalcy.

Regrowth is about new life; less appealing is death. The forage industry recently lost a great one in the person of Walt Wedin. He died on April 11 at the age of 91 after a life devoted to the advancement of forage crops as a researcher and teacher at Iowa State University.

Wedin taught and mentored hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students throughout his distinguished career.

They, in turn, taught and mentored hundreds more who went on to serve the industry in various capacities. In short, Wedin was known and had connections everywhere. Here’s my story: I went to Iowa State to major in dairy science with the sole future goal of farming. As such, I took a lot of classes outside of dairy science, including agronomy.

While there, I also worked and lived on the ISU dairy farm, milking cows each morning before going to class. Even though it was at 8 a.m., I signed up for the undergraduate advanced-level forage crops class . . . my first encounter with Walt. Most days I attended smelling like a dairy barn (no time to shower); fortunately, it was in an auditorium where I could find a spot away from the crowd.

There was never a professor whom I enjoyed more than Walt Wedin — his humor, his knowledge, and his stories.

There was no skipping that class.

After working on a large dairy-grain farm in southern Illinois for eight years following college, my interest in forages persisted, and I decided to go back to graduate school. Walt was the person I called, even though I really didn’t know him. It didn’t matter. That call marked the beginning of my career in forage crops . . . thanks, Walt. •

Write Managing Editor Mike Rankin, 28 Milwaukee Ave., P.O. Box 801, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538, call: 920-563-5551 or email: mrankin@hayandforage.com

4 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

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Tongue-mounted ultrasonic sensor used for measuring windrow height on a Clemson hay yield monitor prototype.

Hay production precision

by Kendall Kirk

S

ITE-specific and variable rate technologies are widely known and applied today in row crops, in many instances being driven by and evaluated by yield monitors. These technologies are a subset of a wider subject known as precision agriculture, where crop decisions are data-driven.

Yield monitors were first introduced in corn and small grain production at least two decades ago and have since become standard equipment on many farms.

The yield monitor works by measuring the mass flow rate of a crop as it is harvested (for example, pounds per hour) and dividing this mass flow rate by the harvester’s field capacity (for example, acres per hour) to calculate a crop yield in terms such as pounds per acre. When coupled with a global positioning system, this crop yield data can be presented in the form of a map, showing spatial relationships of the low- and high-yielding areas in a field.

By itself, a crop yield monitor generates no reduction in production costs, additional yield, or enhanced profits, so determination of a generic return on investment is challenging. However, data collected from the yield monitor can drive management decisions that often do result in higher profitability with payoff periods of one to two years.

Forage yield monitors Although some work has been done in evaluation and development of mass 6 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

flow sensing systems for hay production, only one system for yield monitoring hay is commercially available, and yield monitoring systems are not broadly applied in hay. To put this in perspective, among the top 10 U.S. crops by acreage and the top six U.S. crops by value, hay is third in rank and the only one of these crops where a yield monitor is not widely implemented.

Ongoing work at Clemson University involves the development of two independent technologies for hay yield monitoring: a mass flow sensor and a round bale weighing system. Clemson’s hay mass flow sensor (see photo above) works by using ultrasonic sensors to measure the height of the windrow after it is raked and relating this height to a mass of hay per unit windrow length (for example, pounds per foot), which can be coupled with the ground speed of the baler and the rake width to determine hay yield in pounds per acre.

Because this system focuses on measuring of the windrow and not some physical or mechanical operation of the baler, it is adaptable to any hay harvester: round balers, small square balers, and large square balers. Three years of research on this system has generally demonstrated yield prediction errors in the neighborhood of 10 percent or less.

To demonstrate a precision agriculture application for hay production, Clemson researchers coupled their hay

yield monitor with their “Directed Prescriptions” system.

Putting yield data to work The Clemson Directed Prescriptions system is a system of integrating yield data from strip trials with soil variability data to generate a variable rate prescription for a field. What is unique about this prescription map development system is that it is field-specific; the prescription is “directed” by yield data from the field. The system puts the grower’s yield data to work and demonstrates one of many applications of yield data for hay production.

The test was started during the summer of 2016 in a 25-acre irrigated Tifton 85 bermudagrass field and was designed to develop a variable rate nitrogen prescription, or a map of a field with different nitrogen rates being assigned to different regions of the field. The Directed Prescriptions system requires application of a strip test, where different nitrogen rates are applied in fixed rate strips across the length of the field.

KENDALL KIRK The author is a precision agriculture engineer and assistant professor at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C.

Rates in this study varied from 40 to 120 pounds of nitrogen (N) per acre in increments of 20 pounds. The yield data measured from these strips indicated that yield improved with higher nitrogen rates, plateauing at 100 pounds of N per acre, but that profit declined with higher nitrogen rates, with maximum profit occurring at 60 pounds of N per acre.

The Directed Prescriptions system in this case used sand content as the basis for soil spatial variability, although soil electrical conductivity (EC), elevation, and other characteristics could also or alternately be used. The sand content was contoured to divide the field into seven sand content zones, ranging from an average of 85 percent to 97 percent sand content in each zone. The Directed Prescriptions system next involved overlaying the yield data from the strip test on top of the sand content zones (Figure 1a) to determine profit as a function of sand content, independently for each nitrogen rate (Figure 1b).

The results of this analysis indicated which nitrogen rates were most profitable or highest yielding (depending on objectives) within each sand content zone. This test indicated that higher nitrogen rates were most profitable at the lowest sand contents, and lower nitrogen rates were most profitable at the highest sand contents. The variable rate nitrogen prescription directed by this test is shown in Figure 2.

In addition to development of a Directed Prescription for nitrogen, the results of this test also allowed for evaluation of the more widely applied zone management practice for hay production. In zone management, the field is divided into two or more yield man-

agement zones, with the objective in defining zones being to maximize yield differences between zones and minimize yield differences within zones. If these zones are properly defined, then crop inputs and other decisions can be adjusted to be most appropriate to the anticipated yields.

Finding the best approach For the 25-acre field in this test, the field was divided into three management zones on the basis of sand content.

Results from the nitrogen strip test were used to create a “what if� scenario where nitrogen rates were fixed within each of these zones but varied across the zones, specifically with higher nitrogen rates applied in the heavier soils and lower nitrogen rates applied in the lighter soils.

This study, which is the beginning of

Figure 2. Variable rate nitrogen prescription dictated by the Directed Prescriptions system.

N rate, lb/ac 100

80

60

40

a long-term study involving multiple crop inputs, used the hay yield monitor to reveal how profit might be enhanced in hay production. Prior to the onset of this study, this was an intensely managed, irrigated Tifton-85 field with application of a fixed rate of 100 pounds of N per acre between cuttings. Yield results from this test suggested that if a fixed nitrogen rate was applied across the field, application of 60 pounds of N per acre would result in $12 per acre more profit per cutting when compared to the 100 pounds N rate.

If yield management zones were utilized for assignment of nitrogen rate by zone, the data suggest that profit would have been $4.50 per acre greater per cutting than at the 60 pounds of N fixed rate. Finally, the Directed Prescriptions system suggested that profit would have been $14.50 per acre greater per cutting than at the 60 pounds of N per acre fixed rate. Environmental stewardship is also improved; when practiced properly, zone management and directed prescriptions optimize nutrient use in the field, reducing overapplication.

Value of a yield monitoring system is dependent on how its information is used to improve management. Return on investment must be evaluated on a case-by-case and farm-by-farm basis.

With four cuttings per year, the study discussed here demonstrated in excess of $50 per-acre per-year potential benefit from implementation of yield data in prescribing nitrogen rates. If a hay yield monitoring system retailed for $7,500, the data collected here suggests that the system could be paid for with only 150 acres of annual hay production with nitrogen fertilizer savings alone. •

Figure 1. Yield data from nitrogen strip tests overlaid onto sand content map (a) and resulting profit as a function of sand content at each nitrogen rate (b).

500

Returns above N costs, $/ac

480 460 440 420

40 lb-N/ac

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60 lb-N/ac

380

80 lb-N/ac 100 lb-N/ac

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120 lb-N/ac

340 320 300

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April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 7

These steers are finishing on mixed grass/legume pasture. The grass seedheads in the background are under a fenceline and are not desirable in the grazed area.

Kim Cassida

Grass-finished beef need high-energy forages

by Kim Cassida

G

RASS-fed beef is a growing niche market that provides opportunity for marketing cattle with enhanced value. In the Upper Midwest, selling grass-finished beef in local markets can also take advantage of the growing popularity of local foods.

However, there is more to producing high-quality grass-fed beef than simply keeping cattle on pasture without grain. Successfully finishing beef on forage requires a radical shift to the way many beef producers think about forage quality. Say goodbye to the idea of “beef-cow quality” forages and hello to “dairy quality.”

Finish them fast Grass-fed systems require premium quality forages that push animal performance to a high level at every step.

Because a winter “white season” with dormancy of forage growth is unavoidable in the Upper Midwest and stored forage is almost always more expensive to feed than pasture, profitability demands that grass-finished cattle in this region are marketed before their second winter.

In order to finish a steer to acceptable carcass size and quality in two growing seasons on grass, there is no time to waste on periods of backgrounding or poor gain. Cows should produce enough milk to wean a calf weighing about 600 pounds at 205 days. In order to reach finishing weight of 1,200 pounds by 19 months of age, this calf must then gain 8 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

at least 1.25 pounds per day. Research shows that if gain drops below that level, it takes too long to gear back up when optimal nutrition is restored. An inconsistent rate of gain over the lifetime of the steer also reduces meat quality.

In grass-finished systems, it may be easier to successfully finish smaller framed cattle than the feedlot industry norm; they can reach an acceptable level of finish and marbling at a younger age. It is also helpful if the cattle genetics have been specifically selected for good performance on forage-only diets.

In Michigan State University research from northern Michigan, Red Angus-influenced cattle bred for grass-finishing systems routinely finish to a high Select grade in 19 months with a final body weight of 1,200 pounds.

These cattle typically have frame scores from 3 to 4. However, cattle of differing genetics have also been successfully finished with this system in northern Michigan, suggesting that forage management is more important than cattle genetics.

Keep hay quality high Any hay or baleage offered to finishing cattle in the winter or as a pasture supplement needs to be premium quality.

Making high-quality hay is never a guarantee because sometimes Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate. It always requires a sizable time commitment. Producers with full-time, off-farm jobs or limited

time and funds to put into haymaking enterprises may be further ahead if they purchase high-quality hay from someone else rather than to try to make do with their own hay crop of average quality.

High-energy pastures Grass-fed cattle are going to spend most of their time on pastures. In general, cattle that eat more energy gain faster. Premium quality forage is high in energy. Nevertheless, when forage quality on pasture is mentioned, the first thing that usually comes to a grazier’s mind is protein. Sometimes, low-quality warm-season grasses or overmature forages are indeed low in protein. However, in the Upper Midwest, cool-season grasses and legumes dominate pastures, and these forages almost always contain more than enough protein to meet the needs of growing cattle.

The most limiting nutrient on these pastures is usually energy. Forages that are high in energy generally contain less cell wall, or neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and more sugars and other highly KIM CASSIDA The author is an extension forage specialist at Michigan State University.

digestible components (NFC, or nonfiber carbohydrates). It’s easy to do this when grain is included in rations, but of course that’s not an option for grass-fed cattle.

So, how do we maintain high-energy intakes on forage alone?

One approach is to manage pastures for less NDF. The percentage of NDF in forages escalates with plant maturity and that NDF gets less digestible. Both of these changes reduce the TDN (total digestible nutrients) available in the forage and lowers dry matter intake.

Therefore, grazing forages while in the vegetative stage (before flowering) provides more energy.

Another approach is to include legumes in the pasture mixture because digestibility of legumes is usually greater than grasses. In the Michigan State University grass-finishing system, acceptable grass-fed gains require NDF values to be less than 45 percent. This type of forage typically has an RFV (relative feed value) of 150 or more and can support 2 pounds per day of average daily gain. Low fiber and high RFV is maintained by using a rotational stocking system with a stocking rate of one steer per acre.

Need to finish strong The last six to eight weeks of finishing presents the greatest challenge to profitability in a grass-finished system.

Growth rate of the cattle naturally slows as they near adult size, and energy intake is applied to marbling and fat instead of muscle and bone. With spring calving systems, the final phase of pasture finishing is right at the time of year when perennial pasture growth is slowing down in preparation for winter. While forage quality in fall may be exceptionally high due to cool weather that elevates sugar content, the quantity of forage available is often limiting.

Therefore, a second approach to boosting energy intake in pastured cattle is to grow annual forage species that tolerate cool weather and can provide the energy needed for final finishing. Brassicas are often used for extending the end of the grazing season because of their excellent cold tolerance. They also have excellent feed quality, being highly digestible, very low in NDF and high in NFC. Brassica pastures can easily have NFC concentrations comparable to corn silage.

Brassicas are essentially high-moisture concentrate feeds, but they are a concentrate that is totally acceptable for grass finishing. However, the highmoisture content may be a drawback

cattle to brassica-based pastures. No producer would abruptly switch cattle from a grass pasture to a feedlot diet, yet this is essentially what happens when cattle walk through the gate from the perennial pasture to the brassicas.

Transition cattle gradually to such a drastic diet change by slowly offering brassicas for longer increments of time each day and providing a premium quality hay supplement.

Attention to forage quality will pay off in a grass-finishing system. •

that potentially limits forage dry matter intake simply because the gut is full of water. Pure brassicas also may contain inadequate ruminally effective fiber to support rumination and prevent ruminal acidosis. Therefore, dry hay or access to perennial pasture should be provided to cattle on brassica pastures.

An easy solution is to grow brassica mixtures with a grass like oats or other species designed to provide effective fiber. The transition period is an important consideration when moving

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Revolution Plastics’ patented process to shred and wash used agricultural plastic is benefiting both farmers and also the environment.

month and continues to grow.

“We try to make this as easy as possible for the farmers,” Murphy explained. “All that we ask is that only approved plastic goes into the dumpsters and that the dumpsters are placed in an area that is accessible for our collection trucks.” He said that putting items such as tires and fence posts into the dumpsters causes major problems and inefficiencies. “We are not a waste hauler,” Murphy quipped.

Certain plastics

Silo bags to trash bags

by Mike Rankin

T

HERE was a day not too many years ago when virtually all fermented forage in the Midwest was stored in permanent, upright silos.

These days, a significant percentage is stored either under or within agricultural plastic.

The popularity of bunker silos and piles, silo bags, and baleage has lowered the production cost of forage on thousands of farms. It has also contributed to what is now estimated to be 1 billion pounds of used agricultural plastic that is generated annually in the United States. Only about 10 percent of that plastic is thought to be recycled while the rest is either landfilled, stockpiled, or burned, which is illegal in many states.

Given the density of dairy farms in Wisconsin, the Badger State generates more than its fair share of agricultural plastics. Past efforts to collect and recycle the farm plastic have largely failed for a variety of reasons; one of the primary ones has been the dirt and plant material that comes along with the plastic. That barrier now looks to be broken.

A successful kickoff Mark Mayer, an extension agricultural agent in Green County, Wis., was one of the people who had been looking for an answer to the agricultural plastics dilemma when he finally got a line on Revolution Plastics through its Arkansas-based parent company, Delta Plastics. He was put in touch with Price Murphy, director of operations for Revolution Plastics and a 22-year veteran of 10 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

the plastics industry.

In 2014, a pilot program for collecting agricultural plastics was successfully executed in Green and surrounding counties. Farms were provided a dumpster at no charge to store their used plastic. When full, the dumpsters were picked up by Revolution Plastics and taken to a nearby baling facility.

From there, the compressed plastic was trucked to Arkansas for manufacturing into trash bag liners that contain up to 94 percent recycled resin. It’s all made possible by a patented process that allows the company to shred and wash the used plastic.

“The trash can liner business is booming,” Murphy said during a county forage council meeting in Manawa, Wis. “Just recently we also expanded our operations with a Texas-based manufacturing facility that makes construction and other films, and we feel recycled agricultural plastics can fit into that operation’s product lines as well.”

After their experience with the Green County pilot project, Murphy said the company began to expand its Wisconsin collection program. In 2016, the company had 2,400 dumpsters placed on farms in the southern and eastern regions of the state. In 2017, they plan to expand north. “By the end of this year, we should have up to 5,000 dumpsters in Wisconsin and the surrounding area,” Murphy estimated. The company’s fleet of trucks is currently collecting over 1 million pounds of Wisconsin-used agricultural plastic every

The 8-cubic-yard dumpsters are provided at no cost, and there is also no collection charge. Only plastic bunker covers without scrim, silo bag plastic, and bale wrap, which are low-density polyethylene, can be used in the company’s recycling process. Plastic bale twine and net wrap are typically high-density polyethylene or polypropylene products and require a different recycling process not offered by the company.

Murphy said that they will work with any farm within their service area that produces more than 2,000 pounds of the approved plastics annually. A pickup schedule is worked out between the company and the farm, which could range from every two to 16 weeks based on the farm size and amount of plastic utilized. Smaller operations have the opportunity to share a dumpster.

A win-win Delta Plastics has been recycling irrigation polytube in the South since 1996.

The silage plastic subsidiary, Revolution Plastics, has been collecting used silage plastic in California’s Central Valley since 2006; there, the collected material is recycled into landscape boards. Over 500 dairy farms in the Golden State are recycling plastic with the company, which accounts for millions of pounds each month. In addition to Wisconsin, the company is also collecting Midwest agricultural plastics in Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota.

“We haven’t changed the world,” said Murphy, who is based in Madison, “but collecting a million pounds of agricultural plastics per month in Wisconsin has made a noticeable difference in cleaning up the rural landscape. It’s been a real ‘win’ for all rural residents and the environment,” he added. •

To inquire about having used plastics picked up on your farm, visit RevolutionPlastics.com, or call 844-490-7873.

PASTURE PONDERINGS

by Jesse Bussard

The fescue fix

A

S WE discussed in the March 2017 column, renovating a toxic fescue pasture to beneficial endophyte varieties is no small feat.

To ensure success, retired University of Kentucky weed scientist Bill Witt said producers should take a longterm, proactive approach. The length of renovation period chosen will depend on each operation’s specific circumstances, he noted, but should range between one and two years.

Witt suggested the following possible lines of attack to combat toxic fescue and promote establishment of new seedings.

Strategy 1 (one year) • Spring burndown of toxic fescue with glyphosate • Plant a cover or smother crop (for example, sorghum-sudangrass) • Second burndown in late summer • Plant beneficial endophyte fescue in early fall Strategy 2 (up to two years) Year 1: • Spring burndown of toxic fescue with glyphosate • Plant corn for silage or cover/ smother crop • After harvest, till soil and/or spray weeds (if necessary) and then plant a small grain Year 2: • Harvest small grain early for hay or silage in spring • Apply one to two burndown treatments with glyphosate in late summer (dependent on weeds) • Plant beneficial endophyte in early fall Of both long-term choices, Witt pointed

out, the second strategy is the most effective at reducing toxic seed numbers in the seed bank. This length of time gives producers two full seasons for any remaining seeds to germinate. Planting in early fall, specifically September, he explained, is the best time frame to reseed pastures in the upper transition zone as competition from weedy annual grasses is least prevalent.

In his experience, Witt described that ultimately the biggest reason new seedings fail is usually related to postplanting practices, such as weed infestation or grazing plants too soon. Hold off on grazing newly planted pastures until grass seedlings are well established, Witt said.

“If you can grab hold of some plants with three to four tillers and they don’t pull out of the ground, then I call that established,” Witt said.

A similar rule of thumb applies to spraying new seedings for weeds. Most herbicides list a statement on their label emphasizing, “Do not apply to newly seeded areas until grass becomes well established.” Spraying too early can damage young seedlings and potentially set a stand back.

Rather than spray, USDA-Agricultural Research Service scientist Glen Aiken recommended mowing pastures in the first year as a means to control weeds. This action will also help to prevent seedhead formation and reduce the risk of any rogue toxic fescue plants from producing seed.

In Year 2, Aiken said, graziers might consider spraying beneficial endophyte pastures with Chaparral (Dow Agrosciences). The herbicide has been shown to

successfully suppress seedhead formation in tall fescue plants.

“In a pasture setting, toxic fescue seeds have been shown to survive upward of two years,” says Aiken. “So, that initial time period is critical for controlling seedheads.”

Aiken noted that while this goes against most graziers’ desire to let new plants reseed, it’s important to keep toxic fescue at bay for the first couple years after establishment.

Along with these postplanting steps, Witt and Aiken leave producers with the following proactive tips to ward off toxic fescue in pastures as novel endophyte stands mature: Rotate pastures: Because cattle are free from the negative effects of toxic fescue when grazing novel endophyte pastures, they spend more time grazing than their counterparts grazing Kentucky 31.

“Since they’re grazing more, intakes are going to be higher,” Aiken said. “Because of this you have to be more aware of your stocking rates and use rotational grazing methods.”

Aiken suggested leaving about 4 inches of plant residue when rotating pastures.

Keep equipment tidy: One of the most common ways weedy plants become introduced to pastures is via dirty equipment, such as a mower. Keep equipment clean to help prevent hitchhiker seeds from making their way into beneficial endophyte pastures.

Beware of toxic fescue hay: Sometimes producers must buy off-farm hay to feed livestock. To prevent transfer of any toxic fescue seeds that might be harbored in off-farm hay to novel endophyte fescue pastures, feed livestock in a controlled sacrifice lot.

Use holding areas: Cattle are most likely to ingest large amounts of seedheads late in the grazing season. During this time of year, it’s best to hold cattle in a sacrifice area for three or four days before moving animals onto beneficial endophyte pastures. This will allow adequate time for any ingested toxic fescue seeds to pass through the animal’s digestive tract. • JESSE BUSSARD The author is a freelance writer from Bozeman, Mont., and has her own communications business, Cowpunch Creative.

April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 11

FORAGE SHOP TALK

Woody Lane

Q&A

Private nutrition and livestock consultant based in Roseburg, Ore.

HFG: When did you first know that you’d choose a career in forage and livestock?

WL: After my undergraduate studies, I spent a couple of years in the Peace Corps in Malaysia. I wanted to help people and make a better world. When I traveled back home through New Zealand, I was stunned and very impressed. I had never seen grass-based farms like that before. I spent the next few months working on a few of those farms and traveling around the country. The way of life, the care of the land, the sustainability of grass and sunlight, the beauty and rhythm of grazing operations — these all appealed to me during a time when I was trying to make decisions about my future direction.

HFG: During your time in the Peace Corps, did you take anything from that experience that continues to help with your current work?

WL: Yes — that our way of doing things is not the only way of doing things. That before we can give good advice to anyone, we first need to walk in the other person’s shoes.

HFG: Sheep have always been your specialty. What are a couple things that make grazing sheep different than grazing cattle?

WL: Actually, I work with sheep and cattle and other ruminants and also horses and camelids. Yes, there are species differences in preferences for forage species, grazing height, weeds, tendency to browse, and so forth. But with sheep, cattle, and goats, these become minimal when the stocking density moves to high levels, as it should.

One difference, however, is that cattle are always in production, whereas sheep are not. Cows are always pregnant, milking, or both. Ewes have at least 15 weeks of low maintenance requirements every year. If we recognize the differences in nutritional requirements, we can take advantage of these in our grazing strategies and in managing the forages.

HFG: As a long-time proponent and facilitator of local grazing groups, what are a few key components that make these groups successful? Failures?

WL: Simple: a good facilitator. This is a universal principle. Without a good facilitator, a producer group struggles to survive and provide ongoing value for its members. The three groups here in western Oregon that I facilitate have all been very active and beneficial for their members for more than 15 years. Some of the original members of each group are still

active members. A good producer group becomes an important part of each member’s management strategy.

Failures? Well, producer groups that depend on grants and public taxes for support are behind the eight ball from the start. That includes public employees on tax-dollar salaries.

In contrast, private groups where members pay real dues can survive and thrive regardless of the whims of government budgets and granting agencies. We have done that here in Oregon quite successfully and sustainably.

HFG: What is the biggest mistake that you see livestock graziers make, even after years of grazing livestock?

WL: I can’t answer that simply. We have to recognize that every operation is a complex web of factors, that each operation has its own profile of goals, values, constraints, skills, sense of risk, and so forth. Reasons for success and failure are ultimately integrated with all the facets of an operation. The bottom line of any grazing operation is the net profit in the bank at the end of the day.

But one thing does stand out: knowledge. Knowledge is indeed power. Good knowledge helps us make better decisions. Good knowledge reduces the risk of wrecks. My goal as a consultant, teacher, and writer has been to help provide better knowledge to graziers, in conventional and nonconventional ways.

HFG: If you could give a presentation on any specific livestock or nutrition topic, what would it be? Why? WL: The value of producer groups — what they do, how they function, how they help, and how to create and facilitate them.

The traditional top-down model of workshops, courses, and field days does not work nearly as well as people working together on an ongoing basis. In producer groups, farmers and ranchers can share information and get feedback from knowledgeable fellow graziers to evaluate and reinforce new ideas and techniques.

HFG: What is a main limiting factor in the grazing world?

WL: We don’t have good information about how different forage cultivars react to grazing. Our formal variety trials are based on hay management, not grazing. With making hay, we have low residuals and relatively long rest periods.

Grazing treats forages quite differently, with much more variation. Graziers need good comparative information

In each issue of Hay & Forage Grower, we talk to a forage industry newsmaker to get their answers on a variety of topics.

12 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

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on factors such as cultivar characteristics (for example, regrowth rate), response to trampling, effective tillering, and the ability to maintain ground cover over time under specific conditions. Currently, we have no good arrangements in the U.S. for generating this information.

HFG: Do you see any major breakthroughs in the future of grazing?

WL: Yes, CRISPR. This is a revolutionary gene-editing technique. Genetic changes will never be the same.

HFG: What are your thoughts on the relatively recent mob grazing movement?

WL: We need more science about it. Lots of things happen 1/2 page - 4 color in a pasture with stocking densities greater than 200,000 pounds per acre and long rest periods things like plant 3.62” — x 10” response, nutritional value, dry&matter intake, sorting, Hay Forage Grower trampling, soil compaction, soil microecology, and so forth.

Good scientific studies on mob grazing may be difficult to conduct; nonetheless, we need good science here. We should not underestimate or diminish the power of well-designed and properly executed and analyzed scientific trials. Otherwise, the information used by producers is based on collections of testimonials and YouTube videos. Anyone wanting to try this mob grazing strategy assumes a lot of risk.

HFG: You’ve had experiences both in the eastern and western United States. How is grazing in the Pacific Northwest different from the Northeast or Midwest?

WL: I live in the rainy part of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) on the west side of the Cascade Mountains. This mild PNW climate is very different than the rest of the country. We grow grass here, in some ways as well as any place in the world.

With irrigation, we can grow high-quality forage 365 days a year. Our growing season begins in late September or October. The ground does not freeze in the winter. Summers are bone dry. Summer days routinely have humidity less than 20 percent. And the trees here tend to get rather large.

HFG: What excites you the most about the future of the livestock industry?

WL: We capture sunlight in grass and convert it to wholesome animal products. We can do this on nearly any type of landscape, from high-producing farming country to lands that should not be used for anything else, and we can do it in a sustainable and ethical way. Raising livestock on grass is one of the best ways of growing food in the world. •

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Serving hay growers since 1978! www.hoelscherinc.com 620-562-3575 April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 13

Got milk?

You bet he does

Long-time nutritionist Steve Woodford (left) and Tom Kestell regularly discuss forage quality tests and associated ration adjustments for Kestell’s high-producing dairy herd.

by Mike Rankin

O

NCE you meet Tom Kestell, you won’t forget him. Ask him a question and the amiable 68-year-old is quick to share his lifetime of knowledge and opinions about Holstein cows and forage production.

You’ve probably seen pictures of a few of Kestell’s Holstein cows, most recently Ever-Green-View My Gold-ET. It was My Gold-ET that set a new single-lactation milk production record with a final 365-day tally of 77,480 pounds of milk, 1,992 pounds of fat, and 2,055 pounds of protein.

The Kestell farm, located in Waldo, Wis., is home to about 90 Holstein cows that tout a herd average of nearly 45,000 pounds of milk. Nobody on earth gets more milk out of cows. When I visited the farm, the herd was averaging 136 pounds of milk per cow per day.

In many respects, Kestell does it by bucking a lot of trends. There are no large freestall barns, bunker silos, or milking parlors. The cows are housed in an older but well-kept tie stall barn, and most forages are stored in upright silos of various ages.

14 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

Kestell, who farms with his wife, Gin, along with one of his sons, Chris, and his wife, Jennifer, was 15 credits short of a political science degree when he pulled up stakes at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and headed back to the home farm. He basically started from scratch by buying 30 cows and some machinery from his mother. That was 1971, and he’s never looked back.

“You get milk with great genetics and great forages,” Kestell affirmed.

He likes to talk about both. There’s no doubt the cow genetics are top-notch — his animals are sought and purchased by people from around the world. It was the forage program that I was interested in investigating; after all, he had to be doing something right or at least different to keep his cows milking at such an extraordinary level.

Focus on quality Depending on forage quality, about 55 to 60 percent of the milking cow ration is comprised of a near even split (dry matter basis) of alfalfa and corn silage.

“We haven’t moved to an extreme corn

silage ration like many dairies,” Kestell said. “I still like alfalfa; besides, how long can you sustain continuous corn silage on a field?” he questioned.

The farm has about 250 acres of alfalfa. “We strive to get 8 tons of dry matter yield on four to five cuttings,” said Kestell, who is a past winner of the World Forage Analysis Superbowl that is held in conjunction with World Dairy Expo at Madison, Wis., each year. “Our very best fields, those free of weeds, harvested on time, and without being rained on, are designated for the milking cows and stored separately in two 20- by 80-feet upright silos,” he explained. “I hate getting alfalfa rained on, and rarely do we let it happen.”

For the milking herd, alfalfa is cut about every 25 days. Kestell explained that he uses the “fingertip test” to monitor when his fields are ready to cut. “I walk out in the field, put my arm to my side, and when the alfalfa touches the tip of my finger, it’s about 26 inches tall. That’s when we like to cut,” Kestell said. “This works for anyone, regardless of how tall you are,” he

added. Kestell’s first cutting from last year was coming out of the silo with a 190 relative forage quality (RFQ). His harvest target moisture is 50 percent.

Alfalfa is generally seeded in late summer, though sometimes spring seedings are made with an oat-pea or barley-pea companion crop. The companion crop is then harvested for heifer feed. Kestell plants 18 pounds of seed per acre. Fields are prepared with a Great Plains Turbo-Till vertical tillage implement, which Kestell likes because it leaves a firmer seedbed. He then plants with a Brillion seeder that further firms the soil for maximum seed-to-soil contact.

Dairyland Seed’s Hybriforce 3400 alfalfa is currently Kestell’s variety of choice. “It does really well for us, and I haven’t been able to find a variety that matches its performance on our farm,” he said.

Kestell is vigilant in keeping potato leafhoppers at bay. “We don’t spray every field every year, but if they become a problem, we spray,” said the past Wisconsin Forage Pacesetter Award winner. “You really have to watch the new seedings, that’s where leafhoppers can do the most damage,” Kestell added. Soil fertility is also a priority at Ever-Green-View Farms. Based on soil tests, dry and liquid fertilizers, along with manure, are used to keep alfalfa production at a high level. He often applies liquid manure the year before seeding.

Likes BMR corn Corn silage also plays an important role for Kestell’s cows to reach their genetic milk potential. The 80 acres of

corn silage average about 30 wet tons per acre. About two-thirds of the acres are planted to brown midrib (BMR) hybrids, which enhance fiber digestibility.

Unlike the alfalfa, which is harvested by the farm, corn silage is custom chopped each fall. The custom operator uses a shredlage processor. “You don’t find any kernels,” Kestell noted.

In 2016, Kestell raised the cutting height of his corn silage to 30 inches.

“This boosted the starch level from 28 to 41 percent and allowed us to drop our high-moisture corn from 20 to 11 pounds per cow per day,” he related.

Always looking for ways to improve, and per the recommendation of his long-time dairy nutritionist, Steve Woodford, Kestell recently had an additional upright silo constructed so that he could carryover more corn silage and let it fully ferment before feeding. As such, fresh corn silage never has to be fed, and the feed reaches its full nutrient potential before being placed in front of the high-producing cows.

“Tom has good, consistent forage,” Woodford said. “We don’t have to vary the dairy ration a lot, which is important when cows are consuming 64 pounds of dry matter each day like these cows are.”

Designer forages High milk production, or any type of production for that matter, isn’t a matter of luck. In addition to the 90 lactating cows, Kestell also cares for about 300 head of young stock, dry cows, and bulls. Feeding forages to these groups is not just an afterthought for the dairyman — they don’t just get what-

ever is left over. No, Kestell has a plan, and that’s where some unique forage blending and baleage comes into play.

About 1,200 bales are in-line wrapped as baleage each year.

For dry cows and older heifers, Kestell wraps about 400 bales of cornstalks following high-moisture corn harvest in the fall. These bales are saved until spring; then after alfalfa is cut and placed into windrows, Kestell uses a bale shredder to deposit the cornstalks along and on top of each windrow. The combined 17 percent protein material is then chopped and stored in a designated silo to be fed to dry cows and pregnant heifers.

In addition to the alfalfa-cornstalk mix, Kestell also has a dedicated field of various cool-season grasses that is harvested as baleage and also fed to dry cows and older heifers. Often, one cutting of the grass is also made into dry small square bales. These, too, are utilized for dry cows and heifers as needed.

Kestell’s higher quality alfalfa baleage, which is harvested between 45 to 60 percent moisture, is fed in the lactating cow ration at a rate of about 4 pounds per day. He also utilizes this feed as a forage source for the younger, growing heifers.

Milk production like that of Kestell’s doesn’t happen by accident, and the already sage dairyman never stops trying to improve and learn. Superior cow genetics have set a high mark for milk production potential; matching forage needs throughout the animal’s lifetime have brought that potential to a reality. “The whole system matters,” Kestell concluded. •

Kestell strives to cut alfalfa at a 26-inch height for the milking herd. For heifers and dry cows, he utilizes a mixture of corn stalks and alfalfa, while also feeding grass baleage.

April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 15

Rotational grazing becomes more profitable and enjoyable once the proper fence components are in place.

Priceless grazing

by Dan Glenn

R

OTATIONAL grazing, or “rational grazing” as coined by French scientist Andre Voisin, has been proven to enhance production for graziers in just about every environment you can imagine. Providing rest and recovery for a properly grazed sward keeps plants in the favorable part of their growth curve for a longer period, contributes to more dry matter production, and often better animal nutrition.

Electric fencing, due to its low cost of installation per foot, has made rational grazing possible on many farms that could not have justified the expense otherwise. A single, very hot electric wire is often enough to keep properly trained cattle in place.

Not too long ago, after seeing several presentations on rational grazing, a lightbulb went off for me and I ran home, pulled up the maps of my farm, and came up with a plan. Unfortunately, the lightbulb shone with just enough brightness to hide the shadows.

I was so gung ho to subdivide my fields and move cattle I neglected to do 16 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

the more laborious work of a permanent perimeter and interior electric fence installation. These are the components designed to work in conjunction with the temporary polywire subdivisions. I also didn’t give adequate thought to my water and shade needs.

Learned from mistakes I attempted to use long runs of polywire that would sometimes take an hour to set up and then run off a rechargeable battery or portable solar system. We were constantly moving fence and making paddock subdivisions that looked like the borders of a shoreline; not exactly the neat rectangles I had imagined.

Animals would often have to backtrack over previously grazed portions of the field to access water.

Rational grazing, just as it sounds, should be more thoughtful, profitable, and enjoyable than what we initially experienced. It seems that the more work that is involved, the more compromises one tends to make in grazing decisions, and the less efficient grazing

becomes. We learned this firsthand.

After a season of leaning polywire corners and hundreds of hours on the UTV (utility task vehicle), I made the decision to build the infrastructure necessary to make my rotations more efficient and effective. Often, this only required a single strand of galvanized wire that was 32 inches off the ground, with posts spaced every 60 feet and emanating from a central, dedicated electric charging system. In places next to cropland, I went the extra step with three or four wires to ensure calves wouldn’t be eating my peanut or corn crops, or worse, those of my neighbors.

A better water plan While electric fencing is typically affordable, the major expense of designing a versatile infrastructure is DAN GLENN The author is a beef producer from Fitzgerald, Ga.

often providing fresh water. My farm had traditionally watered cows from a series of ponds, creeks, and seasonal water holes. I have been slowly installing water tanks throughout the farm, and in some places, limiting access to some of these suspect water sources as a part of my nutrition and herd health plan. Unfortunately, water infrastructure can seem prohibitively expensive.

However, the risks associated with poor water can be as well.

A cow herd that is exposed to leptospirosis by drinking out of a stale creek can cost thousands of dollars due to infertility, subfertility, or abortion. When my farm transitioned from commercial production to a mix of commercial and registered breeding stock, I could not afford to neglect clean water. On most of our farms, we have made the investment in permanent, concrete water troughs that are placed thoughtfully to offer some flexibility and balance installation costs with our grazing goals.

This year I will be developing a farm with portable water troughs that work off a quick connect water line. That allows for a more flexible grazing plan with less investment but will require more labor.

These systems require good planning to ensure livestock have enough water flow to keep up with their intake requirements and don’t destroy the trough or float after they drain the tank.

stock density contributes to a more even distribution of manure and urine, which is in essence, fertilizer. Stockers could be used in the front half of a leader-follower system, where they are allowed just the most nutritious tops of the sward, with dry cows coming behind to clean up the paddock to the desired residual.

Most of the economic budgets I’ve seen online do not account for these considerations, or the difficult calcu-

lation of how rational grazing can be used to greatly improve soil health.

If taking a page from the credit card marketing world, Andre Voisin might describe rational grazing as “priceless.”

I certainly do. •

To learn more about Glenn’s operation, visit deepgrassgraziers.com.

Hidden benefits One should always look carefully at the added expenses of installing the infrastructure necessary to practice rational grazing. However, be cautious of giving up on the investment based on budgets that don’t factor advantages that may be garnered from moving your cattle frequently.

Cattle that leave manure behind can break the parasite cycle if pastures are allowed to rest for longer periods. Also, cattle that are handled daily, especially at a young age, become more docile.

The financial value of docility has been undervalued for quite some time, but its effects on fertility are becoming more clear as science catches up with what many ranches have understood and valued for quite some time.

When stocking density can be adjusted, a rancher can use his cow herd as a tool. Cows can be put under a high stock density and trained to eat weeds that would have flourished on a continuously stocked farm. Higher April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 17

Measure bale moisture in real time

by Glenn Shewmaker

K

NOWING real-time forage moisture is critical for choosing if and how much preservative to use, how much steam to add to very dry hay, and in predicting effects on forage quality. Real-time and continuous moisture sampling offer the benefits of robust sampling with many points and large volumes of hay or forage.

Most equipment manufacturers measure moisture content in hay during baling using electrical conductivity methods.

Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) and microwave transmission geometry are alternative methods. Let’s take a look at how real-time forage moisture is determined and for what purpose in large rectangular balers.

Electrical conductivity Star-shaped wheels are mounted on a hay baler, such that points of the

star-shaped wheels protrude into hay being baled and progressing through the baler. In the case of rectangular block bales, the points preferably penetrate between parallel stems of the hay compressed into the bale form and are driven to rotate by the moving hay. Two 7-inch star wheels are located directly behind the knotters and have a nonconductive arrangement electrically isolating the two star-shaped wheels from each other and from the metal framing of the baler.

Electrical conductivity is measured from one wheel across the top of the bale to the other wheel. In this position, the wheels are in contact with 10 percent of the material in the bale. As the feeding mechanism of the baler mixes the windrow fed into the bale chamber, these wheels see a good sample of the composite moisture being baled, including

Comparison of attributes for real-time moisture detection Conductivity

Microwave

NIRS

Cost: Complexity: Measures:

$3,700 Simple Electrical current

$7,500 to $8,800 Moderate Water molecules

Sensitive to: Limits to amount sampled:

Electrical properties Cross section sample of 10% of the hay in a bale 5 to 70% 2% on a per flake basis. 1% on a total bale basis

Dielectric properties Cross section sample of 25% of the hay in the bale 0 to 25% 0.5 to 2%

$8,000 to $30,000 High Water molecules in association with organic compounds Particle size and environment Small surface area

Moisture range: Standard error reported by the manufacturer:

18 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

5 to 60% 2 to 5%

the top and bottom, the center, and both sides of the windrow. Moisture is estimated by calibrations from conductivity between the wheels, while the rate of baling is monitored by their revolutions.

The reading can control other processes such as preservative application or provide alternative signals such as sound or a visual indication (for example, a flashing light). Readings are accurate between 7 to 70 percent moisture. Pure water is an insulator and so relies on ions in the water to conduct electricity. These ions predominately come from the mineral salts in the hay or forage, which can vary.

NIRS analysis Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy is the study of the absorption of near infrared light (energy) by molecules. In practice, the sensor shines an infrared light as the hay passes through the baling chamber and measures the light being reflected back by the sample.

The moisture in the sample will absorb some of the light and, therefore, there will be less light reflected back to the GLENN SHEWMAKER The author is an extension forage specialist for the University of Idaho.

sensor. Measuring the amount of light absorbed allows the calculation of the amount of moisture in the sample.

The NIRS methods are based on calibrations derived from laboratory chemistry, but NIRS analysis can estimate moisture and many nutritive values with only one scan. NIRS is rapid but only predicts moisture instantaneously from a small diameter of surface material. It is highly influenced by particle size and ambient environmental effects, so its adaptation for baler application is not common. Maintaining a clean and scratch-proof lens is a major issue for the real-time NIRS. Real-time NIR is most useful when using samples neither dried nor ground and has potential to measure moisture with reasonable accuracy; it also can detect changes in other nutrients such as protein and fiber. Since the moisture peak is dominant in the NIR spectra, it is a fairly easy value to measure.

“Air is used as the reference Dielectric of 1. First the air reading is subtracted from the microwave signal (tared) so the remaining microwave reading is only the change in microwave signal caused by the hay bale alone. The microwave values for only the bale are then fed into a mathematical algorithm that converts the bale microwave readings to a moisture value. This process is typically carried out 50 times a second for five seconds, then the average of all these values is stored ready for display to the baler operator.

“The microwave to moisture algorithm comes from years of taking many microwave readings in hay bales, then taking many core samples

ing moisture and the baler’s pickup. This may be especially useful if the moisture readings are being used to control preservative application in highly variable field conditions. However, I am not aware of studies that evaluate accuracy of the microwave in this location with likely more variable parameters.

Peder Lomborg, CEO of DSE, says, “We have been measuring the moisture of bales at many biomass processing plants in Europe since 1996. It has been a real challenge to make microwave sensing work in the precompression chamber, and the collaboration between the engineers of Harvest Tec and of DSE Test Solutions has been conducted in a dedicated and serious manner.

Microwave sensors will now be available to mount in the precompression chamber on the market for the first time in 2017.”

Some companies are now offering microwave systems to measure bale moisture in real time.

Microwave measurement Richard Kelly, Vomax Instrumentation in Australia, is the developer of this agricultural-based technology. Although there are several microwave transmitter products Star wheels form the basis for from industry, I only know of two measuring bale moisture with sources of instruments with calelectrical conductivity. ibrations for hay: Vomax Instrumentation (Gazeeka) and DSE from Denmark sold by Harvest Tec in the USA. How are microwaves used to meafrom the same bales and having them sure moisture content? Kelly explains: analyzed for moisture content in the “Measuring moisture on a hay baler laboratory. A regression analysis is using microwaves requires an antenna then done comparing the microwave to emit the microwaves, which is typreadings with the laboratory results to ically in the 2.4 Gigahertz Industrial, determine the calibration algorithm.

Scientific, Medical (ISM) unlicensed In a nutshell, we are measuring the band. The Dielectric Constant is the amount of water molecules that are in ability of a material to store energy in the hay compared to an air reading of a short space of time. Vomax conducted essentially 0 percent moisture. experiments on very dry hay bales, “Very low energy/high frequency including the air spaces in the large electromagnetic waves are transmitted square bales, and have determined a between two antennae positioned in a typical Dielectric of approximately 2. noncontact configuration for ease of oper“In contrast, water has a Dielectric ation. The measuring ‘area’ is approxof 80. The reason that the Dielectric of imately a square foot right through water (80) is so high is that the water the bale at power levels less than the molecules are bipolar and are thus standards set for mobile phones.” much more easily ‘excited’ by electromagnetic waves than the vast majority Moisture device location of commonly found materials that are not bipolar (such as the nonwater molJeff Roberts of Harvest Tec Inc. has ecules in hay). The higher the Dielecbeen working with DSE Test Solutions tric, the more the microwave energy of Denmark to locate microwave sensors is absorbed and the slower the microin the precompression area of the baler waves move through the material. to reduce the lag time between the read-

Overview of methods

Select a method that meets the goals of your operation. There are advantages and disadvantages to each method. The table summarizes the attributes for each system.

Producers should evaluate what they want from the monitoring of moisture at baling. Even with uniform hay there is at least 2 percent variation in moisture in any windrow of hay put into the bale. If the producer simply wants to watch and make sure there is very little hay being put up over 16 percent to avoid heat damage in his stacks, a sensing system that watches all the hay and keeps that information in front of the producer while operating is going to do the job.

If an operation relies on preservative a lot of the time and has significant field variations in terrain, possibly the microwave sensors located in the precompression chamber would pay for their additional cost. If the hay is being steamed, the microwave sensors located at the back of the bale chute are the only sensors that give accurate readings so that enough, but not too much steam is added.

The next leap in on-line moisture measurement in hay bales is to measure the bound (stem) moisture and free (dew) moisture independently.

Disclaimer: The products mentioned are not a complete list but are some of the most commonly used moisture testers. Mention of a trade name or proprietary product is not an endorsement of that product over similar units from other manufacturers. •

April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 19

Whether establishing bermudagrass by seed or sprigging, a good seedbed is essential for a successful outcome.

Assess your bermudagrass planting options

by Eddie Funderburg

B

ERMUDAGRASS varieties fall into two main groups: selections of common bermudagrass that can be planted from seed and hybrid bermudagrass that must be propagated by vegetative means. The most common method of vegetative propagation in the Southern Great Plains is planting roots, commonly referred to as “sprigging.� A method used in higher rainfall environments is establishing bermudagrass from top-growth cut in midsummer.

Excessive weed competition during the establishment year is probably responsible for many stand failures. If the stand is sprigged, Diuron can be used as a pre-emergent herbicide (check the label to make sure it is legal in your state). Diuron controls many annual grasses and broadleaf weeds. It should be applied after the bermudagrass is sprigged but before it emerges. This is the only way to control most annual grass weeds when establishing bermudagrass from sprigs. Diuron cannot be used when bermudagrass is seeded. It will kill grass that emerges from seed. Always read and follow label directions when using pesticides.

Broadleaf weed control during the establishment year can be achieved with many commonly used pasture herbicides but only after the stand has

20 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

developed a good root system. Read individual herbicide labels to see when they can be used. Most recommend not applying the herbicide until a certain amount of time has elapsed from planting or until the plants reach a specific growth stage.

If herbicides cannot be used and weed competition is severe, there are two possible options. You can mow the area to remove the top growth of weeds, which may allow the bermudagrass to release and grow. However, there is a possible disadvantage to mowing. If the weeds are very large and thick, the mown residue can form a mulch on the ground that may suppress bermudagrass growth as much as the standing weeds did.

Flash grazing can be used for weed control if the weeds are palatable to cattle. Watch carefully to make sure cattle are not uprooting or trampling the young bermudagrass plants.

Seed establishment A well-prepared seedbed is critical to successfully establish bermudagrass from seed. A good seedbed should be uniformly firm; smooth; weed-free; and without clods, holes, and ridges. A firm seedbed is essential with seeded bermudagrass varieties because the seeds are very small and seeding depth is critical. If the seedbed is too fluffy, it is

easy to plant seed too deep. A good way to determine if the soil is too fluffy for planting is to walk on the field that has been prepared for planting. If footprints are more than 1/4-inch deep, the soil is too fluffy.

A cultipacker or drag harrow is very helpful in establishing bermudagrass from seed. An excellent way to plant seeded bermudagrass varieties is to (1) disk and harrow the field until the seedbed is prepared, (2) cultipack the field to firm the seedbed, (3) broadcast the seed, and (4) cultipack again to press seed into the ground. Some seeders, such as a Brillion, combine steps two through four, and save two trips across the field. A drag harrow can be used in place of the cultipacker, but it generally does not work as well at firming the soil.

Bermudagrass seed may be coated or uncoated. The coatings usually contain a combination of fertilizers and EDDIE FUNDERBURG The author is a Noble Foundation senior soils and crops consultant. efunderburg@noble.org

fungicides. Unfortunately, the coatings usually double the weight of the seed, so the seeding rate must be doubled when using coated seeds to get the same amount of pure live seed as with uncoated seed.

Bermudagrass seed may also be sold as hulled or unhulled. Hulled seeds have part of the seed coat removed so that germination rate is enhanced. Most bermudagrass seeds are hulled. Unhulled seeds have the seed coats attached; some of the seeds will not germinate quickly but will lie dormant until conditions are more favorable. In general, if you have a good seedbed prepared and are planting at the correct time, hulled seed is preferred. If you are planting into less than ideal conditions, unhulled seed or a combination of hulled and unhulled seed is suggested.

The seeding rate for hulled bermudagrass is 5 to 10 pounds of pure live seed (PLS) per acre and 15 to 20 pounds of PLS per acre for unhulled seed.

Remember that the seeding rate must be increased proportionally if the seed is coated due to the weight of the coating.

Seeds usually germinate when tempera-

tures are above 68°F and begin to grow within three weeks if temperature and soil moisture are sufficient. Growth can be very rapid if conditions are optimal, and one plant has been observed to cover an area of 3 square yards within 150 days after germination.

Sprigging A well-prepared seedbed is usually helpful for sprigging bermudagrass, but a no-till sprigger can be used. Good contact between the sprigs and soil is essential to keep the sprigs from drying out and dying.

Some varieties of bermudagrass should be sprigged after they break dormancy in the spring (for example, Tifton 85). Many varieties can be sprigged either in the dormant season or after they break dormancy. Planting in the dormant season is usually preferred with these varieties due to better sprig survival, and they are more likely to receive rainfall during early establishment if planted during the dormant season.

Plant sprigs as soon as possible after digging, keeping them moist and cool before planting. If more than 24 hours elapses between digging and planting,

soak sprigs in water for 12 to 15 hours before planting. The usual sprigging rate is 20 to 40 bushels per acre. Using the higher sprigging rate is more expensive but reduces the amount of time it takes for the stand to cover the soil.

Top-growth establishment Bermudagrass can be established from top growth if rainfall is abundant and a sufficient growing season remains after planting. This involves cutting the grass as if for hay, baling or otherwise transporting the grass while it is green to a prepared seedbed and broadcasting it onto the field. After the grass is applied to the field, lightly disk it into the soil.

For best results, run a cultipacker over it after disking to firm the soil. New plants will emerge from nodes on the grass that was applied to the field. Since this method is usually done in mid- to late summer, it requires either an irrigated environment or an environment where rainfall comes frequently.

One hundred pounds of green, uncured clippings will plant about 2,500 square feet. This means it will require about 1,750 pounds of green clippings to plant 1 acre. •

Choosing an establishment method Seeding Advantages • It is usually cheaper to establish seeded bermudagrass than sprigged bermudagrass.

• If high yield is not a large factor (for example, erosion control or turf establishment are more important), seeding is a good method.

• Stand establishment may be faster.

Disadvantages • Seeded varieties usually have lower yields than hybrid varieties.

• Seedling bermudagrass is more negatively affected by dry conditions soon after emergence because of a lesser developed root system.

• Control of grassy weeds in the establishment year is difficult since Diuron cannot be used.

Sprigging Advantages • Hybrid varieties generally have higher yields than seeded varieties. If high yield is a major reason for planting bermudagrass, a sprigged variety is probably the answer to your goal.

• Sprigged bermudagrass can be treated with Diuron, if it’s labeled in your area. This product is very good at

controlling many annual grasses that compete strongly with bermudagrass in the establishment year. If your field has heavy infestations of crabgrass, annual ryegrass, or sandbur, sprigging may be the best option since there is a pre-emergent herbicide option. There are no herbicides available to control grassy weeds in seeded bermudagrass during the establishment stage.

• Sprigged varieties usually have a more upright growth habit, which is an advantage if the grass is to be harvested for hay.

Disadvantages • It is usually more expensive to establish a stand from sprigs.

• Specialized equipment is needed.

• Sometimes, coverage is slower since there are initially fewer plants per square foot.

Top-growth planting Advantages • This technique does not require digging roots and can be done with conventional hay equipment.

• Stand establishment can be very rapid if sufficient soil moisture is available.

Disadvantages • It may require manually broadcasting grass onto the field.

• Good soil moisture in midsummer is required.

April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 21

Improved legume species and varieties have the most impact on a pasture’s ability to support high milk production.

These pasture factors made milk

by Chelsea Zegler

A

RE you getting the most out of your pasture in terms of high-quality forage production and milk yield? If not, why?

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison set out to answer these questions for pastures in the Upper Midwest, where dairy farms that utilize pastures are widespread with over 25 percent of the nation’s organic dairies residing in this region.

Pasture use is a requirement for those that are certified organic; in fact, at least 30 percent of the cow’s dry matter intake must come from pasture during the growing season.

While the use of intensive rotational grazing has improved livestock production and pasture utilization, limited research has been done on active dairy farms to quantify and understand interrelated factors involving the plant species present, soil fertility, and pasture management. With the continued higher demand for pasture-based dairy products, systems that improve milk production will be needed.

Researchers in Wisconsin looked at how milk production from pastures can be improved by working directly with 20 producers in on-farm trials. While it was of interest what factors were important for maximizing milk production, the main goal was to use this analysis to help producers prioritize

22 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

activities that would result in getting the most milk from their pastures.

Researchers calculated potential production through the use of a predictive model that estimates milk yield.

The model takes into account forage quantity and quality, while eliminating inconsistencies between farms like animal genetics and supplemental feed quality or amount. The results are reported in pounds of 3.5 percent fat corrected milk per acre, showing the economic impact of different practices.

Many factors evaluated Twenty organic dairies across Wisconsin and Iowa were visited during 2013 and 2014; two paddocks were studied on each farm, totaling 40 paddocks. Paddocks were visited in June and September within three days of the next grazing event. This allowed researchers to get the most accurate representation of the quality, quantity, and species composition of what the animals would be eating.

As species differed dramatically from farm to farm, they were grouped into planted (improved) and not planted (unimproved) grasses, legumes, and weeds. Common improved species found were orchardgrass, tall fescue, and red clover; common unimproved species were Kentucky bluegrass, quackgrass, and Dutch white clover.

Paddocks were soil sampled in October and analyzed for both macronutrients and micronutrients. A soil respiration indicator kit was also used to estimate soil microbial activity. Pasture slope, soil yield potential, and drainage class, gathered from NRCS’s web soil survey, were also documented.

Farm practices were collected by asking producers about their typical pasture practices over the past five years.

This allowed for integration of what has happened over time; past practices often impact current pasture composition and performance. Documented practices were pasture inputs and renovation strategies; pasture management (for example, rest periods and forage turn-in height); and livestock management decisions such as stocking rate and how much time animals spent in each paddock.

Researchers used a statistical method to find which of 32 plant, soil, and management factors were explaining CHELSEA ZEGLER The author is an associate research specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Agronomy.

differences in the calculated potential milk production. Common factors were found that explained a large portion of the differences in potential milk production per acre. Below we highlight the important ones with respect to plant species present, grazing practices, and soil characteristics.

Legumes make milk More than 40 percent improved legume cover and less than 70 percent cover from unimproved grass were both associated with higher milk production in June and September. Improved legume cover exceeding 40 percent in June boosted milk production by 97 percent, an additional 1,000 pounds of milk per acre for one June grazing event. The legume’s ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen allows for higher overall pasture yield, which proved especially important. They also provide vital protein content and a more even annual forage distribution compared to grass-only pastures.

While unimproved legumes also enhanced milk production, improved varieties were much more important.

This is likely due to active breeding of varieties to fix more atmospheric nitrogen and have better yield and persistence compared to unimproved legumes like the native Dutch white clover.

Having less than 70 percent unimproved grass cover in June and September boosted milk production by more than 75 percent. Common unimproved grasses found on farms included Kentucky bluegrass and quackgrass.

These species produce less yield and have lower forage quality compared to improved varieties. High-fiber levels associated with low forage quality can slow rumen passage, lowering intake and, therefore, production.

Unimproved grasses also have the potential to reduce the establishment and development of legumes, which was identified as the most important factor in milk production. Fortunately, our results suggest that unimproved grasses do not have to be completely eradicated but must be managed such that they don’t dominate a sward.

Surprisingly, weed cover did not influence potential milk production in June or September. This is most likely due to the high forage quality of the most common weeds found: dandelion, broadleaf plantain, and foxtails. Our results suggest that management of weeds in pastures is species dependent

Keeping an adequate residual height contributes to plant persistence, faster spring regrowth, and ultimately improved milk production.

and that some weed species may not be impacting milk production.

Don’t overgraze Residual sward height, the amount of forage left after a grazing event, was a grazing management factor that was associated with more milk production in both June and September. In June, maintaining a residual sward height of at least 3.25 inches throughout the year almost doubled potential milk production, from 780 pounds per acre to 1,420 pounds per acre. Adequate residual height is necessary for improved grass and legume species persistence and can allow for more annual grazing events.

In September, maintaining a residual sward height of 3.75 inches at the end of the grazing season was important, raising milk production by over 400 pounds per acre. Residual sward height at the end of the season is particularly important for winter survival and spring regrowth of improved grasses and legumes. Supplemental feeding or expanding the number of paddocks on your farm to allow for longer rest periods can help maintain higher residual heights.

Soil factors varied Pasture slope was the only soil factor found as important for potential milk production in June and September; unfortunately, it’s a factor that cannot easily be changed. Although no

soil fertility factors were important in explaining potential milk production, factors such as soil pH are essential for the survival of legumes and, therefore, demand consideration. In fact, very few pasture soils were low in macronutrients, while low levels of micronutrients were more common.

Although soil fertility was not identified as an important variable, it may be a significant factor on individual pastures. As this research was designed to assess regional issues, this may have impacted our ability to detect differences. Based on our findings, it is clear that pasture management and species composition are higher priorities for improvement at a regional scale, but we suggest growers assess pasture soil fertility and correct deficiencies as needed.

In summary, sufficient pasture legume composition (over 40 percent), limited dominance of unimproved grasses (under 70 percent), and leaving adequate residual forage after a grazing event (over 3 inches) seemed to be extremely important for optimizing milk production. While there may be reasons for suboptimal livestock performance in individual pastures, these three factors were shown to be regionally important and commonly not optimized. Although this research was done on certified organic pastures, we believe these results are also applicable for any pasture-based system. • April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 23

DAIRY FEEDBUNK

by Luiz Ferraretto

Adjust rations for sorghum silage

A

300,000 acres of sorghum were harvested for silage in the United States in 2016 (see Table 1).

Although sorghum silage can be successfully used in dairy cattle diets, some challenges must be considered prior to its incorporation. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to review factors that affect the efficacy of implementing sorghum silage as an alternative crop on dairy farms.

LTHOUGH corn silage is the predominant forage fed to dairy cows in the United States, sorghum has become an important silage crop as well. This is related to some of its unique characteristics. Compared to corn, sorghum uses water more efficiently, has lower fertilizer requirements, may potentially reduce soil erosion and pesticide usage, and has reduced seed and irrigation costs.

These characteristics are particularly desired in scenarios that introduce considerable risks for corn silage production, including delayed planting due to wet soils, elevated summer temperatures, drought, or areas where irrigation is unavailable. Furthermore, it can be used as a second crop after corn silage harvesting.

Alternatively, if forage sorghum is planted during the spring and allowed to develop new tillers, it can be harvested twice without replanting. Due to all these factors, approximately

There are differences Table 1 has total area harvested and yield in the United States from 2007 to 2016. Acreage of corn is 20-fold greater than sorghum for silage production.

Furthermore, the national average for sorghum yield per acre was 5.5 fresh tons per acre, on average, lower for sorghum than corn in the last 10 years.

Last summer, during the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) national meetings, researchers from Virginia Tech and University of Florida

Table 1. U.S. acreage and productivity of corn and sorghum silage1 Year

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Area harvested (1,000 acres) Corn Sorghum

6,060 5,965 5,605 5,567 5,935 7,379 6,281 6,371 6,221 6,186

392 408 254 273 224 363 380 315 306 298

Yield (fresh tons/acre) Corn Sorghum

17.5 18.7 19.3 19.3 18.4 15.4 18.8 20.1 20.4 20.3

13.4 13.8 14.5 12.5 10.3 11.4 14.3 13.1 14.6 14.0

Adapted from Crop Production Summaries, USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

1

Table 2. Yield and nutritive value of corn and sorghums1 Item

DM Yield, ton/acre NDF, % of DM NDFD2, % of NDF Starch, % of DM

Corn

Forage sorghum

Sorghum-sudangrass

Spring

Summer

Spring

Summer

Spring

8.9 41.8 60.0 34.3

6.1 43.9 52.2 31.3

7.8 55.9 52.9 17.3

5.4 56.3 48.5 14.1

8.3 58.9 47.9 16.5

Grown in Florida, 2008 to 2014 Ruminal in vitro NDF digestibility at 30 h.

1 2

24 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

Summer

5.4 58.8 45.4 10.8

presented a collaborative retrospective study that confirmed these numbers (see Table 2). This study summarized data from the corn, forage sorghum, and sorghum-sudangrass performance trials at the University of Florida between 2008 and 2014. Regardless of crops being planted during the spring or summer seasons, dry matter (DM) yield was lower for both types of sorghums compared to corn silage. This is important because it affects forage inventory.

Additional information provided by that study was the differences in nutrient composition and digestibility.

Typically, sorghum plants have greater neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and lignin concentration than corn plants.

This is related to the greater proportion of total mass being comprised by stem than by leaves and grain in sorghum plants. Because the cross-linking of lignin to other fibrous components is the foremost limiting factor of NDF digestibility, reduced ruminal in vitro NDF digestibility (ivNDFD) in sorghum plants, regardless of type, is observed.

The lower proportion of grain in the total mass also explains the reduced concentration of starch in sorghum plants. Besides having less starch, sorghum naturally has lower starch digestibility than corn. Starch in cereal grains are surrounded by proteins (prolamin proteins) that inhibit digestion of starch in the rumen and small intestine of dairy cows.

Although these proteins affect corn and sorghum, the type of prolamin proteins found in sorghum is more difficult to break down than in corn and, thus, less starch is available for digestion.

Therefore, estimates of milk production per unit of silage are lower for sorghum than corn as energy predictive equations are based on starch and NDF. The figure has a summary of milk per-ton estimates from the University of Florida Variety Performance Trials, which demonstrates why we often have reduced milk yield when cows are fed

LUIZ FERRARETTO The author is an assistant professor of livestock nutrition in the University of Florida Department of Animal Sciences.

Milk per ton estimates for selected forages

4,000 Milk per ton estimates (lb/ton)

sorghum silage.

These factors emphasize specific requirements when implementing sorghum as an alternative crop: 1) hybrid selection based on yield and quality; and, 2) replacement of corn silage on a fiber basis rather than DM basis.

Target hybrids that combine improved DM yield with enhanced ivNDFD is a key factor. Similar to brown midrib (BMR) hybrids in corn, sorghum has BMR hybrids with improved fiber digestibility. Because yield and nutritive value of hybrids varies in different regions and years, going through hybrid performance trial results within your region and across several years translates into more reliable hybrid choices for your farm.

Spring Summer

3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500

Corn

Forage sorghum Forage type

Sorghum-sudan

Feeding sorghum Diet formulation focused on replacing corn with sorghum silage requires adjustments for higher NDF and reduced starch content. A feeding trial from the University of Nebraska evaluated the replacement of corn silage with a conventional and two genotypes of BMR sorghum silage. Diets were not adjusted for starch and NDF concentration. As expected, the replacement of corn silage with conventional sorghum silage impaired milk production. However, BMR sorghum silage attenuated or eliminated this difference.

A recent experiment from the University of Georgia compared the use of a BMR brachytic dwarf sorghum hybrid from first and second harvest with conventional corn silage harvested during spring and summer. The researchers adjusted starch and NDF concentrations of the diets. Cows fed sorghum silage had similar milk production than their cohorts fed corn silage in this study.

Sorghum is a feasible alternative crop to corn for silage production; its benefits are exacerbated in areas with potentially delayed planting due to wet soil, elevated summer temperatures, drought, or areas where irrigation is unavailable. However, its greater fiber and lower grain content requires proper dietary adjustment when feeding lactating cows.

Alternatively, it is a great option for animals with lower energy requirements; particularly growing heifers, dry cows, or late-lactation cows on farms with adequate nutritional grouping management. Team discussions, including crop consultants and nutritionists, are advised prior to the implementation of sorghum silage in dairy operations. • April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 25

A registered seed technologist performs a purity analysis on a clean sample of seed.

Danette Kroft

It’s on the tag and in the bag

by Robin Newell

I

N PRIOR Hay & Forage Grower articles, we covered alfalfa variety breeding and characterization, the progression from breeder seed through foundation to commercial seed, and some basics of alfalfa seed growing and cleaning. Now let’s wrap up this series with seed purity analysis, treatment and packaging operations, and labeling requirements for commercial sale and planting.

Once a field lot of seed is cleaned, seed is typically “put away” in seed plant inventory for storage until needed for packaging. A representative sample is drawn and submitted to an accredited seed lab for germination and purity testing. Standard germination testing for alfalfa requires seven days in moist paper towels.

Total germination as shown on an alfalfa seed label or tag is the sum of hard seed plus normal germinated seedlings. Normal seedlings have healthy tissue with a normal hypocotyl and cotyledons. Hard seed is not swelled even after seven days. Unlike hard seed, dead seeds squash easily under gentle pressure. Abnormal seedlings have a missing root or deformed hypocotyl.

26 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

Dead seed and abnormal seedlings are not included in total germination.

For seed purity analysis, a registered seed technologist performs a visual analysis under magnification, separating and weighing any material in the sample that is not alfalfa seed. Required categories on the seed label include pure seed, other crop seed, weed seed, and inert material (may include inert coating material). Pure seed is just that . . . pure seed with no coating material. Other crop seed is self-explanatory.

Checked for weeds Weed seeds in the sample must be individually reviewed and identified as noxious or non-noxious. Noxious weed species are designated by state statutes and can vary by state. If any noxious weed seeds are present, they must be further identified as prohibited (cannot offer for sale) or restricted (must be below a threshold to offer for sale, often requires listing on the label to show the weed species and number of weed seeds present per pound of seed in the bag). Inert material is everything else, including tiny rocks, dirt, and pod or stem pieces. Coating material is usually

listed separately from inert material.

If the variety is Roundup Ready, a sample is tested to ensure the trait provider’s minimum required trait purity of 90 percent. The three major seed suppliers cooperate to monitor low level presence of the Roundup Ready trait in conventional seed lots, testing all their conventional alfalfa with lateral flow protein strips to detect low level presence. Field lots that are “nondetect” can be chosen for more rigorous testing with PCR (polymerase chain reaction) if needed for seed export, or to provide seed for growing “nondetect” hay for various end-use markets.

Seed of each individual field lot remains stored in the seed plant until the seedsman decides to use it for commercial packaging. Individual field lots ROBIN NEWELL The author is the vice president of North American sales for S&W Seed Company.

of the same variety are often blended together for efficient field lot utilization or to attain a larger finished lot size.

Seed may be scarified to reduce hard seed content, scratching the impermeable seed coat of hard seed just enough to permit soil moisture absorption.

Seed treatments added The next step is treatment. Fungicide treatment and rhizobium inoculant application are standard for most alfalfa seed. Any seed treated with a fungicide must also receive colorant that is visually different from natural seed color. Other treatment materials can run the gamut from micronutrients to microbials. The treatment stage is also when inert coatings can be applied.

A growing proportion of alfalfa seed in the U.S. is sold with various amounts of inert coatings ranging up to one-third of the product’s total weight. As inert coating percentage goes up, sure seed shown on the seed label goes down.

Finished seed is packaged according

to weight. Whether bagged or in bulk, a seed label must be affixed to commercial seed packaging to comply with the Federal Seed Act and must furthermore comply with requirements of individual states where the seed package will be offered for sale. Most states allow agricultural seed to be sold within nine months following the germination test date; after that time period, a new germination test is required and revised labeling is attached for continuing sales.

Some states allow a longer period, and the number of months varies by state.

Check your label State inspectors are authorized to check commercial seed for compliance to seed labeling laws and may pull random samples for analysis to ensure labeling compliance within tolerances outlined in the Federal Seed Act. An inspector can place a “stop sale” order on seed that is out of compliance.

Commercial alfalfa seed cannot be certified with blue certification labels unless

the breeder submits characterization data and obtains approval for variety recognition through the National Alfalfa Variety Review Board authorized by the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies. The majority of alfalfa seed sold in the U.S. is not certified with blue labels, thus seed buyers are trusting their seed supplier to provide seed of the variety stated on the seed label.

The Federal Seed Act requires that a variety once sold under a specific variety name must always be sold with that variety name, except when labeled as “Variety Not Stated.” The use of a brand name in lieu of an approved variety name for promoting seed is generally permissible.

When seed is labeled as an individually branded product, the seed label must also show the true variety name or may show “Variety Not Stated” where permissible under state seed statutes.

The next time you fill your seeder with alfalfa seed, take a look at the label to understand more about the purity and quality of the seed you’re planting. •

Scarification may be used prior to alfalfa seed treatment and packaging. This mechanical scarifier has rotating leather paddles that rub seed against the inside surface of a screen to reduce hard seed content.

Total germination shown on an alfalfa seed tag includes normally germinated seedlings plus hard seed. Abnormal seedlings and dead seed are not included in total germination.

Danette Kroft

On the packaging line, alfalfa seed is weighed and seed bags filled within an enclosed box. Filled seed bags move to the left on a conveyor to receive a label, sew tape to prevent seed leakage, and then get sewn across the top.

This packaging process requires about 24 seconds per bag.

April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 27

Horses show annual grass preferences

iStock/faustasyan

by Amanda Grev, Craig Sheaffer, and Krishona Martinson

W

ITH one of the greatest expenditures of horse ownership being feed costs, horse owners often look for ways to reduce these costs. Pastures can provide a lower cost source of forage for horses compared to hay or other purchased feeds, and has the capability to meet or exceed the dietary requirements for many categories of horses. Therefore, maximizing pasture productivity can be a valuable tool for reducing feed costs.

In the Upper Midwest, cool-season perennial grasses are the foundation of productive horse pastures. However, there may be opportunities to utilize alternative forages such as annual cool-season grasses to extend the grazing season earlier in the spring or later in the fall. In addition to extending the grazing season, annuals can be used to provide forage in emergency grazing situations when perennial forages are lost following winterkill, floods, or drought.

We recently finished an evaluation of horse preference for annual cool-season grasses when grazed in the summer or fall seasons. The yield and forage nutritive value of the annual grasses was also documented.

The research was completed in the summer and fall of 2013 and 2014.

Annual grasses seeded in the spring

28 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

(late April to early May) and grazed during the summer included spring barley, spring oat, spring wheat, winter wheat, and annual ryegrass. Grasses seeded in the summer (early August) and grazed during the fall included the same five spring-planted species plus winter barley, winter rye, and a forage-type spring oat.

Prior to grazing, all grasses were evaluated for maturity and sampled to determine yield and forage nutritive value. Adult horses grazed all grasses for four hours, beginning in June for summer-grazed grasses and beginning in September for fall-grazed grasses.

Immediately after grazing, horse preference was determined by visually assessing the percentage of available forage removal on a scale of 0 (no grazing activity) to 100 (100 percent of the existing vegetation grazed). Grasses were mowed to an even height and allowed to regrow, and grazing was repeated once grasses regrew.

Distinct preferences In general, horses preferred annual ryegrass, spring wheat, and winter wheat, which had removals ranging from 35 to 94 percent. Horses had a lesser preference for spring oat, spring forage oat, winter barley, and winter

rye, which had removals ranging from 7 to 32 percent; horses generally exhibited the least preference for oats.

Yield differed among grass species.

Among the summer-grazed grasses, yields were typically higher for annual ryegrass and spring oat (1.7 to 2.1 tons per acre) and lower for spring wheat, spring barley, and winter wheat (1.1 to 1.8 tons per acre). Among the fall-grazed grasses, yields were generally higher for spring forage oat, annual ryegrass, and winter barley (1.2 to 2.9 tons per acre) and lower for spring wheat, spring barley, and winter rye (0.9 to 1.9 tons per acre).

Additional consideration should also be given to regrowth potential, as a greater amount of regrowth following grazing will result in increased forage availability for future grazing events. In general, annual ryegrass and the winter species had the greatest regrowth potential, producing more even and consistent yields across subsequent grazing events.

In contrast, spring barley, spring oat, and spring wheat produced a higher AMANDA GREV, CRAIG SHEAFFER, AND KRISHONA MARTINSON The authors are a graduate research assistant, agronomy professor, and extension equine specialist, respectively, at the University of Minnesota.

portion of their total season yield during the first grazing but had little to no regrowth available for subsequent grazing events.

Forage nutritive values also differed among annual grass species. Forage nutritive values were affected primarily by plant maturity, with winter species remaining more vegetative and generally having greater forage nutritive values compared to spring species.

However, all grasses contained at least 18 percent crude protein (CP), 58 percent or less neutral detergent fiber (NDF), 17 percent or less nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC), and at least 0.94 megacalories (Mcal) per pound of equine digestible energy (DE) and would meet the CP and DE requirement of many classes of adult horses.

When making forage pasture decisions, it is important to consider horse preference, yield, yield distribution, and forage nutritive values. Based on a combination of these factors, annual ryegrass appears to be a good option for horse owners looking to extend the grazing season or in need of emergency forage during both the summer and fall seasons. •

Pre- and post-grazing of winter wheat (highly preferred; top) and spring oat (less preferred; bottom).

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April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 29

FEED ANALYSIS

by John Goeser

Inventory like a pro

U

NDERSTANDING and managing a farm’s inventory should not differ much in concept from that of a grocery store. While the products will be quite different, the end goal is the same. The grocery store stocks fresh and packaged foods, snacks, and drinks.

Dairy and beef farms stock fermented or dry forages, grains, and feed premixes.

In the realm of amounts, grocers inventory thousands of different items, each identified by a SKU (stock keeping unit), while dairy farms and feedlots inventory tons of various feedstuffs.

Though dairy producers and feedlot managers tend to record and talk in terms of tonnage (yield), dairy or beef cattle performance is not closely related to on-farm volume. Tonnage simply tells us quantity. The grocery store has a grasp on quantity but goes further with SKUs identifying product details, price, margin, vendor, and other information tied to the product. The store inventory management software associates SKUs and meaningful inventory trends, which can then be understood with SKU detail in combination with quantity.

Farms identify inventories mostly as year, crop, cutting, stack, or animal group premix but too many times lose track of further, and meaningful, feed details. Tracking feed sources (feed mill, variety/hybrid, year, field, or grower), nutrient content of feeds, and ultimately the energy value per pound of feed can lead to inventory optimization opportunities.

There are numerous potential benefits to better understanding a farm’s inventory. There are also many software programs available to assist with advanced feedstuff identification and tracking to realize these benefits.

However, a simple spreadsheet can be used to start tracking inventory like the pros. Organizing inventory details allows for better future decisions, while also offering retrospective performance tracking for fields, varieties, or hybrids.

Document future value The immediate and best understood benefit to managing inventory is to ensure there are enough tons to feed the herd. The next benefit, for accounting 30 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

purposes, requires valuing tons for the balance sheet. A third and often unrecognized benefit to advanced inventory management is improved animal health, performance, and farm profitability.

Health and performance can be improved by dedicating the highest nutritive quality hay, grain, or silage to animals in need of the greatest nutritional value such as transitioning or high-performing cattle. Nutrition is simplified when the farm’s best-quality feedstuffs are identified and directed to those animals that need it the most, but valuing feedstuffs can be challenging.

The first step in valuing a feedstuff is to understand the feed’s nutrition facts. Nutritional detail is necessary to capture both accounting and herd performance benefits. The nutrient content (protein, fiber, and starch) and nutrient digestion potential (fiber and starch digestibility) should be known to appropriately value feeds. There are millions of dollars in profit opportunities for farms that better assess value by incorporating a metric that accounts for feed digestibility. A past Hay & Forage Grower article, “What determines forage marketing benchmarks?” in the March 2016 issue, can help you better understand exactly what goes into your favorite forage value index.

On a livestock farm, the profit or margin of a feed is derived from animal performance. Translate a feed’s nutritional value to a margin potential by periodically ranking the highest to lowest value feeds on the farm. Then after understanding the margin potential for the feed inventory, better manage the inventory by allocating the greatest margin potential feeds to the animals capable of returning the greatest economic returns for your farm.

Growing year, irrigation, seed genetics, soil fertility, and agronomic and harvest management all impact crop value.

Growing year cannot be controlled, but the other factors can be managed. Track year and cutting, field or grower, seed genetics (hybrid or variety), and agronomic and harvest management detail (for example, plant density and soil fertility) so that feed margin potential can be related back to different agronomic

strategies or seed genetics.

Consider on-farm plots to specifically evaluate seed genetics or develop a field and grower tracking program capturing both yield and feed margin potential. Remember that margin potential depends on both yield and nutritional quality. Feed samples can be collected from trucks or wagons at intervals from representative fields to then be paired with later yield information.

Make future decisions by combining the farm yield and quality performance with university hybrid trial results and seed company recommendations.

Some producers and nutritionists also find over time that different growers or fields outcompete others and return feed with greater margin potential. Try to identify these trends.

Think like a grocer Feed (forage, grain, and premix) inventories represent thousands to millions of dollars on a farm’s balance sheet. Monitor both quantity and quality of your most valuable inventory feedstuffs. Do this daily to weekly for mineral and grain premix inventories, while commodity feeds can be assessed weekly to monthly. Evaluate farmgrown feeds (dry hay, grain, and forage) monthly to annually, depending on the management team’s capacity. Work with your farm’s consultants to develop the strategy and frequency that is optimal for your farm.

Finally, step up inventory management by thinking more like a grocer.

Create a theoretical SKU for your feed by gathering more transactional detail at feed delivery or harvest and then use that insight to make more informed decisions in the future both in purchasing and for feed allocation. Work with your advisers, and consider recording and organizing agronomic, harvest, and seed genetic information by field and crop in a spreadsheet, or in a designated software program to assure your best animals have exactly what they need to perform at their optimal potential. •

JOHN GOESER The author is the director of nutrition research and innovation with Rock River Lab Inc, and adjunct assistant professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Dairy Science Department.

the chances for a drop in milk production. When forage NDFD is high, more fiber can be included in the diet without creating excessive rumen fill, which can reduce intake. However, when forage NDFD is low, reduce inclusion levels in the diet to avoid excessive rumen fill.

This could raise feed costs if the by-product feeds used to fill the resulting space in the diet are more costly than the alfalfa being replaced.

Consult your nutritionist

by Margaret Winsryg

I

T’S harvest season and high-quality alfalfa is at the top of your mind. You have the necessary equipment and labor for a timely harvest, you’ve planted the best alfalfa variety, and your stringent cutting schedule is marked on the calendar. The plan is set. But then a week of rain wreaks havoc on all your good intentions.

Sometimes things don’t go according to plans, including harvesting high-quality alfalfa. So what can you do when Mother Nature imposes her will? Here are some ways to help deal with alfalfa when a harvest delay or other factors cause you to question forage quality.

Use accurate testing There are a lot of options when it comes to alfalfa quality tests. From total digestible nutrients (TDN) to relative feed value (RFV) to relative forage quality (RFQ), each test is calculated from nutrient constituents predicted through a near-infrared (NIR) analysis and use different calculations with different variables.

Not only is there a wide range of available tests, but also results vary within the tests — especially when for-

age quality is unusually high or low. In the figure, the vertical bars represent a typical frequency distribution of a lab’s results for alfalfa fiber digestibility tests. The light green bars at the ends of the bell curve represent where alfalfa fiber quality is either unusually high or low. The analysis accuracy of these extremes is financially critical to help determine what steps are needed to rebalance the diet.

For best results, test all forages with an accurate NIR alfalfa quality test; one based on a sample set representing a wide range in forage quality. This will help ensure rations are adjusted accurately and identify those forages that are at the extreme high or low ends of the quality spectrum.

Pinpointing the exact amount of digestible fiber in your alfalfa will help determine how much supplemental forage you will need to balance ration fiber levels. For an accurate measurement, test for neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD). Do this in conjunction with analysis for other essential nutrients.

Knowing the NDF and NDFD of alfalfa fed can help maintain intakes and reduce

Here are a few tips that could help you and your nutritionist rebalance a ration for acceptable animal performance when dealing with lower quality alfalfa: • Reduce the amount of hay in your ration.

• Reduce the total forage level in the diet, and fill the resulting space with high-fiber supplements such as ear corn, soy hulls, whole cottonseed, brewers grains, corn gluten feed, or beet pulp.

• Ensure that dietary metabolizable protein levels are not compromised, since lower quality alfalfa can also be low in protein.

• If total dry matter intake is still compromised, consider including some fat to enhance the energy density of the diet.

High

Test frequency

Washed-out alfalfa

It is likely that not all of your harvested forage is poor quality. Utilize all the high-quality alfalfa for cows that are in peak production.

Then, depending on the amount of alfalfa affected by a rain-delayed harvest, there are a few different ways to work it into other rations. Work closely with your nutritionist to determine the best course of action for your farm.

These forages can likely be used for older heifers, dry cows, or in low-production rations. Another option would be to sell it to someone who has a use for lower quality forage and then purchase additional higher quality forage.

If you decide incorporating lower quality alfalfa into your lactating herd’s ration is necessary, knowing the exact NDFD of the alfalfa will help better determine how much you can include in the diet without compromising intake and milk production. Work with your nutritionist to balance rations more frequently, and make sure new ration formulations are in place before the feed is fed. •

Low

Fiber quality

High

MARGARET WINSRYG The author is the technical service manager for Calibrate Technologies.

April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 31

An early spring application of Chaparral herbicide does double duty on tall fescue by controlling weeds and suppressing seedhead emergence.

Dow AgroSciences

Plan to suppress

by Robert and Janelle Fears

T

time, it will die.

Fescue could be a “wonder grass” except for a small fungus that grows inside its cells. The fungus is an endophyte — endo meaning “in” and phyte meaning “plant.”

This fungus produces toxic, ergot alkaloids, which cost the beef cattle industry well over $1 billion annually.

“Losses stem from decreased feed intake, lower weight gains, less milk production, poor offspring survival, and poor reproductive performance by both bulls and cows,” said Raymond Stegeman, D.V.M., Osage Veterinary Clinic, St. Thomas, Mo. “Cattle with fescue toxicosis have high internal body temperatures, high respiration rates, and loss of blood flow. They retain a rough hair coat, demonstrate unthrifty appearance, and salivate exces-

Dow AgroSciences

ALL fescue is a perennial cool-season bunchgrass that is a widespread component of grazing systems throughout the lower Midwest, across a large portion of the Southeast, and in Oregon and Washington. Over 35 million acres of fescue are grown in the United States, primarily because of its adaptability to areas where summers are too hot and humid for many cool-season grasses and winters are too cold for warm-season grasses.

Another characteristic, that adds to the grass’s popularity, includes its ability to produce forage in a wide range of soil and climatic conditions. The species is well adapted to shallow, droughty ridge soil and survives on wet, poorly drained soil as well. However, if fescue is in standing water for any length of

The area in the right foreground was not treated with Chaparral herbicide.

It contrasts to the more vegetative, treated area.

32 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

sively. Reduced blood flow often leads to fescue foot that results in lameness and in extreme cases, loss of a hoof.”

Renovation alternative Fortunately, there are ways to manage fescue pastures in a manner to avoid toxicity problems. If total pasture renovation is feasible, it can be replanted to endophyte-free or novel fescue varieties.

“Disadvantages of pasture renovation is grazing loss during the establishment period and cost,” said Scott Flynn, field scientist with Dow AgroSciences. “Seeding rates of endophyte-free or novel fescues is 20 to 25 pounds per acre at a cost of $3 to $4 per pound. Total renovation costs, including machinery operating and labor expenses, is between $400 and $600 per acre.

“Toxins concentrate in fescue seedheads at a rate of three to six times higher than in leaves,” Flynn added.

“Peak concentrations occur when seeds are in the dough stage, which is also when they are most palatable. Reducing or eliminating seedheads can help decrease incidence and severity of fescue toxicosis.”

“Fescue seedhead removal by ROBERT AND JANELLE FEARS The authors are freelance writers based in Georgetown, Texas.

shredding is effective, but it is hard to stay on schedule,” said Jason Locke, manager of the West Ranch for Circle A Angus Ranch, Stockton, Mo. “Shredding is also expensive, costing approximately $15 per acre for one mowing. If not mowed at the proper time, seedheads may still emerge and require a second mowing.”

A relatively new method of seedhead suppression is spraying fescue with Chaparral specialty herbicide. Chaparral contains 0.62 pound of potassium salt of aminopyralid active ingredient and 0.0945 pound of metsulfuron methyl per pound of product. It is a broad-spectrum weed and brush herbicide labeled for use on range and pastureland.

The recommended application rate of Chaparral for seedhead suppression and weed control is 2 ounces of product per acre at an estimated cost of $12 per acre.

Application costs vary, depending on type of spray equipment and the applicator.

“Both day length and temperature can affect seedhead emergence in tall fescue,” said Pat Burch, field scientist with Dow AgroSciences. “Day length triggers formation of the seedhead, and temperature influences rate of growth and development. It is best to make an application of Chaparral for fescue seedhead suppression during the period from approximately three weeks prior to seedhead emergence until the grass is in the boot stage.

“Research across the fescue belt shows that an early spring application of Chaparral prevents most tall fescue plants from developing seedheads,” explained Burch. “In addition, winter annual weeds and early season broadleaves, such as buttercup; poison hemlock; biennial musk, bull and plumeless thistle; wild carrot; and common mullein are controlled. Producers can also obtain pre-emergent control of later emerging susceptible weeds such as horsenettle, ragweed, and pigweeds.”

Sixty to 80 percent of tall fescue growth is stems and seedheads. As a plant matures toward heading, flowering, and seed formation, its growth pattern changes from producing digestible leaves to producing indigestible hard stems.

At each progressive growth stage, the digestible part of the plant tissue declines rapidly and nutrient content drops as well. Digestibility and nutrient content are important because they greatly affect animal performance. Suppressing fescue seedheads keep plants in a vegetative stage of growth, which helps maintain forage quality.

“Spraying fescue too early causes the plants to yellow resulting in a brief pause in forage production,” said Glen Aiken, USDA-ARS research scientist at the Forage-Animal Production Research Unit in Lexington, Ky. “Weak fescue stands and poor fertility may result in more intense yellowing.

“Cattle prefer green, palatable grass over yellowed fescue, but they might graze it to a small degree if there is an insufficient amount of green forage

available,” added Aiken. “It is best to suppress seedheads with Chaparral in a pasture rotation system where cattle can be moved to an unsprayed pasture.

In a continuous grazing system, interruption of grazing can be avoided by spraying only a portion of a pasture.”

Chaparral offers another option for controlling fescue toxicosis where it fits the overall ranch management plan.

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BEEF FEEDBUNK

by Jason Banta

Eliminate supplements with quality hay

A

COMMON practice for many producers during the fall is to look for the cheapest protein and energy supplements to go along with their hay for winter feeding. However, that time would be better spent during the spring and summer working to produce high-quality hay that would eliminate the need for protein and energy supplementation from grain and other concentrates.

What is high-quality hay?

To start with, I think of high-quality hay as having adequate levels of energy (calories) and crude protein to meet the nutritional requirements of the cows it will be fed to. Energy content can be reported in many ways, but for this discussion we will focus on TDN (total digestible nutrients). The table lists the amounts of crude protein and TDN required by different classes of beef cows to maintain body weight under typical production conditions.

Mineral concentration, palatability, and absence of toxic compounds are also important when evaluating hay quality. Also consider factors related to storage losses such as bale size, bale shape, bale density, and forage species.

Many people focus solely on the crude protein concentration, but this is a bad approach. Consider both crude protein and TDN when evaluating hay because high crude protein content does not always correspond to a high TDN content. Additionally, it is often more expensive and labor intensive to provide energy supplementation than protein supplementation.

From the values in the table, we could set a goal of producing hay that is at least

12 percent crude protein and 62 to 63 percent TDN. This would cover the needs of most lactating cows and eliminate the need for protein and energy supplementation. As many producers know, achieving higher crude protein levels with bermudagrass is relatively simple.

However, achieving high TDN levels is more challenging. Various agronomic and environmental factors influence TDN content in hay and understanding some key ones will help us meet our goal.

Know the factors Plant maturity is one of the biggest factors affecting forage digestibility and thus TDN concentration. As plants advance in maturity, lignin and fiber (plant structural components) concentrations elevate, which cause a decline in both TDN and crude protein. To optimize both forage quality and yield, harvest bermudagrass and similar forages every three to five weeks; sudangrass, sorghum-sudangrass hybrids, and other similar forages should be harvested before the production of a mature seedhead.

Proper fertilization can enhance the growth of bermudagrass and other forages allowing hay to be harvested at shorter intervals, which will improve TDN concentration. Additionally, higher nitrogen fertilization rates can boost crude protein content. Research with bermudagrass indicates that the production of an additional 15 to 40 pounds of forage per acre is realized for each pound of nitrogen fertilizer applied.

Ammonium nitrate that costs $350 per ton translates to 51 cents per pound of nitrogen. When compared to traditional

supplements, an application of nitrogen fertilizer is a great investment. Not all grasses respond equally to fertilization, so visit with an extension specialist or agronomist about the potential return on investment for other forage species.

Temperature also has a major impact on nutritional value of many introduced warm-season grasses. As the temperature rises, lignin deposition in the plant accelerates, which in turn lowers forage digestibility. Because of this relationship, hay harvested in the spring and fall will typically have a higher TDN concentration than hay harvested during midsummer.

Rain during harvest will also affect hay quality. If hay is rained on after cutting but before baling, an increase in crude protein concentration and a decline in TDN concentration is generally observed. This happens because some of the soluble carbohydrates and minerals are washed out of the hay, thereby raising the concentration of the remaining components such as crude protein. This is a perfect example of why it is important to analyze for both crude protein and TDN. If the hay receives several inches of rain while in the windrow, both the crude protein and TDN will decline.

Instead of focusing just on the tons of hay produced this year, consider how managing for quality can eliminate your winter protein and energy supplementation needs. Giving up a little yield to produce better quality hay that meets the requirements of your cows can save money and reduce the labor needed for winter feeding.

Even if you are going to feed all the hay you produce, it is important to test each cutting so that the best hay can be fed to the cows with the highest requirements and other hay can be used when nutrient demands are less.

Before sending samples to the lab, visit with a nutritionist for lab recommendations and the appropriate tests for your hay sample. •

Estimated crude protein and TDN requirements* Cow stage of production

Crude protein, % of DM

TDN, % of DM

2-year-old lactating cow

11

62

JASON BANTA

3-year-old lactating cow

11.5

63

Mature lactating cow, 25 lbs. of milk 3-year-old dry cow, 270 days pregnant

11.5 9

63 58

The author is a beef cattle specialist for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension based in Overton, Texas.

Mature dry cow, 270 days pregnant Mature dry cow, 180 days pregnant

8 7

55 49

*Brahman influenced cows needed to maintain body condition for typical production conditions

34 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

FORAGE GEARHEAD

by Adam Verner Vertical tillage implements like this one move soil upward and smooth fields.

Some forage producers are using them to level pastures and hayfields.

Vertical tillage not just for row crops

T

HE busy season is upon many of us. Hay mowers all across the country are firing up and heading to the field. In some regions, the mower is then followed by one or more passes with a tedder or “fluffer.” Next comes at least one pass with a rake, then the baler hits the field. Finally, all of the bales need to be removed so the next crop can get a good start and the sprayers with fertilizer and/or herbicide make a pass before this field can get a breather from all of the wheel traffic.

I don’t need to educate you on the process of making hay. I explained the process to bring up something most of you already know: Hay producers make more trips across their field than any other farmer. Here in the Southeast, it can be as many as six to seven passes if you count the spraying and fertilizing trips.

If you are like me, you know where every bump, hole, or washout is in each field. Until recent years, we as hay farmers have not had many options on our permanent grass fields to level them once the seed or sprigs go in the ground.

About the best we could hope for is an aggressive aerator with a drag behind it to go over the bad spots a few times.

Over the past several years, multiple manufacturers have entered the vertical tillage market. These units have

been around since the mid-1990s but didn’t become widely accepted and used until the late 2000s. Now, every manufacturer has some sort of vertical tillage unit. Each has done a good job of trying to bring a little something different to the marketplace.

Vertical tillage breaks up surface soil compaction or smooths out areas in a field. Soil disturbance is confined to soil movement mostly in an upward direction. It sizes and incorporates residue and manure without creating a stratification layer.

Some vertical tillage units use wavy coulters and run with not much angle; these are primarily used for sizing residue and in seedbed preparation. Others use regular disks with less concavity and are closer to the angle that normal tandem disks use, 12 to 16 degree setting on the disk gangs. Now some manufacturers even have adjustable gangs on the vertical tools that make them even more versatile.

These new versatile vertical tillage units are the answer we have been waiting for to fix those ruts, washouts, and holes in pastures and hayfields. The perennial grass species and soil type will determine which unit might work best. We have some of our customers running a more aggressive unit in sandy soils and others running a medium gang

angle on soils with more clay content.

Our customers usually run it over the field in two different directions followed by a roller or cultipacker. Often, the field is as smooth as a new seeding, and the grass even comes back more invigorated from the loosened soils, improved aeration, and moisture absorption.

These vertical units can also incorporate your potash and phosphorus fertilizer if needed.

Do a little research on your own, and you will find a number of different models available. Conversely, a rowcrop neighbor might have one in his shed that would be available for rent.

Renovate pastures or hayfields when the conditions are favorable in terms of moisture and when the crop is growing.

It could also be a last pass over the fields before winter freeze-up. Regardless of timing, your equipment and your back will thank you in the long run.

Happy haying! • ADAM VERNER The author is a managing partner in Elite Ag LLC, Leesburg, Ga. He also is active in the family farm in Rutledge.

April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 35

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• Preserves turf and landscaping.

Gopher Control Manufacturing & Sales 855-667-5181 • 530-667-5181 or cell# 530-640-3981 www.hmgophercontrol.com

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2015 NW AG EQUIPMENT BALE CHAS- 2013 NW AG EQUIPMENT BALE CHAS- 2012 NW AG EQUIPMENT BALE CHAS- 2009 NW AG EQUIPMENT BALE ER Excellent Condition! Call For More . . ER Excellent Condition, Call For More . . ER Excellent Condition, Call For More . . CHASER Great Condition, With All the Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $117,000 Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $112,700 Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $107,700 Latest Updates, Call For More . . $89,200

• High quality twine • High UV Stabilization • Consistency and Strength Our line of products also include: Bunker Covers / 2 in 1 Forager Silage Film Crusher Hay Conditioning Rolls Nurturite Forage Treatments

Innovative Forage Solutions www.innovativeforage.com 763-244-5972

FIRST RESPONSE

Baler Applied Product

A Proven, Non-Corrosive Forage Treatment Alternative to Acid!

Check out our Cutter Applied Products: Raincoat / Hay PT Untreated

Treated - First Response

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and our Silage Products: Silage Si / Silage PT / Ensile www.NURTURITE.com

763-244-5972 • email: eftoms@visi.com

www.innovativeforage.com

Made In USA

April/May 2017 | hayandforage.com | 41

FORAGE IQ Coastal Plain Experiment Station Forage Production Field Day May 4, Newton, Miss.

Details: forages.pss.msstate.edu/events.html Alfalfa/Small Grains Field Day May 11, Davis, Calif.

Details: bit.ly/HFG-alf_fd Southern Pasture & Forage Crop Improvement Conference June 5 to 7, Knoxville, Tenn.

Details: agrilife.org/spfcic/ Four-State Dairy Nutrition Conference June 14 and 15, Dubuque, Iowa Details: bit.ly/HFG-4state Corn Silage and Conserved Forage Field Day June 15, Tifton, Ga. Details: georgiaforages.com/events.html Warm-season Forage Field Day June 23, Starkville, Miss.

Details: forages.pss.msstate.edu/events.html Wisconsin Farm Technology Days July 11 to 13, Algoma, Wis. Details: wifarmtechnologydays.com/ kewaunee/ Kentland Beef and Forage Field Day July 27, Blacksburg, Va. Details: bit.ly/HFG-kentland Georgia Grazing School September 19 and 20, Athens, Ga. Details: georgiaforages.com/events.html Kentucky Grazing School September 27 and 28, Versailles, Ky. Details: www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/ National Hay Association Convention September 27 to 30, Canandaigua, N.Y. Details: nationalhay.org Grassfed Exchange Conference September 27 to 29, Albany, N.Y. Details: grassfedexchange.com World Dairy Expo World Forage Analysis Superbowl Dairy Forage Seminars October 3 to 7, Madison, Wis. Corn silage entries due Aug. 1 Hay crop entries due Sept. 7 Details: bit.ly/HFG-WFAS17 42 | Hay & Forage Grower | April/May 2017

HAY MARKET UPDATE

New crop hits the market Harvest 2017 is officially on with producers in some Western and Southern states taking to the fields. In some states such as California rains have delayed harvests or caused damage to fields that were already cut.

In the Midwest, most of the alfalfa ap-

pears to be in good condition coming out of winter, though there are some spotty reports of winterkill The prices below are primarily from USDA hay market reports as of midApril. Prices are FOB barn/stack unless otherwise noted.•

For weekly updated hay prices, go to “USDA Hay Prices” at hayandforage.com South Dakota (Corsica)-lrb Supreme-quality hay Price $/ton California (southeast) 185-190 Texas (north,central, east) California (northern SJV) 225-250 (d) Texas (Panhandle) Colorado (southeast)-ssb 200 Washington (Columbia Basin) Idaho 120 Wisconsin (Lancaster) Kansas (southwest) 140-160 Wisconsin (Lancaster)-lrb Kansas (north central/east) 150-200 Wyoming (eastern)-lrb Minnesota (Sauk Centre) 150 Fair-quality hay Missouri 180-225 California (Intermountain) Montana-ssb 200 California (northern SJV) Nebraska (eastern/central) 155 Iowa (Rock Valley)-lrb Nebraska (Platte Valley)-lrb 110 Kansas (southeast) New Mexico (south/southwest) 165-180 Minnesota (Pipestone)-lrb Oregon (Lake) 175-215 Minnesota (Sauk Centre) Texas (Panhandle) 165-210 (d) Montana Texas (Panhandle)-ssb 297 (d) Nebraska (western) Texas (north,central, east) 195-210 (d) Oregon (Lake)-ssb Utah (southern) 120-160 Pennsylvania (southeast) Washington (Columbia Basin) 140 South Dakota (Corsica)-lrb Texas (west) Premium-quality hay Price $/ton California (Sacramento Valley) 200 Utah (southern) California (northern SJV) 230-240 (d) Washington (Columbia Basin) California (southeast) 180-185 Wisconsin (Lancaster) Colorado (San Luis Valley) 150-160 Bermudagrass hay Iowa (Rock Valley) 120 Alabama-Premium lrb Kansas (south central) 130-140 Alabama-Fair ssb Minnesota (Sauk Centre) 110-140 California (southeast) Montana 115-120 Texas (Panhandle)-Good/Premium lrb Montana-ssb 200 Texas (north,central, east)-Fair/Good ssb Nebraska (eastern/central/western) 130 Texas (south)-Good/Premium lrb Oklahoma (western) 120-130 Orchardgrass hay Oregon (Crook-Wasco) 130-145 California (Intermountain)-Premium Oregon (Lake) 160-170 Colorado (southwest)-Fair ssb Pennsylvania (southeast) 205-230 Oregon (Crook-Wasco)-Premium ssb Utah (central) 90-100 Timothy hay Montana-Premium ssb Good-quality hay Price $/ton California (Intermountain) 130 Montana-Premium lrb California (northern SJV) 200 (d) Oregon (Lake)-Premium ssb Colorado (northeast)-lrb 100 Pennsylvania-Good Idaho 100-105 Pennsylvania (southeast)-Premium ssb Iowa (Rock Valley) 93-105 Washington (Columbia Basin)-Good Iowa (Rock Valley)-lrb 83-90 Oat hay Kansas (southwest) 115-145 Iowa (Rock Valley)-lrb Minnesota (Pipestone)-ssb 100-155 Kansas (south central)-lrb Minnesota (Sauk Centre) 95-145 South Dakota (Corsica)-lrb Missouri 120-160 Texas (Panhandle) Montana 110-140 Straw Nebraska (eastern/central) 110-125 Alabama Nebraska (Platte Valley)-lrb 65-70 Iowa (Rock Valley)-lrb Oklahoma (eastern)-lrb 80 Kansas (north central/east) Oregon (Klamath Basin)-ssb 140 Minnesota (Sauk Centre) Oregon (Lake) 150 Montana Pennsylvania (southeast) 125-170 Nebraska (western) Pennsylvania (southeast)-ssb 160-265 Pennsylvania (southeast)-ssb

Abbreviations: d=delivered, lrb=large round bales, ssb=small square bales, o=organic

60-83 150-195 135-160 115 90-150 55 120 Price $/ton 110 185 (d) 65-88 70-80 60-75 50-110 105-130 100 180 (o) 115-140 50-65 105-130 60-80 105-110 65-70 Price $/ton 133 160 180 120-180 (d) 165-198 80-100 Price $/ton 290 200-220 238-240 Price $/ton 210-240 120-125 180 130-185 270-300 170 Price $/ton 50 55-65 63 80 (d) Price $/ton 160 55-58 80-90 105-120 40-50 50-55 70-125

DENSITY WHERE IT COUNTS

VB 2200 SERIES VARIABLE CHAMBER ROUND BALERS • Integral Rotor Technology provides consistent, trouble-free crop flow • Fast, consistent bale starting in diverse conditions • Progressive Density System produces very firm bales with moderate cores • Simple, heavy-duty driveline and chains for reliability Integral Rotor

Produces 4x5 and 4x6 bales

Double Knotter

LSB D SERIES LARGE SQUARE BALERS • Reliable double knotter for increased bale capacity and density • Integral Rotor Technology ensures even crop flow, regardless of windrow variations • The Power Density system produces uniform flakes and square-edged, rock-hard bales • Simple, heavy-duty driveline with fewer moving parts for greater reliability Produces 3x3 and 3x4 bales • Cutting and non-cutting models KuhnNorthAmerica.com

CONSISTENT, ROCK-HARD BALES 04_05_2017_LSB_VB.indd 1

3/28/2017 9:10:04 AM

You can use different balers for wet and dry hay. Or you can use a Krone Comprima for both.

INCREASES

THROUGHPUT

BY UP TO

70%

10% HIGHER BALE DENSITY

COMPRIMA ROUND BALER

KRONE NOVOGRIP THE SYSTEM RELIES ON EXTREMELY HIGH BELT TENSION THAT TRANSFERS THE DRIVE POWER ONTO THE BALE. THIS IS THE IDEAL COMBINATION FOR HIGHEST DENSITY IN STRAW, HAY AND SILAGE.

Gather a group of German engineers into a room, tell them North American farmers need a high-capacity round baler, and the Krone Comprima is what you’re going to get. You’re going to get camless EasyFlow pick-up and a NovoGrip elevator.

You’re going to get the finest round bales you’ve ever conceived. You are going to get Krone bales. And there are no better bales anywhere. For more information on the Comprima round baler or to find your local Krone dealer, visit krone-na.com. ©2017 Krone is a registered trademark of Maschinenfabrik Bernard KRONE GmBH. Memphis, TN 901-842-6011 003964 ©2016 Krone is a registered trademark of Maschinenfabrik Bernard Krone GmBH. Memphis, TN 901-842-6011 003964