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For the most part, it appears little alfalfa winterkill has
occurred in Wisconsin, reports University of Wisconsin forage specialist
Dan Undersander. The most notable exception is in five counties in
southwestern Wisconsin extending into northeastern Iowa. “In that
area, we’re seeing 20-30% stand loss,” says Undersander. “Those
are stands where more than 50% of the plants were killed. They’re no
longer salvageable.”
Most of the affected stands in the area, Undersander adds, are in low
spots where ice and standing water were the main problems. “However,
some was on hilltops and likely due to the snowmelts in January with
some ice sheeting and some exposure to cold. The situation is also
clearly worse where stands were harvested in late fall.”
In other parts of the state, winterkill was restricted to small areas,
mostly in low spots. “In northern Wisconsin it’s still greening up,
so we won’t really know for another week or so if there’s been any
significant damage there,” he says.
Dan Martens, University of Minnesota extension educator for Stearns,
Morrison and Benton counties, reports there have been scattered reports
of winter stress on alfalfa in central Minnesota. “There are some
spots, not whole fields, where we would anticipate some problems with
winterkill.” Most likely to be affected, he says, are hilltops where
wind blew snow cover clear during the winter and low spots where
February and March rains led to ponding followed by freezing.
Martens advises alfalfa growers to check their fields for problems.
“This would be a good time to go out there and do stand assessments.
Look for areas with uneven growth, perhaps focusing on those hills and
low spots.”
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With alfalfa starting to show buds in some parts of the country,
many producers will be asking if they should harvest for top quality or
wait for the plants to get a little more height and better yield before
taking first cuts.
Data from a 2005 joint study in Idaho, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania
provides some answers, says Penn State University extension forage
specialist Marvin Hall. In the study, three alfalfa varieties were
harvested over a three-year period.
“Delaying harvest in the spring increased yield by only 290
lbs/acre/day, but decreased RFV (relative feed value) by five units each
day and NDFD (neutral detergent fiber digestibility) by 0.2 percentage
unit each day,” reports Hall.
His bottom line: “Taking spring harvest a little early will provide
optimum quality and possibly crash weevil populations in the field. The
decrease in yield for the first cut could be regained in the second
harvest if there is sufficient moisture to keep the alfalfa rapidly
growing before the temperatures get too high.”
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Cornell University researchers are advising alfalfa growers in
northern New York to be on the lookout for brown root rot, a
cold-weather-active, soil-borne disease caused by the fungus Phoma
sclerotioides. The researchers also say identifying alfalfa varieties
that better withstand the fungus may be the best way to head off
productivity losses associated with the disease.
“Brown root rot is most severe in regions with harsh winters such as
northern New York,” says Cornell plant pathologist Gary Bergstrom.
“There are at least four genetically distinct biotypes of the brown
root rot fungus present in New York, and the relative resistance of
alfalfa varieties to brown root rot appears to differ by biotype.” So
testing alfalfa varieties for resistance in those naturally infected
soils may help identify varieties with potential to grow well in the
region.
“April through early May is the best time to assess overwintered
alfalfa for signs of brown root rot on roots and crowns,” he says.
“If alfalfa that looked great last October is slow to emerge this
spring or appears to have winterkilled, brown root rot may be a
contributing cause.”
Absolute confirmation of brown root rot requires a laboratory test now
available from the Cornell University Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic.
Farmers should call 607-255-7850 before submitting samples. The test
costs $40 per composite field sample.
Researchers have found that forage grasses such as bromegrass, tall
fescue, orchardgrass, reed canarygrass, perennial ryegrass and timothy
are all moderately susceptible to P. sclerotioides. They don’t suffer
as much damage as alfalfa, but act as host reservoirs for the pathogen.
“We have not yet diagnosed an alfalfa field as lost to brown root rot
in Lewis County, but the Cornell survey has alerted us that the pathogen
is present in the county,” reports Joseph Lawrence, the county’s
extension field crops educator. “It does not appear brown root rot
will have a significant impact on forage grasses.” But knowing the
grasses can harbor the pathogen and developing management strategies and
resistant varieties of alfalfa will help reduce potential problems.
Brown root rot was first confirmed in Cornell test plots in Clinton
County, NY, in 2003. It’s now known to occur throughout New York
State, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Photos showing the damage the
disease causes on alfalfa are posted on the Northern New York
Agricultural Development Program Web site at www.nnyagdev.org.
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A new organization has been established to represent the estimated
30,000 people involved with forages in Alberta, Canada.
According to organizers, the Alberta Forage Industry Network (AFIN) will
establish a productive dialogue among producers, industry
representatives and government. AFIN also plans to bring issues of
importance regarding the economic and environmental impact of forages to
the attention of funding bodies and policymakers throughout the
province.
"The forage industry has a significant impact on the economy in
Alberta,” says Doug Wray, a southern Alberta rancher and chairman of
AFIN’s board of directors. "Forage producers in this province manage
more than 11 million hectares (27 million acres) of land in forage,
managed range and bush. It is our goal to bring together representatives
from across a very diverse industry, and create awareness of the
importance of forages for producers and consumers alike."
Membership in AFIN is open to anyone involved in forages – producers,
industry representatives, post-secondary institutions and local
agricultural/forage associations. To learn more about the organization,
go to www.albertaforages.ca.
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3.4 The percent of job loss in U.S.
non-metropolitan areas during the 12-month period ending January 2009,
according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. By way of comparison,
the job loss rate in metro areas during the same period was 2.8%. The
numbers are cited in Rural America in Deep Economic Downturn, a
report from the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI). To see the
full report, go to www.rupri.org.
$60 The amount attendees headed for this year’s
American Forage and Grassland Council Annual Conference can save by
registering on or before May 1. The conference is scheduled for June
21-23 in Grand Rapids, MI. Details are available at www.afgc.org/mc/community/eventdetails.do?eventId=149462.
75 The number of people attending last week’s
second annual Georgia Hay Production School in Griffin. Along with
Georgians, producers from Alabama, North Carolina and Texas attended the
event. University of Georgia forage specialist Dennis Hancock is already
planning next year’s school, which will likely be held in southwestern
Georgia. Details will be forthcoming at www.georgiaforages.com/.
23,500 The harvested alfalfa hay acreage in Dona
Ana County, NM, in 2007, according to a recent story in the Las Cruces
Sun-News. In 1988, 13,000 acres were harvested in the county. Local
industry watchers say nearly all of the growth in the county’s alfalfa
hay production is due to expansion in the state’s dairy industry over
the past two decades.
$44 million The amount allocated for 2010 through
2012 by Minnesota’s state legislature to fund a producer-payment
program for corn-based ethanol. A recent report from the state’s
legislative auditor recommends ending the program and redirecting the
funds toward biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol. Get more details at www.hayandforage.com.
$781million The amount Wisconsin dairy processing
companies are planning to invest in facilities over the next five years,
according to a recent survey by the National Agricultural Statistics
Service. Surveys were sent to 185 plants in the state during January and
February; 68% responded.
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Pennsylvania
With input prices for corn climbing, Spring Mills hay grower Don Myers
will be experimenting with new rotation crops this year.
Typically, Myers devotes 50 acres of his 80-acre farm to alfalfa
production, with the remaining acreage in corn. This year, though,
he’ll cut his corn acres by about a third. “We planted six acres to
canola just to see how it does,” says Myers, who puts up all of his
alfalfa as baleage. “We thought about soybeans, but we can have
problems with deer and groundhogs in our area. But they don’t seem to
bother canola much from what I’m told.”
He will also be planting five acres of teff, an annual grass, for the
first time. “One of our longtime dairy customers wanted some grass hay
to blend in with his alfalfa,” he explains. “With a grass-alfalfa
mixture, the grass can crowd out the alfalfa in two or three years.
We’ve been hearing more about teff and thought this would give us a
good chance to see what it will do here.”
Myers puts up his alfalfa baleage in 4 x 4’ round bales, typically
taking five cuttings per season. Dairy producers make up his primary
market, but he also has goat- and sheep-owning customers. “I have
several Amish dairy customers,” he notes. “And they’re usually not
set up to handle big square bales. The round bales work well. They roll
off the trailer pretty easily.”
To learn more about Myers’ operation and his approach to making
high-quality baleage on a consistent basis, see “Fascinated With
Forage” on the Hay & Forage Grower Web site at hayandforage.com/mag/farming_fascinated_or
go to Myers’ Web site at www.myersfarm.com. To contact him,
call 814-422-8111 or email donmyers@myersfarm.com.
Wisconsin
This winter’s quality-tested hay auction season in Dodge County
wrapped up just two weeks ago with an April 14 sale, but Dodge County
Forage Council (DCFC) members are already making plans for next year.
“Overall, we had a pretty good year,” says Matt Hanson, University
of Wisconsin extension crops specialist in the county and DCFC advisor.
“We had a good number of loads at each sale (held monthly January
through April), including several loads out of Manitoba, Canada, at each
of the sales.”
Hanson says hay offered at the auctions (held at the Beaver Dam Auction
Market) was “much higher quality” than in recent years. “That can
be both good and bad,” says Hanson. “It was great for dairy
producers who needed high-quality alfalfa for their rations. It wasn’t
so good for buyers looking for hay for horses and beef cattle who
didn’t need such high quality at a higher price. One of our goals for
next year will be to try to get a greater variety of hay at the
sales.”
Other goals for the year ahead include adding a second auction each
month, plus checking loads in and quality-testing them the day before
the actual sale. “That way, potential buyers can check our Web site to
see what is going to be sold,” says Hanson. “They can decide whether
we have something they’re interested in before they make the effort to
get here.”
At the April 14 sale, 10 lots of hay were sold. The top price was
$192/ton paid for two lots of large square alfalfa bales out of Canada.
Relative feed value (RFV) of both lots was 157. The average price at the
auction was $156.42. “The value of a tested quality auction is that it
gives buyers and sellers in a particular area a good baseline for
determining a fair price for hay,” says Hanson.
For summaries on prices at all of the sales this winter, check out the
DCFC Web site at www.widcfc.com/.
To contact Hanson, call 920-386-3790 or email matt.hanson@ces.uwex.edu.
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When scouting for alfalfa weevils, take care not to confuse alfalfa
weevil larvae with clover leaf weevil larvae, advise Rich Pope and Jon
Tollefson, Iowa State University entomologists. They note that alfalfa
weevil larvae can be recognized by a very dark, almost black, head and a
pale green body with a white stripe along the back. When the larvae
hatch, they are approximately 1/16” long and may be light yellow in
color. After feeding for several days, they turn green. They are 5/16”
long when fully grown.
Clover leaf weevils are much larger, have a light brown head and often
have the white stripe edged with pink. They usually hide around the
plant during the day, feeding mostly in lower leaves at night.
Clover leaf weevils rarely cause economic yield losses, so don’t count
them as part of your alfalfa weevil sample. For a more complete
discussion of alfalfa weevils and management tips from Pope and
Tollefson, click
here.
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The University of Minnesota Institute for Ag Professionals (IAP)
will host two on-farm alfalfa stand assessment workshops this spring.
The two-hour sessions are scheduled for Friday, May 1, near Altura
(Winona County) and Thursday, May 7, near Freeport (Stearns County). Two
certified crop advisor units will be applied. The registration cost is
$35.
University of Minnesota extension forage specialist Paul Peterson,
extension plant pathologist Dean Malvick and USDA-ARS plant pathologist
Deb Samac will lead the discussions. Among the topics to be covered:
Steps to assess spring alfalfa stand health and density; stand
assessment tools, resources, and considerations; submitting plant
samples for diagnosis; cutting management in winter-injured fields;
options to consider when making spring decisions for field rotation,
forage substitution or interseeding; and how to calculate nitrogen
credits from alfalfa.
Workshop registration, locations and directions can be found for Altura
at www.regonline.com/AlfalfaAltura
and for Freeport at www.regonline.com/AlfalfaFreeport.
More details are also available from Dave Nicolai, coordinator of
Minnesota’s IAP program, at nico0071@umn.edu or 612-625-2778.
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May 7 -- Kansas State University Beef Cattle/Forage Crops Field
Day, Southeast Agricultural Research Center, Mound Valley. Go to www.oznet.ksu.edu/SEARC/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=23,
email Llomas@k-state.edu or call
620-421-4826.
May 8 -- Southwest Dairy Day, Sierra Dairy, Dublin, TX. Visit texasdairymatters.org or email
c-holley@tamu.edu.
May 26 -- University Of Tennessee Forage Conference, West
Tennessee Research and Education Center, Jackson. Sponsored by
University of Tennessee Extension and Tennessee Forage and Grassland
Council. Conference starts at 3:30 p.m. Contact Brian White at
731-968-5266 or dwhite3@tennessee.edu, or Gary
Bates at 865-974-7208 or gbates@utk.edu.
June 21-23 -- American Forage & Grassland Council Annual
Conference, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, MI. Call
800-944-2342 or email info@afgc.org.
June 27 -- 2009 Equine Field Day, University of Kentucky’s
Maine Chance Equine Campus, Lexington. Phone 859-257-2226 or go to www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/EquineField.
July 23 -- University Of Kentucky All Commodity Field Day, UK
Research and Education Center, Princeton. Details forthcoming at www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/.
July 29-30 -- U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center Getting More From
Forages Conference, Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center,
Madison, WI. Visit www.dfrc.ars.usda.gov/forages/Program.html
for more details.
Aug. 27 -- 2009 Arlington Agronomy And Soils Field Day,
University of Wisconsin Agricultural Research Station, Arlington.
(Agenda details will be available in early May.)
Sept. 17-19 -- National Hay Association Convention, Cadillac
Jack’s Gaming Resort, Deadwood, SD. Contact Don Kieffer at
800-707-0014 or visit www.nationalhay.org.
Sept. 29-Oct. 3 -- World Dairy Expo, Alliant Energy Center,
Madison, WI. Visit www.worlddairyexpo.com.
Nov. 10-11 -- BEEF Quality Summit, Stoney Creek Inn, St.
Joseph, MO, hosted by BEEF magazine. Visit beefconference.com.
Nov. 18-19 -- McCook Farm And Ranch Expo, Red Willow County
Fairgrounds, McCook, NE. Visit mccookfarmandranchexpo.net
or call 866-685-0989.
Dec. 13-16 -- Fourth National Conference On Grazing Lands, Reno,
NV. Presented by the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative. Visit www.glci.org.
Feb 16-17, 2010 -- Idaho Hay And Forage Conference, Best Western
Burley Inn, Burley. Contact Glenn Shewmaker at 208-736-3608 or gshew@uidaho.edu.
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