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Hay & Forage Grower
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Growers of hail-damaged silage or grain corn are getting some bad
replanting advice, according to Dan Undersander, University of Wisconsin
extension forage agronomist.
Replanting corn ground to sorghum-sudangrass is the worst possible
option this late in the season, he says, because the crop needs hot
weather and won't produce significant tonnage before it’s killed by
frost. A number of Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Iowa cornfields
were severely damaged or devastated by hail in late July.
Information to help producers make hail-damage decisions has been added
to Iowa State University Extension’s Disaster Recovery Web site. To
access the site, go to www.extension.iastate.edu/disasterrecovery/info/haildamage.htm.
For additional suggestions from Undersander and other agronomists, go to
hayandforage.com.
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Whether you’re looking for proven
performance in a package that offers exceptional value or a tractor that
gives you the latest electronic conveniences and push button simplicity,
the new T6000 Series tractors from New Holland are built for you. T6000
tractors are a natural choice for haying operations and heavy loader
work. To learn more, see your local New Holland dealer or call
1-888-290-7377. www.newholland.com/na
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While U.S. hay exports have slumped overall in concert with the
world-wide economic downturn so far this year, the Middle East is
emerging as a potential bright spot for U.S. hay headed overseas, says
Anthony Micci, export forage manager for Fornazor International, Inc.
Fornazor is the export arm of Kansas Forage Products (KFP), a Stafford,
KS, firm exporting double-compressed alfalfa bales and alfalfa pellets.
Micci points out that the demand for forages in the Middle East
parallels an increase in dairy product consumption and decisions by
governments in the region to utilize scarce water to produce high-end
crops like fruits and vegetables rather than lower-value forages for its
growing dairy herd.
In selling hay to Middle Eastern importers, U.S. firms will face stiff
competition from Canada, Spain, Egypt and others. How successful the
U.S. exporters are will ultimately depend on a variety of factors,
including domestic hay prices, fuel prices and ocean-going freight
rates. “It’s way too early to tell exactly how much they’ll be
buying and what kind of prices they’ll be paying,” says Micci.
“But any way you look at, the prospect of selling more hay in that
part of the world is very exciting.”
For more on hay export trends, watch for the August issue of Hay &
Forage Grower. To learn more about Fornazor International and KFP,
go to www.fornazor.com.
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Commercial production of cellulosic ethanol is closer to becoming a
reality than many people think, says Cole Gustafson, biofuels economist
at North Dakota State University.
According to Gustafson, a handful of companies – Coskata,
Dupont/Danisco, Iogen, Lignol, Poet and PureVision – say they already
have production from demonstration plants or will have production within
the year. “Most are processing about 1 ton of material into ethanol
daily,” he reports. “From that ton of biomass, they are producing
between 70 and 85 gallons of biofuels. Commercial production is expected
to follow in a year or two.”
Most telling: While businesses across the country have found it
difficult to generate debt capital, cellulosic ethanol firms have been
able to secure reasonable levels of financial capital for expansion.
“Dupont/Danisco actually was a new venture formed during the past
year, with $140 million of new investment capital,” notes Gustafson.
To see a detailed report from Gustafson on the recent International Fuel
Ethanol Workshop,
click
here.
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 Use
our site to search for forage production tips! Plus, read what other
growers are doing to stay profitable.
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This summer’s extensive drought in Texas, characterized by long
stretches of 100-plus degree temperatures and parched soils, may be the
norm rather than the exception over the next few decades, says a Texas
A&M University climatologist.
Gerald North says that, while this winter could be wetter thanks to an
El Niño currently building in the Pacific Ocean, the long-term trend
suggests more hot and dry summers.
"All the (climate) models say things are going to get warmer in the
U.S. and the rest of the world," he says. "But it's a gradual process; a
kind of stagger-step trend upwards. It may warm for a few decades, then
slow down, then warm again for a few decades."
North bases his predictions on a 2007 report from the Intergovernmental
Panel On Climate Change, an organization made up of thousands of
scientists from more than 100 countries. “What they suggest is that
the tropical climates will expand northward. This seems to have been
happening in the past and will continue to happen in the future."
North adds that it’s possible the current drought is not indicative of
a permanent trend, but an anomaly, as were the droughts of the 1930s and
1950s. "It could be just a fluke that persists for a decade. My guess is
that it's here to stay, but with fluctuations up and down."
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Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has tentatively accepted 294
bids in the third dairy herd retirement it has conducted in the last
nine months. The 86,710 cows and 1.8 billion pounds of milk accepted in
this round, combined with CWT’s previous two herd retirements, equal a
total production capacity of 4.8 billion pounds of milk removed since
December 2008.
This is the second-largest herd retirement since the farmer-funded,
self-help program started in 2003. The previous retirement round
(completed in July) removed a record 101,000 cows and 1.96 billion
pounds of milk.
“These two summer 2009 herd retirements, combined with USDA’s recent
price support increases, should result in very positive movement in
dairy farmers’ milk prices,” says Jerry Kozak, National Milk
Producers Federation president and CWT administrator.
Farmers in 38 states submitted a total of 312 herd retirement bids to
CWT last month. This eighth CWT herd retirement in the past six years
was also the first to feature a maximum acceptable bid of $5.25/cwt. It
was also the quickest herd retirement following a previous round, which
is an indication “that there is still an interest on the part of our
members to use CWT to remove more cows, even though the program has been
very active in 2008 and to date in 2009,” notes Kozak. This round is
removing 3,104 bred heifers.
Kozak says CWT stands ready to conduct additional herd retirements later
this year in order to help address the severe supply-demand imbalance
that has depressed farm-level milk prices.
Source: Western Farm Press.
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- Kentucky forage growers getting ready to buy seed for fall
planting will want to check out the University of Kentucky Cooperative
Extension Service’s 2008 Forage Variety Trial Reports before making
purchasing decisions. The reports are available at www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage.
- Summer-annual forages like sudangrass, hybrid pearl millet and even
sorghum-sudangrass hybrids can produce two or three cuttings with
excellent feed value, says Kansas State University extension agronomist
Vic Martin. Learn more at www.oznet.ksu.edu/ksrenews/story/briefs080609.aspx.
- The Eric Miles Farm in Wayne County, IN, will be the site of this
year’s 2009 Purdue Forage Day on Sept. 17. For more details, go to www.agry.purdue.edu/forageday/.
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Minnesota
It’s still too early in the year to get a handle on where prices for
top-quality organic alfalfa hay are headed, says Robin Brekken, Robin
Brekken Farms, Inc., near Crookston.
“Typically, the only reason we’ll be shipping hay at this time of
year is because someone else is having a misfortune,” he says. “Last
year, for example, they had a major drought in northern Indiana and we
were shipping a lot of hay to organic dairies down that way by this
time. This year, they’ve had plenty of rainfall and the cows have been
staying out on pasture. As a rule, I don’t anticipate shipping a lot
of hay until Oct. 1.”
Brekken produces organic alfalfa and alfalfa-grass hay in 3 x 3 x 8’
square bales. He also sells baleage in 3 x 3 x 6’ bales. He was just
getting going on third-crop harvest at the end of July, start of August.
Rainfall will determine whether he’s likely to have a decent fourth
crop. “We could use a little more rain,” he says.
New this year, Brekken opted to go from a three-cutting to a
four-cutting harvest schedule. “We’re looking to get more quality
with the four-cut schedule,” he says. “The challenge with four
cuttings is that it doesn’t leave you any room to fudge. The chance of
something getting rained on goes up by 25%.”
To contact Brekken, call 218-926-5655 or email rlbrekken@gvtel.com.
South Dakota
While hay growers in many parts of the country have seen too much
moisture for their liking so far in 2009, the weather has been nearly
ideal in western South Dakota, says Art Walker of Walker Farms near
Fruitdale. “This is the best-looking hay crop we’ve had in a
decade,” Walker says. “We were in drought for about 10 years. But
for the last two years it’s been very wet. We’ll take the wet over
the dry any day.”
Walker puts up alfalfa and alfalfa-grass hay on 600 acres, split roughly
half and half between dryland and irrigated fields. Ranchers and horse
owners in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana make
up the primary market for his large round bales.
A few late snows helped get Walker’s dryland crop off to a good start
this year. On his irrigated ground, he is just getting started with
second cutting. “It really has come on nicely; the quality is very
good,” he says.
To help with marketing, Walker’s wife, Jenny, designed a farm Web site
(www.ajwalkerfarms.com) four
years ago. The bulk of his business still comes from the postings he
does at feed stores and a local parts supply store. “But the Web site
has been coming on the last couple of years,” he says. “We’ve been
getting quite a few calls from people who have been to the site. That
will continue to increase as people get more educated about using the
Internet.”
Walker spends about $30/year for site hosting. He plans to post
availability and prices for this year’s crop on the site soon.
To contact Walker, phone 605-580-5741 or email art@ajwalkerfarms.com.
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With rainy weather messing up alfalfa harvest schedules in many
parts of the country, hay growers need to be on the alert for upticks in
potato leafhopper (PLH) populations, says Keith Waldron with the New
York State Integrated Pest Management Program.
“Partially harvested fields can set the stage for future PLH
problems,” says Waldron. “Adult PLH in the standing portion of the
field can easily relocate to the shorter portion of the field and attack
the vulnerable regrowth. The shorter alfalfa has a lower threshold for
PLH than taller alfalfa so is at much higher risk for injury.”
Harvesting remaining portions of fields as soon as possible is the best
bet for minimizing PLH population buildups and their easy movement to
adjacent portions of a field, says Waldron.
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Oklahoma Cooperative Extension will host a Teff Field Day on
Saturday, Aug. 15, at Oklahoma State University’s Ag Hall in
Stillwater.
Along with presentations on the feasibility of growing teff in central
Oklahoma, weed management challenges and nutrient requirements, the
event will feature a field visit to the university’s Agronomy Research
Station. Registration is free.
For more information, call 405-744-4667 or email kefyalew.desta@okstate.edu.
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Aug. 13 -- Ohio State Horse And Pasture Management School,
Clermont County Fairgrounds, Owensville. Contact Susie Steffensen at
513-732-7075 or susie.steffensen@oh.nacdnet.net.
Aug. 14 -- Ninth Annual Profitable Pastures Field Day, University
of Wisconsin Lancaster Ag Research Station. Phone 608-723-6243 or
608-723-2580 or email rhonda.gildersleeve@ces.uwex.edu.
Aug. 14 -- Texas Agrilife Extension Service Alfalfa Workshop,
Texas Boys Ranch, Lubbock. Phone Calvin Trostle at 806-746-6101 or
email ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu.
Aug. 27 -- 2009 Arlington Agronomy And Soils Field Day,
University of Wisconsin Agricultural Research Station, Arlington.
Download the program at ipcm.wisc.edu/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=WqM8AqDKW9o%3D&tabid=114&mid=669.
Sept. 2 -- Wisconsin Forage And Tillage Expo, D and D Hawkins
Farm, Chippewa Falls. Phone the Chippewa County UW-Extension office at
715-726-7950.
Sept. 3 -- Kentucky Forage And Grassland Council Field Day, James
R. Smith Farm, Lawrenceburg. For program information and directions to
the farm, go to www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage.
Sept. 14-16 -- South Dakota Grazing School, Oacoma. Sponsored by
South Dakota Grass Coalition. Phone 605-688-6623 or 605-280-0127 or
visit www.sdgrass.org.
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. 22-23 -- Georgia Grazing School, University of Georgia
Livestock Instruction Arena, Athens. Details coming soon at www.georgiaforages.com/.
Sept. 29-Oct. 3 -- World Dairy Expo, Alliant Energy Center,
Madison, WI. Visit www.worlddairyexpo.com.
Oct. 20-22 -- 2009 Southeast Hay Contest/Sunbelt Ag Expo,
Moultrie, GA. Contact University of Georgia extension forage specialist
Dennis Hancock at 706-542-1529 or dhancock@uga.edu.
Oct. 23-24 -- Virginia Tech University’s 2009 Mid-Atlantic
Grass-Finished Livestock Conference, Holiday Inn Conference Center,
Staunton, VA. Contact Margaret Kenny at 434-292-5331 or makenny@vt.edu.
Oct. 29 -- Kentucky Grazing Conference, University of Kentucky
Research and Education Center, Princeton. Details available soon at www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage.
Nov. 4-6 -- DHI-Provo 55th-Annual Herd Management Training
Conference, Provo, UT. Details forthcoming at www.dhiprovo.com.
Nov. 10-11 -- BEEF Quality Summit, Stoney Creek Inn, St.
Joseph, MO, hosted by BEEF magazine. Visit beefconference.com for details to
come.
Nov. 18-19 -- McCook Farm And Ranch Expo, Red Willow County
Fairgrounds, McCook, NE. Visit mccookfarmandranchexpo.net
or call 866-685-0989.
Dec. 2-4 -- Western Alfalfa And Forage Symposium, Grand Sierra
Resort Casino, Reno, NV. Go to alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/+symposium/2009/.
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.
June 20-22, 2010 -- American Forage And Grassland Council Annual
Conference, University Plaza Hotel, Springfield, MO. Go to www.afgc.org.
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