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Hay & Forage Grower
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or
Fae Holin,
Managing Editor, fholin@hayandforage.com
For specific information from past issues of eHay Weekly and
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By Fae Holin, Managing Editor, Hay & Forage
Grower
A consistent feed – whether it's hay or silage – translates to
consistent milk production. Yet just a small amount of variation in feed
quality can immediately affect milk production, according to Dave
Mertens, who spoke at the recent Getting More From Forages conference in
Madison, WI.
"For high-producing cows, we have a conflict between trying to maximize
the nutrient density in the ration and also meeting a minimum fiber
requirement. If you look at a range of diets feasible for
(high-producing) dairy cows, you find that, as milk production goes
higher, the range of diets you can feed to those animals that allow them
to produce that much milk becomes very narrow.
"These cows are just like racecars," said Mertens, a dairy scientist
with the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center (USDA-ARS) near Madison, to a
room full of nutritionists and scientists. "In the racecar you are
pushing everything to its maximum for power and traction. Almost
anything that you do affects performance, and an abrupt change, such as
a blown tire, is going to cause a disaster. Dairy cows that are
performing at their maximum need consistency in the ration, and abrupt
changes can cause problems."
Even a small change, such as rain or snow on an open silo face, can
affect the amount and proportion of dry matter from forages in a dairy
diet. In Mertens' recent research on dry-matter variation in forages, a
one-day change resulted in a 2.2-lb/cow loss in dry matter intake and a
1.8-lb milk production loss the next two days. The dairy scientist
concluded that a certain amount of day-to-day variation is unavoidable,
but that daily on-farm, rapid analysis of forages for dry matter –
along with good feed management – can help control some of that
variation.
Click
here to read the entire story.
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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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Hay producers looking to apply nutrients to fields this fall should
find commercial fertilizer prices much more agreeable than they were
last fall. A University of Kentucky (UK) survey of median fertilizer
prices at Midwestern retail outlets in July showed a sharp drop from
last fall’s record highs. According to the survey, diammonium
phosphate (DAP) prices were 55% lower than in late fall 2008. Urea
prices dropped 30% and potash decreased by 18% during the same time
frame.
One caveat: Despite the lower average prices, differences in prices
among retailers for the same products ranged from around $150/ton to
more than $400/ton depending on the fertilizer. That’s due, in part,
to many retailers trying to recoup the costs of stocks purchased when
prices were high.
"This is a good time to shop around," says Greg Halich, UK ag
economist. "You can truck fertilizer a long way to make up even a
$100/ton difference in price."
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For years, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has administered a
program offering grain producers low-interest loans for constructing
grain bins. Now, under the 2008 Farm Bill, hay growers can qualify for
the same kind of financing on certain storage facilities.
According to a fact sheet on FSA’s Farm Storage Facility Loan Program
released last month, 85% of the cost of new storage facilities, for up
to two years worth of hay and renewable biomass production, can be
financed at the fixed FSA interest rate for either 7,10 or 12 years. In
some cases, low-interest financing will also be available for renovating
existing storage.
For more information, go to www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/fsfl09.pdf.
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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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Getting a lab analysis on your soils this fall will go a long way
in helping get your alfalfa crop off to a good start next spring, say
agronomists with Pioneer Hi-Bred. Writing in the August edition of
Pioneer’s Forage Byte newsletter, the agronomists note that
research shows successful alfalfa winter survival is linked to the level
of potassium (K) fertilization. Potassium has a positive effect on
nodulation and nitrogen fixation. “When soil-test K is high and the
alfalfa plant is healthy, stand persistence typically is very high. In
contrast, fields with very low soil potassium levels often result in
significant winter injury and stand decline.”
Each ton of hay dry matter removes about 50 lbs of K and 15 lbs of
phosphorus. To avoid luxury consumption, the agronomists recommend a
split application, based on yield goals, after first cutting and again
in late summer. If making a single annual application, they advise doing
so in early fall to minimize the potential for winter injury.
For more tips from Pioneer on the link between effective fall management
and healthy spring growth in alfalfa, click
here.
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2 Number of September days designated as
Corn Silage Dry Down Days by the Sheboygan County, WI, Forage Council
and several co-sponsors. The purpose of the days is to help individual
dairy producers target the ideal corn silage moisture for the storage
system used on their farms. Producers can bring four or five whole
stalks for onsite NIR analysis to the Kettle-Lakes Cooperative in Random
Lake on Sept. 15 or the Adell Co-op in Adell on Sept. 22. To see a
brochure detailing the program, go to sheboygan.uwex.edu/ag/agronomy/documents/2009cornsilageDryDownBrochure.pdf.
9 Days left before the start of the National
Hay Association (NHA) annual convention. This year’s meeting, which
runs Sept. 17-19, will be held at Cadillac Jack’s Gaming Resort in
Deadwood, SD. To learn more about NHA, click here.
10-15 Minutes to leave a spirit-filled
(cooking) thermometer in a hay bale to check internal temperature,
according to Marvin Hall, Penn State University extension forage
specialist. For more suggestions from Hall on how to avoid barn or
storage-shed fires, go to fcn.agronomy.psu.edu/2009/fcn0925.cfm
and scroll to Monitoring Hay Bale Temperature.
60 Number of grasshoppers/square yard found
in some parts of southwestern South Dakota. At least seven counties are
seeking federal disaster declarations to help deal with damage to
hayfields and pastures. The problem extends far beyond South Dakota.
USDA has set up a program to help protect forages in 17 Western states.
Source: Washington (D.C.) Examiner.
$109 Average per-ton all-hay price in the
U.S. as of Aug. 31, according to the National Agricultural Statistics
Service (NASS). That’s down $7/ton from the July figure and $54/ton
from the August 2008 average price. To see NASS’ complete Agricultural
Prices report for August, go to usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/AgriPric/AgriPric-08-31-2009.pdf.
200 Tons of hay lost in a fire last week on a
ranch near Hermosa, SD, according to a report in the Rapid City
Journal. Local fire officials believe spontaneous combustion caused
it.
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Kentucky
State hay growers are enjoying an “exceptional” growing season,
reports Tom Keene, University of Kentucky agronomist. “We’ve pretty
much had wet, cool conditions all spring and summer,” he says. “And
we’ve produced a lot of hay. It was quite the turnaround from the 2007
and 2008 drought years where the hay supply was extremely tight.”
While there’s an abundant supply in the state overall, quality hay
may be tough to find. “This year’s crop in general just wasn’t up
to par,” says Keene. “Ideal haymaking conditions were few and far
between. A lot of hay got rained on or didn’t get made until it was
very mature.”
Plentiful stocks of beef-quality hay, along with lower cattle numbers,
will likely depress prices. “Last year, that kind of hay was selling
for somewhere around $120-130/ton,” he says. “This year, for the
same type of hay, the going price will probably be in the $50-60/ton
range.
“Right now we’ve got a lot of pasture. If that stays the same,
people will be able to graze pastures longer before they start feeding
hay this winter. On the other hand, if we get an early winter or lots of
snow, who knows?”
The price drop will likely be less severe for high-quality hay sold to
the horse market. “High-quality forages in small square bales are
still going to command a decent price,” Keene says.
Either way, hay growers and their customers should consider having hay
tested this year, says Keene. “Hay producers sell their product,
either through cash markets or to their livestock, so it's important
that they know about the product they are selling or feeding,” he
says. “Knowing the quality helps with pricing and allows livestock
producers to come up with balanced rations so they can maintain animal
performance as well as feed hay economically this winter.”
To contact Keene, phone 859-257-3144 or email tom.keene@uky.edu.
Texas
The devastating drought in Texas generated lots of newspaper headlines
throughout the spring and summer months. But not all areas of the state
have been hit equally hard. Hay grower Robert Hicks, Alto (east-central
Texas), counts himself among the fortunate. “Overall, we’ve had a
decent year,” says Hicks. “We haven’t had anywhere near the
rainfall we normally do, but the rain we’ve had has come at just the
right time. On our first three cuttings, we got the crop put up and in
the barn and then, within two days, we had a good rain.” He’s just
starting to gear up for fourth cutting.
He grows several kinds of bermudagrass on 250 acres, packaging most of
it in 4 x 5’ round bales. In recent years he’s moved to producing
more small squares and also 3 x 3 x 8’ medium squares. He sells
high-quality horse hay to feed stores and also markets cow hay directly
to cattle producers.
High demand this year has kept supplies tight. “Right now, my barns
are empty,” Hicks reports. “I don’t have anything left for sale.
We’ll see what happens with our fourth cutting.”
Prices have bumped up from last year. He says high-quality horse hay (at
least 15% crude protein) is bringing around $130/ton. Last year the
going price for similar-quality hay was just over $100/ton. “I set the
price for my hay when I’m done with each cutting. That way I know how
much I have in it and what I need to get for it.”
Hicks has started doing more quality testing in recent years. “With
expenses for everything going up, the customers really like it. A cow
guy knows that if he’s getting 13-14% protein out of the hay, he
won’t have to feed as much mineral. If the hay is testing just 8%, he
knows he’ll need more mineral.”
To contact Hicks, phone 936-554-9898 or email rhicks@hickspost.com.
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Kansas State University is sponsoring a Summer Annual Forage Field
Day for beef producers near Stockton, KS, on Thursday, Sept. 10. Topics
to be covered include summer annual forage varieties, management and
production challenges and the value of forage quality vs. quantity when
fed to beef cattle.
For directions to the research plot and more information about the field
day, phone 785-425-6851 or email rboyle@ksu.edu.
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On Sept. 15, Ohio State University Extension will conduct a
workshop on how to incorporate cover crops into a farming operation.
Fisher Auditorium on the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development
Center campus in Wooster is the meeting site.
The workshop will cover such topics as the benefits of cover crops, how
to choose the right cover crop, how to use cover crops to build soil
fertility and tilth and how to manage insects, diseases and weeds.
The first 75 people to register will receive a free lunch and a copy of
Managing Cover Crops Profitably: Third Edition, a book from
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE). For more
information, phone 614-421-2022 or email laura@oeffa.org.
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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. Go to www.georgiaforages.com/.
Sept. 29-Oct. 3 -- World Dairy Expo, Alliant Energy Center,
Madison, WI. Visit www.worlddairyexpo.com.
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. Visit www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage.
Oct. 29 -- LSU AgCenter Calhoun Research Station Field Day,
Calhoun, LA. Innovative uses for forest and forage biomass will be
featured. Contact Michael Blazier at 318-927-2578 or mblazier@agcenter.lsu.edu.
Nov. 4-6 -- DHI-Provo 55th-Annual Herd Management Training
Conference, Provo, UT. Details 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.
Nov. 18-19 -- McCook Farm And Ranch Expo, Red Willow County
Fairgrounds, McCook, NE. Visit mccookfarmandranchexpo.net
or call 866-685-0989.
Dec. 1-2 – Manitoba Grazing School, Victoria Inn, Brandon. Call
204-622-2006.
Dec. 2-4 -- Western Alfalfa And Forage Conference, 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.
April 8-9, 2010 -- Hay Production School, Spence Field, Moultrie,
GA. Go to www.georgiaforages.com.
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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