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Hay & Forage Grower
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Heavy December-through-April feeding has resulted in 5% less hay
stored on farms than at this time last year despite unusually high
supplies going into the winter feeding period.
In its May 11 Crop
Production report, USDA estimates May 1 hay stocks at 20.9
million tons, down from 22.1 million tons on May 1, 2009. Disappearance
from Dec. 1 to May 1 totaled 86.3 million tons compared with 81.6
million tons during the same period a year ago. Dec. 1, 2009, stocks
were put at 107 million tons, 3% above the year-earlier figure and the
highest in five years.
Among the major hay-growing states, this year’s May 1 hay stocks are
significantly higher compared with 2009 numbers in Colorado, Idaho,
Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota and Wyoming. Notable declines
are reported for California, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas,
Washington and Wisconsin.
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U.S. pastures are getting off to a great start overall in 2010,
according to a report released by USDA this week.
The report shows that, as of May 9, 64% of pastures and ranges in the
continental U.S. were in good or excellent condition. Good moisture
conditions in the Midwest and Northern and Southern Plains played a
major role, some experts note.
In Texas, 51% of the pastures and ranges were in good/excellent
condition, while just 13% were in poor or very poor condition. Last
year, only 29% of Texas pastures were in good condition in early May,
and 40% were rated poor/very poor. Likewise, 62% of pastures and ranges
in Oklahoma are in good/excellent condition compared to 38% a year ago.
Pasture and range conditions were part of USDA’s May 10 Crop
Progress report.
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With an abundance of moisture in many areas of the country this
spring, alfalfa seedlings could find it tough to compete with vigorous
weeds, says University of Nebraska
Extension forage specialist Bruce Anderson.
Mowing is one control option. Adjust mowing height so several leaves
remain on alfalfa seedlings after clipping to help them regrow rapidly,
he advises. “Also, be careful not to smother small seedlings with
clippings. Mow weeds before they get so tall that they produce a large
quantity of clippings.”
If you’d rather spray broadleaf weeds than mow, Anderson recommends
using Buctril, Butyrac, Pursuit or Raptor. “Buctril controls most
small broadleaf weeds, but alfalfa injury can occur when temperatures
exceed 80 degrees. If you expect those high temperatures when you spray,
it might be better to use Butyrac, Pursuit or Raptor.”
But apply herbicide when weeds are less than 3” tall or results will
be inconsistent. Pursuit and Raptor are more expensive, but their soil
activity will continue to control weeds throughout much of the season.
Mowing isn’t very effective on grassy weeds, says Anderson. He advises
using Poast Plus or Select. “Make sure you spray before grasses get
4” tall or control will be spotty.”
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Depending on where you’re located, consider adding brown root rot
(BRR) to the list of what may be keeping your alfalfa stands from being
as thick as they should be, says Doug Holen, University of Minnesota
Extension crops educator.
BRR has traditionally been considered a problem in alfalfa fields north
of the Canadian border, Holen points out. But with improved lab-testing
procedures and more sampling in recent years, the disease has been
diagnosed in 13 U.S. states within three regions – the Intermountain
West, Minnesota-Wisconsin and the Northeast.
“What we have come to learn the past couple years is that what we
typically and easily wrote off as winterkilled fields and field areas
affected by environmental factors may very well be linked to brown root
rot,” says Holen.
The fungal pathogen is commonly dormant during summers with warm soils,
but becomes increasingly active when temperatures cool in fall. Plant
damage and stand losses in infected fields can occur slowly over time or
quickly during a single winter. Roots of infected plants will display
darkened lesions below the crown on the tap, lateral and feeder root
structures. Lesions can eventually girdle roots. Damage may be
unnoticeable or identified as slow-growing plants during first crop, but
more pronounced in second-cutting regrowth, when plant root systems are
taxed.
To learn more about managing the disease, check out Brown
Root Rot of Alfalfa, a four-page bulletin produced by the University of Minnesota’s Northwest
Research and Outreach Center in cooperation with USDA.
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“These articles seem a bit late to the game since we’ve been
dealing with glyphosate-resistant weeds for 10 years now … But I guess
the mainstream media has decided weed resistance is now in vogue.”
– Mica Veihman, writing in Monsanto’s “Beyond
The Rows” blog about a May 3 New
York Times story on Roundup-resistant “superweeds.”
“We’re looking at a pretty bad year.” – Wyoming alfalfa
grower commenting on the likelihood that the state will experience a
major outbreak of grasshoppers and blister beetles during the upcoming
growing season. Source: Casper (WY) Journal.
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Illinois
Favorable spring weather has the alfalfa hay crop coming on quickly in
western Illinois, says Vince Heyer of Pinnacle Farms, Milan. “It’s
night and day compared to last year,” says Heyer. “We’re running
about a month ahead. We could be getting started on first-crop this
coming week.”
During last year’s extremely wet growing season, Heyer was able to get
just two to three cuttings off most of his fields. Four is the norm in a
typical year. Pinnacle devotes 320 acres to alfalfa hay production, with
about 50 additional acres in alfalfa-orchardgrass.
Most hay is packaged in small square bales weighing 75 lbs each. Some
first crop is put up as 3 x 3 x 8’ bales. Nearly all small squares are
shipped to Pinnacle’s retail store, which serves horse owners in
northern Florida.
The small squares are currently bringing $12-14/bale retail compared to
last year’s $16-plus/bale price, Heyer reports. “Sales have been
okay, but demand has slacked off a bit. With the slowdown in the
economy, a lot of northern horse owners weren’t bringing as many
horses to Florida to board them for the winter. And a lot of people who
used to own six horses now own just one or two.”
To contact Heyer, call 309-787-4432 or email vheyer@stanrick.net. Learn more
about Pinnacle Farms.
New Mexico
The new growing season is getting off to a late start in east-central
New Mexico. “We usually get going with first-crop alfalfa harvest in
mid- to late April, but this year we’re running about two to three
weeks late,” reports Leigh Ann Marez, New Mexico State University Extension
agent in De Baca County. “We had a little longer winter than normal
with more moisture, and our soils just haven’t quite warmed up yet.”
Until the new crop comes on, she looks for supplies to remain fairly
tight. Currently, premium dairy hay packaged in large square bales is
selling for around $160/ton. Top-of-the-line horse hay packaged in small
square bales is bringing $220/ton. “We really haven’t seen much
movement on prices from those levels over the past several years,” she
says. “We could see prices back off by $20/ton or so in mid-July once
the new-crop supply starts building.”
To reach Marez, call 575-355-2381 or email lemarez@nmsu.edu.
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Timothy growers in the northeastern U.S. should be on the lookout
for cereal rust mites (CRM), says Keith Waldron of the New York State Integrated Pest
Management Program.
CRM has been a problem in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and New York
in recent years. It causes retarded growth, stunting and plant
discoloration. “Injured plants appear to be drought-stressed even when
adequate moisture is available for plant growth,” says Waldron. “As
with most grasses, the edges of timothy leaves roll together when the
plant is under moisture stress.”
Because the mite is minuscule, scouting for CRM can be tough duty, says
Waldron. He recommends picking a few choice leaves showing the
brown/flagging leaf-tip symptoms and using a powerful hand lens (10-20X)
to look for the mites between leaf veins. Adult mites are
spindle-shaped, with four legs. They can be white, yellow or orange.
Evidence of their presence on the plant is off-colored foliage and leaf
or bud abnormalities. Large mite populations often produce many
elongated, white shed skins.
While there are no economic threshold guidelines for CRM, consider
treating fields with a previous history of cereal rust mites and/or when
25% of plant tillers exhibit curled tips on new leaf blades within
several weeks following greenup, Waldron says. No insecticides/miticides
are registered for controlling CRM in New York. To learn more, check out
Penn State University Extension’s CRM
fact sheet.
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A Management-Intensive Grazing School is scheduled for May 25-27 at
the Southwest Research Center in Mount Vernon, MO.
Participants will learn about soil basics and fertility, plant growth
and forage quality, fencing and water systems, matching livestock and
forage resources, meeting nutritional needs of livestock from pasture,
layout and design of grazing systems, and economics of
management-intensive grazing.
Started in 1995 as a regional program, the grazing schools are held at
various locations, dates and formats to meet the diverse needs of area
livestock producers. Schools are conducted and sponsored by USDA's
Natural Resources Conservation Service, University of Missouri Extension
and area Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
To learn more or to get registered before the May 15 deadline, call
417-466-2148. See a grazing-school
schedule.
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May 13 -- Legume Management In The Southeast: Field Day And
Pasture Walk, Central Georgia Research & Education Center, Eatonton.
Get details.
May 15 -- Northeast Washington Hay Growers Association Annual Field
Day, Eric Ostby Farm and JKO Ranch, Chattaroy. Phone 509-725-4171.
May 19 -- University Of California Alfalfa & Forage Crops Field Day,
UC-Davis Agronomy Field Headquarters, Davis. Get additional details.
June 9-10 -- Four-State Dairy Nutrition And Management Conference,
Grand River Center, Dubuque, IA. Register online or download a brochure.
Or call the Wisconsin Agri-Service Association at 608-223-1111 or Jim
Salfer at 320-203-6093 or salfe001@umn.edu.
June 21-23 -- American Forage And Grassland Council Annual
Conference, University Plaza Hotel, Springfield, MO. Get details.
June 23 -- Dodge County/Fond du Lac County (WI) Forage Council
Twilight Meeting, Lemmenes Custom Farms, LLC, Waupun. Get more information.
Aug. 9-10 -- Kentucky Grazing School, Woodford County Extension
Office, Versailles. Preregistration required. See
a brochure.
Sept. 1-4 -- National Hay Association Annual Meeting, Griffin
Gate Marriott Resort, Lexington, KY. Watch for details.
Feb. 24, 2011 -- Kentucky Alfalfa Conference, Fayette County
Extension office, Lexington. Watch for details.
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