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Hay & Forage Grower
USDA
Hay Prices
Weather
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Yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that lifts the ban on the
sale and planting of Roundup Ready alfalfa seed is good news for
proponents of the transgenic crop. But it won’t by itself hasten the
seed’s return to the marketplace, says Mark McCaslin, president of
Forage Genetics In-ternational, which developed the first Roundup Ready
alfalfa varieties under a licensing agreement with Monsanto.
In a seven-to-one vote, the high court found that U.S. District Court
Judge Charles Breyer erred in 2007 when he issued a permanent injunction
banning the planting of Roundup Ready alfalfa until USDA completes an
environmental impact statement (EIS). Breyer ruled that USDA’s Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) should have done a full EIS
before releasing the crop two years earlier. Yesterday’s ruling, the
first-ever high-court decision on a genetically modified crop, overturns
a federal appeals court ruling that upheld Breyer’s orders.
Click
here to read the entire story.
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Wet weather has been creating major headaches for producers in many
parts of the country so far in 2010. While there isn’t much of a
positive payback to managing rained-on hay, ignoring it can be even more
expensive, says University of Nebraska Extension forage specialist Bruce
Anderson.
One of the biggest concerns with rained-on hay is the potential for
long-term damage to regrowing plants. “Driving over the field
repeatedly – trying to turn hay to hasten its drying – will injure
regrowth and can cause soil compaction, especially if the ground is
soft,” says Anderson.
On the flip side, though, not driving on the field leaves an even bigger
problem with the windrows. “If they stay there until next cutting,
plants underneath will be smothered. This not only lowers yield, it
creates a terrible weed problem as grasses and broadleaves infest the
killed strips. These weeds will contaminate all subsequent cuttings. In
addition, if rained-on windrows are left in the field, they frequently
will plug the mower next cutting.”
Anderson’s bottom line: Remove windrows any way you can. “Bale it,
chop it, even blow it back on the ground as mulch,” he says. “You
may need to damage plants by driving on them to turn hay to speed drying
and get sunlight to plants underneath. But do it anyway to prevent old
windrows from ruining the rest of your haying year.”
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Hay growers and livestock producers in some parts of the country
will want to be on the lookout for poison hemlock during the harvest
season, says University of Kentucky Extension weed scientist J.D. Green.
Native to Europe, poison hemlock is an invasive weed that was introduced
in the U.S. as an ornamental during the 19th century. Traditionally, the
weed has mostly been found along fencerows, roadways and other areas not
used for cropland. In the past several years, though, it has been found
more frequently in hayfields and pastures.
“This is a classic example of one invasive plant problem that has
gotten out of hand, but people may not be as alarmed about it as with
other invasive plants because they may not know what it is,” says
Green.
Poison hemlock is potentially poisonous if ingested by livestock or
humans in vegetative growth stages and when dry. Symptoms appear quickly
and include nervousness, trembling, muscle weakness, loss of
coordination, pupil dilation, coma and eventually death from respiratory
failure. Livestock typically refrain from eating poison hemlock in its
natural growing state because it’s unpalatable. But they will more
likely eat it if no other forage is available or when it’s baled up in
hay.
At this time of year, Green says, the best option for controlling poison
hemlock in pastures is mowing the plants before they produce new seeds
(soon after flowering). In hayfields, growers will want to either mow
around the plant when cutting or mow and separate affected areas from
other forages. In the late winter/early spring, growers can control the
plant while it’s in the vegetative growth stage with an application or
2,4-D or another herbicide.
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 Know where to find the best alfalfa seed?
Isn’t it obvious? Syngenta alfalfa varieties offer top yield, high
forage quality and exceptional persistence. Plus all the varieties you
need, available through your Garst seed advisor, Golden Harvest dealer
or NK retailer. Contact them today to place your order.
The Syngenta logo is a trademark of a Syngenta Group
Company.
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$3.75 Maximum per-hundedweight bid for
dairy producers looking to participate in the latest round of herd
retirements conducted by Cooperatives
Working Together. Bids must be postmarked by Friday, June 25. Learn
more about herd retirements.
11,000 Acres of alfalfa seed harvested in
Idaho in 2009, according to a recent
report from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
That’s down 8% from the 2008 figure. Total production for 2009 was
8.14 million pounds, down 4% from the previous year’s total.
$20,000+ Total cash awards in the 2010
World’s Forage Analysis Superbowl, to be held in conjunction with
World Dairy Expo, Sept. 28-Oct. 2 in Madison, WI. Along with an overall
grand champion and top first-time entrant, winners will be named in
several categories, including dairy hay, dairy haylage, commercial hay,
baleage, standard corn silage and brown midrib corn silage. Winners will
also be named in “Quality Counts” categories for hay/haylage and
corn silage. Deadline for entering the corn silage categories is Aug.13.
Entries in all other categories must be received by Sept. 2. Get
rules and entry forms.
54,000 Employment opportunities opening up
annually for college graduates in agriculture-related sectors between
2010 and 2015, according to a recent report from Purdue University and
USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. See a summary of the
report.
$11 million Emergency funding recently made
available by USDA to conduct suppression treatments on up to four
million acres of rangeland in Western states potentially impacted by
grasshopper infestations later this year. Read
more at hayandforage.com.
$109 million Decrease in value of alfalfa hay
sold by growers in Tulare County, CA, last year, according to the
county’s
2009
Annual Crop and Livestock Report.
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Kansas
Getting first-crop alfalfa hay put up has been a tough proposition for
many Kansas growers, says Steve Hessman, USDA Market News reporter in
Dodge City.
“People who were able to harvest in early May did okay,” says
Hessman. “But after that we had a lot of humidity and rain in most
parts of the state. Some people are just finishing up on first crop
now.”
With the challenges posed by weather, production of top-quality dairy
hay was on the short side. In turn, that’s helped keep prices steady
to firm. “Actually, with the crop as short as it is, you might expect
prices to be a little better than they are,” he says. “But dairy
producers are still struggling with low milk prices. The demand is
there, but they just don’t have a lot of money to spend.
“Things are improving a little for beef feedlots. But even there,
people are still a little behind on cash flow after what they’ve been
through the last several years. Prices for grinding hay aren’t any
higher than they were at the end of the winter.”
On the upside, the weather conditions that held back first-crop harvest
have helped along second crop. “There’s been some good growth, and
it should be a little cleaner than first crop overall,” says Hessman.
“The rains and humidity really brought out the winter-annual weeds in
the dryland alfalfa. With second crop, they won’t be an issue and the
summer-annual weeds won’t be coming on until most of the harvest is
completed.”
To contact Hessman, phone 620-227-8881 or email steve.hessman@kda.ks.gov.
Washington-Oregon
The few hay growers in the Columbia Basin who have been able to start on
second cuttings of alfalfa and timothy hay should find demand for
high-quality product to be “very good,” says Lance Cline, USDA
Market News reporter in Moses Lake, WA.
“A couple of people were able to get going on second crop last
weekend,” says Cline. “But with all the rain we’ve had (over the
past month), most people are just finishing up first crop. They’re two
to three weeks behind the normal schedule. And the hay that was put up
was lower quality than normal for the area.”
He says even rained-on, good-quality dairy hay has been bringing
$130-140/ton. “That’s higher than it was a year ago.”
A tight supply will likely keep prices for most types of hay moving
upward for the foreseeable future.
“We didn’t really have any kind of carryover from last year,” says
Cline. “We moved a fair amount of hay for export, and we had a
longer-than-normal winter. Several beef producers were feeding their
cows about a month longer than normal. There is very little carryover of
last year’s hay that is not already sold or spoken for.”
To contact Cline, phone 509-765-3611 or email lance.cline@ams.usda.gov.
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Take crop stage and larval development into account when developing
strategies for controlling alfalfa weevils in second-crop alfalfa,
advises Bryan Jensen of the University of Wisconsin Integrated Pest
Management Program.
Jensen says he’s received “a few calls” from crop consultants in
southern Wisconsin reporting tip damage from weevils in the 50-60%
range. “For those second-crop fields that are getting close to
cutting, your best option will be to cut when appropriate and monitor
regrowth for signs of feeding activity,” he says. “To manage those
fields where cutting is still a while off, treatment is suggested when
50% of the stems in second crop have tip feeding.”
Even so, you don’t want to base spray decisions solely on percent tip
feeding, especially if degree-day accumulations indicate weevils will be
in the process of pupating (i.e. amount of new damage will be
declining). “What I would suggest is to take a few sweeps to determine
that weevil larvae are still present before making the spray
decision,” says Jensen. “You must be concerned with preventable
yield loss. If you have 50% tip feeding and larvae are ready to pupate,
you will not get an economic return from your pesticide application.”
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The 2010 Illinois Forage Expo will be held Wednesday, July 21, at
Law-Rae Dairy Farm near Manteno.
Along with field demonstrations of forage harvesting equipment and
commercial displays of forage-related products and equipment, the expo
will feature educational presentations on forage species selection,
forage fertility and weed control, hay preservatives and more. A
Quality Hay and Haylage Contest, for bales and haylage harvested in
2010, will also be part of the event.
To learn more, visit the Illinois Forage and Grassland
Council Web site. For more information concerning the Quality Hay
and Haylage Contest, contact Greg Clark, University of Illinois
Extension, Whiteside County. Phone 815-772-4075 or email gmclark@illinois.edu
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The national education partnership of U.S. land grant universities
known as eXtension (pronounced e-extension) is hosting a webinar titled
“Cellulosic Biomass Harvest – Agronomic Issues” starting at 11
a.m. CDT on June 25 (this Friday). John Cundiff, bioprocess engineering
specialist at Virginia Tech, will discuss the logistics issues
associated with biomass production and delivery. Learn how to participate in
the webinar.
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June 23 -- Dodge County/Fond du Lac County (WI) Forage Council
Twilight Meeting, Lemmenes Custom Farms, LLC, Waupun. Get more information.
June 25 -- Manure Happens Field Day, Mains Dairy, Newville, PA.
Contact Genny Christ at 717-240-6507 or genny@psu.edu.
June 25-July 9 -- University of Minnesota Extension On-Farm Field
Days: Agronomic Management For Alfalfa-Corn Rotations. Four
locations: Montivedeo (June 25), Chatfield (June 28), Lakefield (July 7)
and Norwood (July 9). Get
details.
For a complete list of upcoming events, click here.
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