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Eight-In-One Baler Attracts New Clients
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Since buying a baler that makes eight small bales and
ties them into a big package, the Granstroms have made it a point to
tell their clients how to handle them.
"Most people expect small bales to weigh 50 or 60 lbs each, but ours
weigh 125 to 150 lbs apiece," says J.J. Granstrom, who farms with his
dad, John, near Holstein, NE. "You can't just pick one up and throw it
-- you need a dolly or wheelbarrow."
They were among the first growers in North America to buy Krone's 1270
Big Pack baler with the MultiBale feature. It makes 2.3 x 4' bales up to
9' long, or can be programmed to make from two to eight smaller bales
within each big bale. Those bales are 4' long and vary in width up to
4.4', depending on the number in each big bale.
The Nebraskans, who harvest 4,700 acres of hay and 1,000 acres of straw,
have used the baler both ways. "We've used it to make eight small bales
of either straw or alfalfa that are then bound into a big one," he says.
"And we've used it to make very dense single bales of straw that weigh
750-850 lbs and single alfalfa bales that weigh up 1,300 lbs."
Since adding small bales to their repertoire, they've picked up new
clients. "Last week we delivered a load to a new customer in southern
Minnesota and he called later that day to say he loved the small
bales."
They own three semis with 53'-long step-deck trailers. They say they've
saved money on fuel since buying the baler.
"We can get 49 to 51 of the Krone straw bales -- or about 21 tons -- on
each load," says Granstrom. "Because they're 27" tall, we can load them
four high on the trailers. With 4 x 4 x 8' bales, the most we can get on
a load is 16 tons. And with 3 x 4 x 8' bales, we're limited to loading
them just three high."
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Nebraskan Rotates Oat Hay With Alfalfa
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Oat hay meets all of Bob Hilger's criteria for an
excellent rotation crop. For starters, growing and harvesting it doesn't
require any equipment other than what he already has to raise
alfalfa.
"We're not set up to grow corn and soybeans anymore -- we sold that
equipment years ago," says Hilger, who farms with his wife, Sue; son,
Matt and daughter-in-law, Nissa; and his daughter, Bethany.
He also has steady demand for oat hay from his long-time dairy
customers. "Some nutritionists are now recommending oat hay for
lactating as well as dry cows."
The oat hay yields up to 3 tons/acre and is profitable, too, says the
David City, NE, grower. "High-quality oat hay can bring as much as
high-quality alfalfa, especially if the nitrate and potassium levels are
within acceptable ranges."
With over 600 acres in alfalfa, he rotates some land to oats nearly
every year. "I used to be a firm believer in taking out stands after
five years, but now, if they still look good, I'll leave them in for
another year or two."
Early this fall, he'll kill the oldest stands with Roundup. Next April,
he'll work the ground and seed 2 bu/acre of oats with a conventional
drill. No fertilization is necessary because there's plenty of nitrogen
from the alfalfa, says Hilger.
Beginning in June or early July, the oats will be cut at dough stage. In
some fields, he might get two cuttings. Getting the oats dry enough to
bale takes several days, says the Nebraskan, who packages them in 4 x 4
x 8' bales.
After oat harvest, the stands are field cultivated, disked and harrowed
before being reseeded to alfalfa in early September.
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Fall Alfalfa Cutting: Minimize The Risk
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Cutting alfalfa in fall makes the crop more susceptible
to winter injury. But proper timing and field selection can lessen the
risk for growers who need more forage. Agronomists at Midwestern
universities list these guidelines:
- Avoid cutting during the several-week period when alfalfa is
restoring root reserves prior to a killing frost. In the Upper Midwest,
that's usually from Sept. 1 to mid-October.
- Choose well-drained fields with high levels of soil fertility,
especially potassium.
- Stands cut frequently are at greatest risk for winter injury if
cut during fall. Fall cutting will be safer if at least one cutting
during the season reached flowering stage.
- Younger stands are healthier than older ones and thus are less
susceptible to winter damage if cut in fall.
- Alfalfa-grass mixtures should be less susceptible than pure
alfalfa stands.
- Alfalfa varieties with winter survival scores of 2.0 or lower
should be most tolerant of fall cutting.
- Don't fall-cut fields with soils susceptible to heaving.
- Leave uncut strips to catch snow.
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Rake Design Doesn't Impact Hay Quality
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The type of rake you use to windrow hay doesn't have
much effect on its drying rate or quality. That's according to an Ohio
State University study. The researchers compared bar, rotary and wheel
rakes on an alfalfa-orchardgrass mixture and on pure alfalfa. Samples
were taken prior to raking and 24 hours after round baling.
The raking and baling process lowered crude protein by 5% and raised NDF
by 6.4%. But rake design had no significant effect on the dry matter
content, crude protein or NDF of either type of hay.
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Fall-Seed Orchardgrass Into Established
Alfalfa
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A Hay Grower's Notebook reader from Utah recently
inquired, "I want to move into the horse market. Can I plant
orchardgrass into an established alfalfa stand?"
"Yes, as long as the alfalfa stand is in good shape," answers Ralph
Whitesides, Utah State University extension weed specialist. To
determine if the alfalfa stand is adequate, Whitesides recommends this
simple test: "Take your ball cap off, throw it on the alfalfa stand and
then look underneath. If it's covering three or more plants, the stand
is in good shape. If there are less than three plants, the stand's
starting to thin."
Whitesides recommends drilling 5-7 lbs/acre of orchardgrass seed after
the last cutting in September. "That should be effective in allowing the
orchardgrass to become established in the spring of 2007."
He encourages the practice only in areas where adequate irrigation water
is available. "This is not likely to be successful in dryland alfalfa
because orchardgrass requires a fair amount of water," he says.
He advises soil testing to determine the stand's fertilizer needs.
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Monitor Wet Hay To Prevent Fire
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Hay fires are a danger anytime small bales are stacked
at 20% moisture or higher, or big bales at more than 16% moisture, warn
Cornell University safety experts. They say the quickest way to detect
hot hay is to drive a long pipe or rod into the center of the stack.
Leave it in for 20 minutes and pull it out. If it's too hot to hold in
your hand, the hot hay should be removed immediately.
If you think you have a problem, monitor the stack temperature with a
homemade probe. Take a 10' piece of ¾"-diameter steel pipe and
drill eight holes about 3" from one end. Hammer that end together to
form a sharp edge, drive the pipe into the stack and lower a thermometer
to the end. Retrieve it after 10-15 minutes.
Check the temperature daily if it's above 120 degrees; twice a day if
it's 140-150 degrees, say the experts. At 150 degrees, the hay is
entering the danger zone; check the temperature every two hours. If its
between 150 and 160 degrees, start moving hay out of the stack. At 160
degrees or higher, call the fire department. Have firemen on site before
moving any hay.
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Communicate With Your Clients
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When you're selling hay, it's essential to spell out
the exact terms of the transaction to avoid misunderstandings and hard
feelings, cautions Dan Undersander, University of Wisconsin extension
forage specialist. He gives the following pointers to help make each
sale a positive experience:
- Be clear about what kind of hay you have available. Discuss forage
type and quality and bale size and shape.
- Be clear about the price.
- Be clear about the amount being contracted.
- Discuss when the hay will be delivered.
- Discuss how long you will honor the quoted price.
- Agree on when payment is due and in what form.
- Follow up on the sale. If the customer is satisfied, ask if he or
she knows of other potential buyers.
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Forage Superbowl Deadline Nears
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Sept. 5 is the entry deadline for the 2006 World's
Forage Analysis Superbowl, the annual quality contest that culminates in
October at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI. Top winners will receive
a season's use of forage or feeding equipment. Many other prizes,
including seed and forage inoculants, will also be awarded.
You may enter either of two divisions: the Dairy Division, open to
growers with milk production information, or the Commercial Division,
open to all other growers. The Dairy Division is divided into hay,
haylage and corn silage classes, while the Commercial Division has two
classes: hay and baleage.
For entry forms and contest rules, visit www.agsource.com and click on the
Superbowl logo.
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Information
provided by Roundup Ready alfalfa
New Yorker Gets Awesome First Cutting
Earlier this summer, Kevin Nedrow harvested 2 tons/acre more haylage
from his first cutting of Roundup Ready alfalfa than from his
conventional varieties.
"That extra yield more than made up for the cost of the seed," says
Nedrow, co-owner of Spring Hope Dairy, Clifton Springs, NY.
The dairyman attributes the boost in yield to the safety of the Roundup
Ready system. He uses various herbicides for weed control in his
conventional alfalfa seedings, but there's usually some chemical injury
and stunting. "That didn't happen with the Roundup Ready alfalfa,"
Nedrow reports.
He grows 1,600 acres each of alfalfa for haylage and corn for silage for
his 950-cow Holstein herd. After seeing how well his Roundup Ready corn
performed, he decided to give the alfalfa a shot on 30 acres. "I knew
the system was very safe in my corn crop and expected the same in
alfalfa."
He seeded 30 acres of Roundup Ready alfalfa the first week of April at a
rate of 20 lbs/acre. On May 10, he sprayed it with 24 ounces/acre of
Roundup. That took care of the ragweed, he says. He anticipates spraying
his Roundup Ready alfalfa after the second year as a maintenance
measure.
Nedrow takes four cuttings of alfalfa each year and renovates the stands
after four years. His haylage yields average 8 tons/acre. "Someday I
would like to have 100% of my acres in Roundup Ready alfalfa," he says.
"I would also like to see a Roundup Ready alfalfa with potato leafhopper
resistance."
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Send Questions and Comments to....
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Ann Behling,
Editor, Hay Grower's Notebook,
at
abehling@willmar.com
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