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To Be Wary Of Email Scams
Hay growers need to stay vigilant when it comes to
email hay inquiries and orders because scammers are still on the prowl,
warns Mark Murphy, Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) marketing
specialist. The scam was reported in eHay Weekly last fall, and
the challenges continue this spring. “There has been an ongoing email
scam targeting hay producers on our Missouri Hay Directory Web site,”
says Murphy. “It is unfortunate that this continues, and we need to
get the word out to hay producers who may not have been aware this is
happening.”
The email ruse tends to come in the form of an overpayment scam. A
grower makes an agreement with the scammer, then receives a check for
more than the amount requested. He’s then asked to wire transfer funds
to a trucker, who will supposedly pick up the hay in the coming days.
Days or weeks after that payment is sent to the hauler, the grower finds
out that the original check from the scammer didn’t clear the bank,
and the grower has been taken for thousands of dollars. “Several
producers have gotten checks via Federal Express or UPS,” Murphy
reports. “The checks look good and often have been written on major
banks. Some producers have been wary and have taken the checks to the
banks before sending the wire transfers, and have been able to find out
the checks have insufficient funds.”
Murphy says the emails tend to be written in somewhat broken English and
generally don’t read very well. “Our Missouri attorney general’s
office says the scam seems to come from overseas. It is very difficult
to track down the origins of the scam,” he says. The MDA has taken
email addresses out of its online hay directory in response to the scam.
Murphy says growers shouldn’t necessarily stop responding to emails
about their hay, but should use caution when evaluating purchase
requests that have taken place solely via email.
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Shortcuts
Can Save Time When Planting Alfalfa
Wet weather and other fieldwork have prevented many
Midwestern growers from planting alfalfa at the optimum time. So Bruce
Anderson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln extension forage specialist,
offers some tips for making up lost time. “Fortunately, there are ways
to save time with planting,” he says.
He suggests using a floater or air seeder instead of a drill because it
requires less tillage since it's best to leave the field slightly
rougher than normal. It also can spread seed much faster. “But be
sure the custom applicator is experienced at spreading the seed
evenly,” Anderson says. “After broadcasting, the seed needs to be
incorporated into the soil just a little. Two quick passes with a flat
harrow or roller work well.”
No-till or reduced-tillage seedings can also save time. Anderson says
bean stubble might be best, but it can work in small grain and even corn
or sorghum stubble. If residue is heavy, he urges growers to first shred
or chop stalks so they’re spread uniformly across the ground. Then the
drill can cut through them more easily. Also, if the field has excessive
ridging from previous crop rows, disk lightly to level the ground so
future trips across the field won’t be so rough. “If weeds are
present, spray a burn-down herbicide like glyphosate or Gramoxone before
planting, then seed no-till. Be prepared to use a post-emergence
herbicide like Poast Plus, Select, Buctril, Raptor or Pursuit for early
weeds,” he states.
For best results, alfalfa must be seeded by May 15 in dryland fields or
by June 1 in irrigated fields in Nebraska, according to Anderson.
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Count
Stems When Evaluating Alfalfa Stands
When checking spring growth to decide whether or not to
keep an alfalfa stand for another year or harvest early and rotate to
corn, growers should count stems per square foot, not plants, reminds
Marvin Hall, Penn State University forage specialist. With established
stands, the magic number of plants that traditionally indicated when
it’s time to rotate out is four to five per square foot, says Hall.
However, depending on fertility and weed invasion, alfalfa stands with
that few plants can yield as well as much thicker stands. The
correlation between plant counts and yield is very low since alfalfa
plants respond to decreasing stand density by producing more stems.
Hall tells growers the number of stems per square foot is a better
indicator of productivity. Fields with 55 or more stems per square foot
produce maximum yields. As the stem number declines below 55/sq ft,
yields begin to decline. Once they fall below 40/sq ft, alfalfa fields
begin to lose profitability and should be rotated out of alfalfa.
There should be a plant density of at least 15 plants/sq ft in new
alfalfa seedings made last fall or this spring. This greater density is
needed because the plants have not developed large crowns yet and will
consequently have fewer stems per plant than older plants, which is
directly related to yield, says Hall.
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Check
For Cereal Rust Mites In Pennsylvania Timothy
Cereal rust mite eggs have hatched and are feeding on
timothy leaves across southeastern Pennsylvania, according to Penn State
University agronomists. Also known as timothy mites, cereal rust mites
are active only in early spring and are generally not a problem after
first cutting. The agronomists say now is the time for timothy growers
to check fields. Be sure to check whole fields, edges and the middle of
fields. Look for purple or wrapped leaves, especially in fields with a
history of timothy mite problems. Under magnification (20x), the mites
look like white maggots laying in troughs between the leaf veins. The
eggs are round and clear to white or reddish in color.
The mites feed on the surface cells of the leaves between the veins.
This causes the leaves to curl, as if drought-stressed. This damage is
said to be obvious in April when there is plenty of soil moisture and
little transpiration is occurring. The mites can reduce yield by
30-100%. In addition, herbage has a brownish color that lowers
timothy’s market value.
Penn State agronomists say Sevin XLR Plus is the only known and
registered method of controlling cereal rust mites. It should be applied
at 3 pints/acre with at least 20 gallons of water or UAN (25 gallons are
better). The timing of the application is typically mid- to late April
or three to four weeks after greenup on fields with a history of mites
and/or when 25% of the plant tillers are beginning to curl.
Read more about cereal rust mites and cereal rust mite treatment in the
Penn State Field Crop News at fcn.agronomy.psu.edu/2008/fcn0805.cfm,
or read about cereal rust mites at www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/cerealrust.htm.
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Indiana
Spring is slow to come in central Indiana, reports
Denny Heaton, Agri Venture Hay Farms and McMinn Hay Farms, Russiaville.
“We estimate our first cut will be pushed back by at least 10 days,
maybe 14,” he says. “Rain has not been quite as heavy here as down
south, but still heavy at times.”
Heaton says more and more local hay acres are being taken out of
production and put into corn or beans. “We are still committed to the
hay business as we have expanded acres,” he states. “We were able to
seed 120 more acres of a mix of alfalfa-orchard-timothy on April 8. We
also have plans to seed a blend of BMR sorghum-sudan, forage soybeans
and peas after wheat harvest for high-quality baleage targeted to the
dairy and beef markets. This would be available in early fall.” Heaton
still has high-quality horse and dairy hay available in small square
bales.
Contact Heaton at 765-883 5033 or hayman5033@aol.com.
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South
Dakota
East-central South Dakota got 10-12” of snow from
the second storm in three weeks as of last Friday, according to Don
Guthmiller, Hamlin County extension educator at Hayti. “Locally, we
still have plenty of hay on hand,” he reports. “There is still some
dairy-quality hay, but those supplies are tight. The I-29 dairy corridor
snatched up the good hay early on and much of the remaining hay is
heading into Minnesota.” Dairy expansion continues along Interstate 29
in South Dakota and into Iowa.
Guthmiller says hay prices stayed strong throughout the winter.
According to USDA, South Dakota’s average price peaked at $105/ton in
February, an all-time high. However, hay auction prices have started to
drop off in the last few weeks. Hay production is expected to run at
least 10 days to two weeks behind schedule due to the late-winter storms
and wet conditions. “Fields have just barely started to green up in
east-central South Dakota, and typically we would see alfalfa and
pastures a lot farther along by now,” he states.
Guthmiller says South Dakota hay is going into central Minnesota where
some areas were dry last summer, while other parts of the state were
flooded. “Minnesota had a decrease in hay stocks on Dec. 1, 2007,
compared to 2006, while South Dakota had an increase in hay stocks over
the same period,” he explains. “Now we have some concern because
when they came out with the recent (USDA) Prospective Plantings report,
South Dakota hay acres were down compared to 2007, along with lower new
alfalfa seedings.”
Guthmiller, who specializes in marketing and management, maintains a Web
site analyzing economic information pertaining to the dairy industry and
dairy hay at econ.sdstate.edu/Extension/Dairy.htm.
Contact him at 605-783-3656.
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Indiana
Workshop Coming April 29
Tools and techniques to increase yields and reduce
pasture stress in the future will be the focus of a workshop to be held
6:30-8:30 p.m., April 29, in Greenfield, IN.
“Our goal is to help producers manage their land for increased
productivity,” says program coordinator Roy Ballard, Purdue University
extension educator in Hancock County. “Last summer’s drought left
pastures thin and spotty with the loss of high-quality forage grasses
and plants, which leaves room for weeds to invade.” As part of the
workshop, participants will learn to identify weed and forage species on
a pasture walk at the Elvin Thomas Farm.
A portion of the program will focus on weed control. Stocking rates,
rotational-grazing techniques, paddock design and fencing and watering
options also will be discussed. To preregister for the free workshop,
contact the Purdue Extension office in Hancock County at 317-462-1113 or
rballard@purdue.edu. More
information is available at www.ces.purdue.edu/Hancock/08%20pasture%20renovation%20brochure.pdf
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Calendar
April 18-20 -- Midwest Horse Fair, Alliant
Energy Center, Madison, WI. Visit midwesthorsefair.com.
April 22-23 -- Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference, Grand Wayne
Center, Fort Wayne, IN. Featuring information for Indiana, Michigan and
Ohio. Learn more at tristatedairy.osu.edu/agenda.htm.
April 25-27 -- Minnesota Horse Expo, Minnesota State Fairgrounds,
St. Paul. Visit www.mnhorseexpo.org.
May 1 -- Beef Cattle and Forage Crops Field Day, Kansas State
University’s Southeast Ag Research Center, Mound Valley Unit. Learn
more at www.oznet.ksu.edu/SEARC/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=16.
May 16 -- North Carolina State University Horse Forage Management
Short Course, Ramada Inn Blue Ridge, Raleigh. Special emphasis on
maximizing use of forages and hay or pasture to economically meet
horses' nutrient requirements. Learn more at www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/extension/horse/SC_Clinic/SCmain.htm.
June 6-8 -- Western States Horse Expo, Cal Expo Fairgrounds,
Sacramento, CA. Call 800-352-2411 or visit www.horsexpo.com.
June 11-12 -- Four-State Dairy Nutrition And Management
Conference, Grand Harbor Conference Center, Dubuque, IA. Covering
dairy industry topics for Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota.
Contact Evonne Hausman at ehausman@uiuc.edu.
July 11-13 -- North Carolina Equine Extravaganza, North Carolina
State Fairgrounds, Raleigh. Learn more at www.equineextravaganza.com.
Sept. 17-20 -- National Hay Association Convention, Oak Brook
Hills Marriott, Oak Brook, IL. Contact Don Kieffer at 800-707-0014, or
visit www.nationalhay.org.
Sept. 30-Oct. 4 -- World Dairy Expo, Alliant Energy Center,
Madison, WI. Visit www.worlddairyexpo.com.
Oct. 31-Nov. 2 -- Virginia Equine Extravaganza, Richmond Raceway,
Richmond. Learn more at www.equineextravaganza.com.
Nov. 6-7 -- 2008 Beef Quality Summit, sponsored by BEEF
magazine, Antlers Hilton Hotel, Colorado Springs, CO. Visit beefconference.com/.
Nov. 13-16 -- Massachusetts Equine Affaire, Eastern States
Exposition Center, West Springfield. Visit www.equineaffaire.com.
Feb. 15-16, 2009 -- Southwest Hay And Forage Conference, Ruidoso,
NM. Contact Gina Sterrett at 575-626-5677 or Justin Boswell at
575-840-9908.
June 21-23, 2009 -- American Forage & Grassland Council Annual
Conference, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, MI. Call
800-944-2342 or email info@afgc.org.Calendar
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Good Results With Chain Harrow
Because of the high fertilizer benefits, I would like
to share an idea that has been working well on my farm. I've seen
remarkable benefits since I've started using a chain harrow in my
pastures. For less than $1,000, you can buy a 14’ chain harrow. Cattle
put down all the fertilizer you need if you are stocked right. You just
have to spread it out. The chain harrow also smoothes and aerates your
pasture and, unless I'm being optimistic, cuts down on fire ants. Fire
ants don't like being disturbed, and will eventually move off your place
if you keep it up.
I use the harrow behind everything I can attach it to so that I'm doing
a two-in-one operation to save fuel. When I mow, I attach the chain
harrow behind the mower. If I spray, it goes behind the sprayer ...
anytime I'm making a tractor run across the pasture I try to pull the
harrow.
I move my hay feeding areas around in winter and then spread the
concentrated manure around with amazing results in spring. My neighbors
all want to know what I'm doing. The harrow has more than paid for
itself in the first season. I now consider a chain harrow a must-have
pasture tool. I pull it with the tines up so that it pulls easily and
does not clog up.
The chain harrow will also clean your pastures by knocking up any
sticks, bones, rocks, or anything else so you can pick them up. One
other thing – get the heaviest one you can find; cheap harrows are
what they are, cheap.
Mark T. Denson
Brenham, TX
Phone: 979-830-8897
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Send Questions & Comments
To...
Lora Berg, Editor,
eHay Weekly,
hfg@hayandforage.com
For information on Hay & Forage Grower, contact:
Neil Tietz, Editor, ntietz@hayandforage.com
or
Fae Holin, Managing Editor, fholin@hayandforage.com
For specific information from past issues of eHay Weekly and
Hay & Forage Grower, click on hayandforage.com, and use the search
function in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage.
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