Farmers are reluctant to seed down (and hence – rotate) due to the work; high risk of less than ideal stands that will haunt them for the next three years; and the low yield on the seeding year. There is now an option that can produce 8 – 15 tons/acre of silage (2.8 – 5+ tons of dry matter/acre) seeding year with minimal work, and no economic weed pressure.
Tom
December 2013 Red Clover in Short Rotations
The biggest criticism with red clover, it’s perceived difficulty getting it dry enough to put in storage; was dealt with in the November 2013 newsletter available at https://advancedagsys.com/november-2013-red-clover-old-forage-for-modern-dairy/. NY Farm Viability Institute funded research clearly showed, under very adverse drying conditions; that we could get red clover to >35% dry matter the day it was mowed. As with any crop, there are no silver bullets. The crop and cropping system has to fit into the farm operating system. Red clover has that ability and brings with it a number of economic, environmental, and sustainable benefits.
November 2013 Red Clover Old Forage for Modern Dairy
There are millions of acres from Maine to Minnesota, Canada to Virginia that, because of compromised drainage, will not support alfalfa and give erratic silage yields past the first year of corn. These soils can support clear grass but increasing nitrogen cost made the nutrients in that forage cost prohibitive.
October 2013 Are we too late for winter forage?
The fall has been a range of weather conditions on the farms of our readers. Some have had nice warm and dry weather while others struggled with rain. In about all the areas, there was a delay in corn harvest due to the cool weather this summer, late planting, or replanting due to rain or a combination of both. Many farms are still working on corn silage harvest.
August 2013 Last Chance Forage
For those south of my Albany, NY location, you can still plant spring oats now at 3 – 5 bu/a of grain type oats for a harvest by early October. If you are planting on program acres that do not allow a harvest until November 1, then a forage type oat that matures later is better. A grain type oat is preferred for dairy farms as it will get to heading sooner and so drop the moisture level closer to what you need for ensiling.
July 2013 Late Forages
Fields Not Planted or Underwater?
Most of the areas encompassing this newsletter continue to have excessive rainfall. Some fields are still not planted; others have drowned. This was predicted earlier in the season due to the cool Pacific and warm Atlantic cycles coupled with volcanoes pouring ash into the Arctic Circle. This follow-up to the June letter is to give you a wider range of potential choices to fit the resources in the location of your farm.
June 2013 Wet Fields
Late May and most of June has had a tremendous amount of water through the soil. What about the nitrogen? (see March 2013 newsletter) For first year corn on sod (rotation pays again!) and heavily manured fields (daily spread), the slow steady release from organic matter throughout the season reduces the nitrogen losses.
May 2013 When to Harvest
Each year we track where the crops are to give the farmers some idea if they should panic and stop planting corn to do haylage, or to keep planting. This year is no exception other than we, with our short term memory, are comparing it to the record early season of 2012. Yes, it is snowing in the mid-west. We had a major snow on Mother’s day in the 1980’s. The bottom line is that the weather has moved back to a near normal condition, something we are not used to having.
April 2013 changing weather
Last year we had several heat waves and the season was running record early. This year the season is running right on the 30 year average – something it hasn’t done in a while. Skipping the political science and going to the real science, the Pacific Ocean has a multi-decade swing between warmer than average and cooler than average.
March 2013 N & S
Now is the time to apply nitrogen. In research and on-farm results, nitrogen TRIPLED the total yearly yields on perennial grasses where it was applied.