New Research to Prevent Nitrogen Losses From Early Spring Applications
With the shortage of forage, as I mentioned in the January newsletter, the earliest crops to refill the silos are cool season grasses or winter forages such as triticale, with nitro-gen applied. It is an economical use of nitrogen and will give the most rapid return on in-vestments. In research and on-farm results, nitrogen TRIPLED the total yearly yields on perennial grasses where it was applied.
Tom
February, 2012 / Frost Tillage: use winter to get a jump on spring
Critical Seed Corn
You are not the only one to have been hit by very bad weather this year, the corn seed industry has been hit even harder. Do not think it is business as usual. You will need to get your order in early AND TAKE DELIVERY EARLY. There are a number of farms that may not have their order filled or at least have it filled by something very different. Take delivery as soon as possible. There is little or no fall-back supplies
January 2012 / Crops for emergency forage shortage in 2012
How soon can I grow more forage?
The season of 2011 has drastically reduced the forage supply. The shortage will rebound-impact the forage supplies of next year and the year after. Here are steps you can take to quickly get more forage on the acres you work, starting with the earliest return of forage:
December, 2011 / Short Season Sorghum; new crop old use – old crop new use
We are always looking at new crops and new uses for old crops. The past two years we have been doing both with the same crop. The crop is an 83 day BMR 6 sorghum.
Why BMR Sorghum? The 83 day sorghum can be planted after winter triticale harvest or where planting was delayed by weather. Drilled on narrow rows, it will capture the maximum amount of sunlight faster than any corn plant (early planted corn does not cover the rows until hip high).
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October, 2011 / The profitability of covering the basics
2011 will go down in many farmers’ minds as one of the most frustrating years in their farming history from the standpoint of the beating that nature has thrown at them. Floods, extreme dry, hail, insects, and disease, we have had them all. As I visit farms, the one thing that has struck me is the farmers who are weathering the disasters the best have focused on, and continue to focus on, the basics. Yes, they had a down year, but they will survive.
September, 2011 / Late planted winter forage
What can I plant for this fall harvest?
Is it to late to plant winter triticale for forage quality better than BMR corn?
What can I plant to harvest this fall for emergency forage?
Nothing – it is to late for that other than grazing some of the winter grains and possi-bly ryegrass. What you can do is to apply 50 – 75 lbs/a of nitrogen (40-0-0-4S) on your grass and mostly grass hay fields. With the rain and cool conditions, it is perfect for growing quality grass and will give you the highest amount of forage in the shortest possible time.
Winter Triticale Forage
Winter triticale does double duty as a cover crop while producing high-quality forage (2 to 4 ton/acre dry matter harvested at flag leaf stage). Winter triticale for forage has several benefits: (1) early harvest allows for double cropping with short season corn, teff, soybeans, or sorghum x sudangrass; (2) the ground coverage in the fall and spring protects highly erodable land (HEL) and results in takeup of nutrients that otherwise might be lost to the environment; (3) when harvested at pollination will produce 25 to 30% more straw yield than rye; (4) red clover can be planted when triticale is seeded (if planted before September 5 in New York) or frost seeded; (5) establishment in August and harvest in May allows for manure spreading outside of the regular growing season and under conditions that are more favorable for manure spreading.
August, 2011 / Dealing with This Crazy Season
When you are up to your butt in alligators, remember you are there to drain the swamp. The crop season this year has been one of extremes. Some areas were very dry, others were very wet, and many were both – wet spring, dry summer and now swamped fall. The forecast for the fall is not good as the Northeast is slated to
move into a cool and wet phase (in addition to the hurricane dump).
July, 2011 / Fields Not Planted? Last Chance Cropping
It is now July, well past corn planting. What do we do with the fields that we still have not planted yet? Unless you are desperate for high energy forage, it is getting to late for even BMR Sorghum Sudan. You might get one cutting by the beginning of September. There are several, better options still open.
June, 2011 / Corn Silage after June 15?
As the graph at right shows, by June 15, there is little grain produced on corn silage. Grain that is produced will be wet and very high in sugars, setting marginal rations up for bouts of acidosis, feet problems, low production, and abuse of nutritionists. You are harvesting nearly all stover.