Tom

Cooler and wetter than normal is forecasted for the eastern half of the US for the next 14 days. For much of the north central and north-east US, soil moisture is 60 – 120% above normal. Anything but gravel or sand is barely trafficable much less harvestable. Significant corn is not planted and for most farms, haylage is only partially completed or not started yet. Fortunately, we are not completely dead in the water so to speak. First, the forecast on the other side of those two weeks is shaping up to be a flip—to warmer than normal and slightly below normal moisture for the rest of the summer (September is looking questionable).

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Over the last 15 years of my research, it has been consistent that winter forage is ready (stage 9 – flag leaf stage) a day or so before straight grass fields are at optimum. We mow the triticale and continue mowing the cool season grasses. Then we move to the grass alfalfa mixes and finally finish with the straight alfalfa. All high quality at harvest. That is the theory, now the weather.

Last year our eastern New York triticale was at stage 9 on May 13. As of May 1, we were running 13% ahead of last year in growing degree days and so the harvest was targeted to come slightly earlier. Then a major mass of cool to cold weather with tremendous down-pours rolled across the upper half of US from Minne-sota all the way to New England dumping considerable moisture along the way.

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What a difference a year makes. Last year we were eating dust, this year we are chasing ducks off the field. So the last two years together are average! The forecast is for May to be cooler and wetter than normal. What was best last year may not work for this year.

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Winter forage is one of the most rapidly expanding crop acres across the Midwest and Northeast today. The incredibly high quality forage and profitable economic returns from application of the most basic management practices has made this the crop to grow on both dairy/livestock farms, and farms selling forages. With the critical help from New York Farm Viability Institute, Dr. Ketterings at Cornell, and NY farmers, we have found that the nutrient management of this fall planted, spring harvested, crop is very different from normal spring planted forages and even fall planted grain crops. To that end we have been testing planting dates and fall/spring nitrogen rates to determine the optimum combination for both yield and protection of the environment

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Continuing our work reported in the December 2016 newsletter on BMR forage sorghum research, we have conducted a number of tests to determine the best management practice for harvesting and preserving this high-quality feed.

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There is increasing interest in moving this southern US crop, forage sorghum, into the far north.  Yields have been competitive with many corn varieties; it is flexible enough to fit between the spring harvest and fall planting date of the rapidly increasing acres of winter forage; it is not bothered by deer and corn rootworm pressure; and the seed cost /acre is $15 to $20, not the $83+ /acre for some corns.   We have been conducting research with help from Dr. Ketterings at Cornell, sorghum seed companies, and key help from the New York Farm Viability Institute to determine the true forage potential of this crop in dairy rations and what potential problems there are so farmers can avoid them.  The following is a synopsis of what we had this past season.

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Our BMR brachytic forage sorghum has done well in spite of the extremely dry weather.  It was planted the 25 of May but stood still for a while until it got watered (June 3 planting was killed by chilling injury from very cold temperatures). Soft dough stage was just reached today on most of the plants.  Yields are running 22 to 25 tons of 35% dry matter silage in spite of the very dry summer (we has some critical rains others did not).  For those growing it for the first time the following are the questions you have asked or should be asking; the following are some suggestions based on our research the with the crop the past five years.

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What You Do This Fall Can:

• Increase dry matter harvested/acre by 25 – 35%
• Harvest 6 to 10 tons/acre of high quality silage before spring grasses or legumes are ready.
• Increase corn yields in tilled ground the next year by 7.2% to 12.3% and in no-tilled ground by 8.5% to 16.8% (Van Es et al 2016).
• Produce forage that supports the very specific diet of the high and fresh cows.
• Have forage that farmers and nutritionists report keeps the cows milking in hot weather.
• Reduce winter and perennial weeds pressure by competition
• Capture $30 to $50/acre of leftover soil nitrogen that would have been lost to the environment and convert this to useable protein for your animals (NYFVI research).
• Improved soil health for long term yield increases and the ability to produce in adverse weather.

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Across the northeast, the season has been a wide range of conditions.  Much of New England and New York has been very to extremely dry.  Further west, areas have been wiped out from to much rain. We lost several sorghum research experiments due to extended cold weather in June!  The bottom line is that it is mid-July and we need forage.  Fortunately, last year with the help of Preferred Seed Co., we put in an “oh crap it is mid July, what can I plant” test.  It was very dry thereafter (only 4 significant rain events until the end of September).  We still got crops of very good feed quality and economic yields. The potential advantage this year is that weather forecasters are saying September and October will be warmer than normal so we may capture more yield and reach maturity if we miss the frost.

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