Optimizing Winter Forage Quality and Quantity
The winter is coming to an end much faster than normal years. People in New York say they had less winter than we did in Tennessee (8-inch blizzard – we rarely get 1 inch; and 9 below 0 temp-never that cold). In any case, the winter forage and the grasses are greening up and starting to roll. This is one of those years where you can move early (now) to get a jump on the season. The enormous amount of spring growth on both crops demands sufficient nitrogen and sulfur to optimize the yield and especially the quality. There are many ifs, and’s, and buts leading to the best nitrogen rate to apply in the spring. Recommended rates can be from zero to 250 lbs. of N/a. You can’t change what happened last fall, but you can use it to determine the optimum N fertilization.