2012 Forage Performance Trial Results

Results from the 2012 Ohio Forage Performance Trials are now available online at http://hostedweb.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/perf/. The report includes yield trials of commercial varieties of alfalfa, red and white clover, tall fescue, and annual ryegrass n tests planted in 2008 to 2012 across three sites in Ohio: South Charleston, Wooster, and North Baltimore. There is also a downloadable pdf file for easy printing of the results, as well as downloadable Excel files.

Forage yields were very respectable despite the dry summer, although our testing sites received more rainfall than many areas of Ohio in 2012. Yields averaged from 5.8 to 6.5 tons/acre for alfalfa, 5.6 tons/acre for red clover, 2.4 tons/acre for white clover, 5.7 tons/acre for tall fescue, and 6.3 tons/acre for annual ryegrass (planted in September 2011).

The results demonstrate the importance of selecting adapted varieties with a proven yield record across locations. In our trials in 2012, individual alfalfa varieties varied in yield from 14 to 20% depending on location. Improved red clover varieties yielded up to 53% more than common (VNS) medium red clover. White clover varieties differed in yield by as much as 12.6%, tall fescue varieties differed by up to 7% yield, and annual ryegrass varieties differed by up to 42% yield.

Links to forage performance trials in other states are included on the Ohio Forage Performance Trials website. One very useful link is an interactive website to compare alfalfa varieties across many locations (including Ohio data). It is important to consider yield not only close to home, but across several environments, because every year presents different weather conditions. Varieties with good yield performance across multiple environments are likely to produce more stable yields across soil types and years on your farm.

South Central Ohio Grazing School

The  "Pasture for Profit" will be held the evening of December 4 and 6, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm and concludes on Saturday, December 8, 2012 9:00 am until noon.  The program will be held at the Jackson Agricultural Research Station, OARDC, 019 Standpipe Road, Jackson Ohio 45640.

 

The topics to be covered at the three day grazing school include; What is MiG and What are Your Goals and Objectives of Your Grazing System?, Evaluating Your Resources, Understanding Plant Growth, Grazing Economics, Forage Species Selection, Grazing Systems and Contingency Plans for the Good, Bad and Ugly, Paddock Layout and Design, Pasture Soil Fertility.  Saturday, the last day of the school will include a farm visit to view grazing management practices, including fence and livestock watering systems in the field.

 

The $30 fee includes refreshments and a large notebook of reference material.  To register, make your check payable to Jackson SWCD, 2026 Fairgreens Road, Jackson, OH 45640. For further information, contact the Jackson SWCD at 740-286-5208 or the Vinton County SWCD at 740-596-5676.  Registration deadline is November 29, 2012.

USING ALFALFA AND GRASS HAYFIELDS AFTER FROST

Some Thoughts and Considerations

            Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator Wayne County and Crossroads EERA

  We have had some frost over the past week and one question that comes up is the use of alfalfa and/or grass hayfields following a frost.  Management after a frost depends upon several factors.  Was there a frost or a killing freeze? Is the hayfield a legume or a grass stand? What are the needs and goals of the hayfield’s owner.

Temperature is a consideration.  A frost may burn the top of the plant, but growth will still continue from the green, unburned leaf area.  A killing freeze for alfalfa is generally defined as a temperature in the 24 to 25 degree F range over a period of at least 4 hours.   After a killing freeze, alfalfa is done growing and the plant can be cut for mechanical harvest, grazed, or left to overwinter.

          This year, because of the drought, livestock producers need all the forage they can get so many livestock owners are cutting hay fields regardless of the calendar or weather forecast.  Alfalfa is the forage we generally hear a lot about regarding fall management.  One reason for that is because alfalfa regrows by mobilizing and using carbohydrate root reserves to produce new leaf growth after a cutting.  At some point, there is enough new leaf area that sugars manufactured by photosynthesis meet the plants growth needs plus have surplus to put back into root reserves.   If management during the growing season has left low levels of root reserves and now the plant is cut in the late fall, burns more reserves to start growth, but the growing season ends before the plant can grow enough leaves to restore those root reserves, then there is risk of the plant dying over the winter.  The reason the recommendation is made to not cut alfalfa between about mid-September until a killing frost is to protect those plant root reserves.

          So, does this mean that all the alfalfa we have seen around the state that has been cut before a killing frost is going to die over the winter?  No, while some stands will be hurt by this management, other stands will not, or only be impacted in a minimal way.  That is because there are other factors that play a role in determining winter kill.  Factors that affect winter kill include cutting date in the fall which I have mentioned, but there is less winter kill risk when a fall cutting is taken on a young vs. an old alfalfa stand, and less risk when the stand is planted on a well-drained site.  In addition soil fertility is important.  Stands that have maintained good soil fertility, especially soil potassium levels and that have kept soil pH close to that 6.8 level have reduced risk of winter kill.  Finally growers who use improved genetic varieties with good disease resistance and over wintering levels have reduced risk.

          Sometimes the question is asked if too much top growth can lead to smothering over the winter.  In alfalfa this is not an issue because the leaves will dry up following a killing freeze, become brittle and drop off the plant.   The stem that remains standing is not a concern for smothering the stand.  Tall grass plants however can mat down.  This mat can provide a habitat favorable for disease development that could thin out the stand.  For this reason, it is recommended that a grass hay field with tall growth be cut or grazed before winter. 

          With our shorter days and cooler temperatures it becomes very difficult to get a cut legume or grass to dry down enough to bale as a dry forage.  Wrapping wilted forage or harvesting as baleage is the best mechanical option.  Grazing a hayfield is usually a more economical option as compared to mechanical harvest.  Use of temporary electric fencing can facilitate the grazing use of a hayfield.  While forages such as alfalfa, clovers and cool-season perennial grasses do not produce toxic compounds after a frost, bloat can be a concern when alfalfa or clovers are grazed after a frost. 

          The risk of bloat is higher one to two days after a killing frost and when livestock are grazing a pure or mostly pure legume stand.  The safest management practice is to wait a few days after a killing frost before grazing pure legume stands.   At that point the forage will begin to dry from the frost damage.  If animals are not accustomed to grazing high legume content stands, it is a good idea to feed some dry hay before turning into the legume field, or move animals into the legume field in the late morning or early afternoon after they have been grazing another pasture so that they are not entering with an empty rumen.

Ohio Pasture Growth by September 23, 2012

The following table shows the growth from pastures participating in the project. For information about the project see the introductory post for this 2012 and the post describing the project. The information is reported in pounds of dry matter grown per acre per day. It contains the reported results as of the posting date. Some reports may be delayed for various reasons. Previous week’s information is updated when it is received. The current table will reflect the total information available.

Weekly Pasture Growth for 2012

Week Starting	Fields sampled	Minimum	Maximum	Average	Past 7 yr Average
	(no.)	(pounds of DM per day)
Mar 25	18	5.3	126.2	57.2	na
April 1	14	6.7	92.6	36.3	73
April 8	17	5.1	102.9	39.5	55
April 15	21	3.3	156.9	42.7	72
April 22	14	5.1	99.7	44.6	82
April 29	25	3.6	188.9	57.3	79
May 6	35	0.9	134.7	62.7	86
May 13	22	7.5	129.1	54.9	94
May 20	16	0	115.1	56.4	78
May 27	25	1	95.1	50.6	62
June 3	20	0	115.1	38.3	54
June 10	19	3.5	120.7	34.6	50
June 17	16	6	93	30.8	47
June 24	13	0	58.8	19.7	48
July 1	21	0	58.7	21.2	52
July 8	27	0	76.7	18.9	38
July 15	28	0	27.1	4.7	36
July 22	29	0	134	14.4	35
July 29	37	0	74.4	23.9	51
Aug 5	34	0	124.4	25.8	37
Aug 12	27	0	120.2	31.5	31
Aug 19	31	0	105.9	25.1	41
Aug 26	28	0	101	15.1	27
Sept 2	30	0	73.5	17	34
Sept 9	25	0	88.5	30.6	24
Sept 16	22	0	58.2	30.1	36

Ohio Pasture Growth by September 9, 2012

The following table shows the growth from pastures participating in the project. For information about the project see the introductory post for this 2012 and the post describing the project. The information is reported in pounds of dry matter grown per acre per day. It contains the reported results as of the posting date. Some reports may be delayed for various reasons. Previous week’s information is updated when it is received. The current table will reflect the total information available.

Weekly Pasture Growth for 2012

Week Starting	Fields sampled	Minimum	Maximum	Average	Past 7 yr Average
	(no.)	(pounds of DM per day)
Mar 25	18	5.3	126.2	57.2	na
April 1	14	6.7	92.6	36.3	73
April 8	17	5.1	102.9	39.5	55
April 15	21	3.3	156.9	42.7	72
April 22	14	5.1	99.7	44.6	82
April 29	25	3.6	188.9	57.3	79
May 6	35	0.9	134.7	62.7	86
May 13	22	7.5	129.1	54.9	94
May 20	16	0	115.1	56.4	78
May 27	25	1	95.1	50.6	62
June 3	20	0	115.1	38.3	54
June 10	19	3.5	120.7	34.6	50
June 17	16	6	93	30.8	47
June 24	13	0	58.8	19.7	48
July 1	21	0	58.7	21.2	52
July 8	27	0	76.7	18.9	38
July 15	28	0	27.1	4.7	36
July 22	29	0	134	14.4	35
July 29	37	0	74.4	23.9	51
Aug 5	34	0	124.4	25.8	37
Aug 12	27	0	120.2	31.5	31
Aug 19	26	0	105.9	28.2	41
Aug 26	22	0	101	14.6	27
Sept 2	20	0	66.7	15.4	34

Ohio Pasture Growth by August 5, 2012

The following table shows the growth from pastures participating in the project. For information about the project see the introductory post for this 2012 and the post describing the project. The information is reported in pounds of dry matter grown per acre per day. It contains the reported results as of the posting date. Some reports may be delayed for various reasons. Previous week’s information is updated when it is received. The current table will reflect the total information available.

Weekly Pasture Growth for 2012

Week Starting	Fields sampled	Minimum	Maximum	Average	Past 7 yr Average
	(no.)	(pounds of DM per day)
Mar 25	18	5.3	126.2	57.2	na
April 1	14	6.7	92.6	36.3	73
April 8	17	5.1	102.9	39.5	55
April 15	21	3.3	156.9	42.7	72
April 22	14	5.1	99.7	44.6	82
April 29	25	3.6	188.9	57.3	79
May 6	35	0.9	134.7	62.7	86
May 13	22	7.5	129.1	54.9	94
May 20	16	0	115.1	56.4	78
May 27	25	1	95.1	50.6	62
June 3	20	0	115.1	38.3	54
June 10	19	3.5	120.7	34.6	50
June 17	16	6	93	30.8	47
June 24	13	0	58.8	19.7	48
July 1	21	0	58.7	21.2	52
July 8	26	0	76.7	18.4	38
July 15	25	0	22.5	4.2	36
July 22	26	0	134	14.7	35
July 29	32	0	74.4	18.1	51

Drought Management: Stick to Grazing Principles

            Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator Wayne County and Crossroads EERA

            Every Monday for the past couple of months on the OSU Extension crop team conference call I have heard Jim Noel from the National Weather Service say that across Ohio we are in a pattern of above average temperatures and below average rainfall.  These are not encouraging words for a grazier to hear.  This isn’t the type of forecast conducive to good pasture growth.  Summer pasture growth is dependent upon rainfall and pasture management.  Rainfall we can’t control.  Management though is a different story.  So what’s your plan to manage through a hot, dry summer?

            Regardless of the weather pattern, you should stick to what you know as a grazier, as a manager of pasture plants.  Those pasture management principles that you learned at a grazing school, or through a grazing council, or from an experienced grazier will serve you in good stead through this weather pattern.  Let’s review those principles and how they are applied when it is hot and dry.

            The take half, leave half principle must be followed during the summer months.  That remaining leaf area provides a photosynthetic base for plant regrowth, shades the soil to keep the soil temperature cooler, and it helps to reduce soil moisture loss.  Do not cheat on this principle during hot, dry spells.  It is critical to maintain a 4 inch grass height to get the benefits mentioned. Maintaining this leaf residue provides the grass plant the best opportunity to take advantage of those spotty rain events that are common to hot, dry years, allowing regrow much sooner than overgrazed pasture paddocks.

The second principle that must be adhered to is to provide a rest period that is sufficient to allow plants to grow back to a practical grazing height.  The height at which grazing should begin is somewhere in the 8 to 10 inch range.  Obviously the two principles work hand in hand.  In practice this means that grazing rotations slow down during hot, dry periods.  It is easy to do just the opposite. 

Grass is growing slowly.  In order to maintain a 4 inch residual I move my livestock into the next paddock a little early.  Maybe the grass is only 7 inches tall.  If I want to maintain a 4 inch residue, I’ll have to leave this paddock a little sooner than the time my livestock can normally graze in this paddock.  The grass in my next scheduled paddock is only 6 inches tall.  Maybe I should just let them graze this current paddock down a little bit lower, say 3 inches.  This pattern continues and soon I am either grazing down to a 2 inch height, which pretty much stops regrowth during 90 degree days with no rainfall, or I am trying to get my livestock to only take off an inch or two of grass growth, which is pretty tough to do.  The end result is that paddock moves are speeding up and leaving behind paddocks that are overgrazed.  The next rotation puts me in even worst shape.

What’s the answer?  Stick to what you know.  Maintain a leaf residue of about 4 inches and do not start a grazing pass unless the paddock is 8 to 10 inches tall.  Impossible!  The grass is not growing fast enough.  Yes, I know.  That means you must have a sacrifice area in order to maintain these grazing principles and protect the majority of your pasture paddocks.  The sacrifice area might be a barnyard lot or maybe it is a pasture paddock.  If it is a pasture paddock it will get overgrazed and beat into the dirt while you wait for sufficient pasture growth to resume your grazing rotation.  It means that hay will have to be fed.

While this is not a desirable situation, a worse disaster is overgrazing every paddock, ending the grazing season in July, negatively affecting next year’s grazing season, and facing an extra-long period of hay feeding beginning in late summer.  By sticking to what you know, and using a sacrifice area, you make the best of a tough situation and put yourself in the position to be able to resume grazing when rainfall starts again and temperatures cool down.  There is still the possibility of stockpiling grass for late fall and winter grazing because you have protected most of your grass plants.  Feeding some hay while in a sacrifice lot is really using hay as a management tool.  The end result will be less total hay fed in the year if grazing is able to resume later in the summer and throughout the fall.  Feeding hay in the summer in a dry lot beats feeding hay late in the fall or winter in cold and/or muddy conditions.  In some cases, depending upon hay supply, and when rainfall might resume again, reducing livestock numbers may have to be considered as well.

Finally, if the sacrifice lot must be a pasture paddock, choose one where some renovation is needed and new improved pasture varieties can be planted.  Ideally this might be a paddock where you could do some tillage after your pasture rotation begins again.  This would provide the option to plant a late summer forage option such as a cereal grain like oats, wheat or rye or a brassica like turnips.  Any of these forages could provide some fall and early winter grazing.  The paddock would then be set up for an early spring planting to return to a perennial pasture mix.

Hot, dry summers are a challenge to the grazier.  Pasture management is the only factor that can be controlled.  Stick to what you know as you make those management decisions.