Winter Injury in Perennial Forages

Two weeks ago Rory Lewandowski described in this blog how to evaluate forage stands for winter injury. So our question is, “Have you walked out into your forage stands yet this spring?” If not, you may be in for a rude surprise.

The hard freeze lst week was cause enough for concern for us to check a few fields. There is some frost dieback of the top leaves, particularly in orchardgrass (see photo).

Notice the yellowish tinge to the orchardgrass in the foreground compared with darker green tall fescue in the background that suffered less frost injury.

But the more serious problem we observed when looking around was severe heaving damage in alfalfa, particularly in the Wayne county, OH area. Some fields showed heaving of 70% of the stand.

Plants with crowns heaved up 2 or more inches out of the ground are probably already dead like in the photo above.

Heaving is usually more severe in areas with less than ideal internal and surface soil drainage and on soils with high shrink/swell potential. Tiling will likely help improve the alfalfa production potential of those soils, but heaving can still occur on certain soil types even when with tiling.

Heaving is also more likely where a mid to late fall harvest was taken. Fall harvesting can weaken plants and the removal of plant residue late in the fall can dramatically increase the potential for heaving, because the residue serves to moderate soil temperature fluctuations and catch snow that also insulates against wild temperature swings during the winter.

Plants heaved 1.5 inches.

 Some plants will be heaved 1 to 1.5 inches above the soil surface or less. These plants may on casual inspection appear normal and be greening up. But closer inspection will reveal crowns above the soil surface, which will likely limit the productive life of the plant.

Heaved plants will desiccate more quickly, be injured by wheel traffic, and crowns may break or be cut off at the first harvest. Some of those plants may survive through the first harvest, but their yield potential is compromised and they will likely disappear from the stand at some point during the growing season.

Plants heaved to varying degrees, starting to greenup.

Can anything be done to help heaved stands? Dan Undersander has written a very useful fact sheet about heaving that can be found here. He suggested that if the majority of plants are heaved an inch or less, that the taproot may not be broken and the stand has a better chance of being salvageable for this year. In this fields, delay the first harvest to allow more recovery time and raise the cutter bar sufficiently to avoid scalping the crowns. He also states that the stand should not be rolled or cultipacked, as this will only damage the crowns.


We also observed severe winter injury in some perennial ryegrass varieties and even in some white clover varieties in our trials. Time will tell how much they will recover, but the winter damage was quite substantial in some varieties, including an older perennial ryegrass check variety we use in our trials.

Literature Cited
Undersander, D. 2009. Heaving in alfalfa fields. Agronomy Advice. Agronomy Dept., University of Wisconsin. Available online at http://www.uwex.edu/ces/forage/pubs/heaving.pdf.

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.

Ohio Pasture Growth by June 17, 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	13	0	110.5	53.7	78
May 27	22	1	95.1	49.4	62
June 3	18	0	115.1	38.3	54
June10	14	3.5	120.7	28	50

Central Ohio Forage for Horses

The Ohio Forage and Grassland Council will be hosting an Equine Pasture and Hay Management Workshop on Saturday July 28, 2012 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at AC Acres,  Vicki Ayotte farm, 8481 Pontius Road, Groveport , Ohio.  The farm is in the southeast corner of Franklin County; west of State Route 674, east of Rickenbacker, and south of Groveport, Ohio along the Walnut Creek.   This will workshop will be covering information on Pasture Management, Pasture Soil Fertility, Forage Species Selection, Tall Fescue Management, Horse Nutrition on Pasture, Manure Management, and a pasture walk where plants will be identified and designing a grazing paddock system will be discussed.  The day will end with a Hay Quality discussion and hay evaluation session.  Attendees are encouraged to bring a sample of their own hay for evaluation.  Bob Hendershot, retired NRCS State Grassland Conservation and now part-time ODNR-DSWR Grazing Specialist will be leading the discussion.  Bob helped develop the Forage for Horses program and has presented this material across the country.

This workshop will provide tips to make better use of your horse pasture.  Improving the productivity of your pastures can reduce the amount of hay needed.  A well managed pasture can provide a large portion of a horse’s forage requirement mid-April through mid-November.   Horses grazing well managed paddocks will spread their manure over the pasture instead of in loafing areas or in their stalls.  Healthy grass and legume plants are more productive if given the opportunity to regrow in-between grazing events. You can improve forage growth by dividing the pasture into smaller paddocks and rotate the animals among the separate paddocks.   Managing the forage is an important concept to understand to protect the environment, soil, water, plants and animals. 

Weeds compete with forage plants for moisture, sunlight and nutrients.  Grazing management can keep most weeds out.  Horse owners need to be aware of toxic plants and their control measures.  A pasture that is continuously grazed, over grazed, or has inadequate soil fertility can make weed problems even worse.   Selecting the right forage species for the use and the soil type can help in providing a healthy pasture.  Horse grazing areas should be long and narrow rectangles because horses tend to graze in a linear fashion different than cattle.  The location of animal watering facilities is also a concern in designing a grazing system.  This information and more will be discussed register early to secure a place for the Central Ohio Forage for Horses Workshop.

Producers need to register by July 20, 2012 by contacting OFGC at bobhendershot2011@gmail or 740-477-1114.  A registration fee of $65 per farm will include materials, a 400 page Forage for Horses  notebook, Pasture Stick, refreshments and lunch on Saturday July 28, 2012. A pdf registration form can be found at this link.

Grazing School Presentations

Pastures for Profit is a comprehensive management intensive grazing school offered annually throughout Ohio by the Ohio State University Extension Forage Team. The Team consists of members from OSU Extension, the OSU Department of Horticulture and Crop Sciences, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service.

At a recent school presenters recorded their presentations. Recordings can be found at http://go.osu.edu/pastureforprofit . Even on a high speed connection they may each take 3 to 4 minutes to load, but then should play flawlessly on your desktop, laptop, iPad and most phones.

Central Ohio Grazing School

The Ohio Forage and Grassland Council will be hosting a Pasture Management Workshop/ Grazing School/ Pasture for Profit Program at the farm of the newest Ohio Forage and Grassland Council (OFGC) Director Val Jorgensen’s Farm, 5851 East Walnut Street, Westerville, Ohio.  Map of the location is available at http://www.jorgensen-farms.com/map.htm .   The farm is just west of State Route 605 and north of State Route 161.  There will be three sessions April 24 and 26 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday 28 at 9:00 a.m. until noon that will include a pasture walk and a grazing system design exercise. 

The sessions will cover setting your goals and objectives, evaluating your resources, understanding plant growth, grazing economic, forage species selection, developing contingency plans for drought, mud and deep snow, soil pasture fertility, fencing and livestock watering systems.  

Producers need to register by April 20, 2012 by contacting OFGC at bobhendershot2011@gmail or 740-477-1114. Please see the registration form. A registration fee of $50 per farm will include materials, Pasture for Profit notebook, Pasture Stick, refreshments and Saturday’s lunch.

2009 Forage Performance Trials

The 2009 Forage Performance Trials Report is now available online at
http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~perf/

The report is a summary of performance data collected from forage variety trials in Ohio during 2009. It includes commercial varieties of alfalfa, orchardgrass, tall fescue, annual ryegrass and teff, in tests planted in 2006 to 2009 across three sites in Ohio: South Charleston, Wooster, and North Baltimore.

A pdf file easy for printing is available, as are downloadable spreadsheet files of all the trials.

Links to forage performance trials in other states are included on the Ohio Forage Performance Trials website. One very useful link is interactive website to compare alfalfa varieties across many locations (including Ohio data).

2008 Ohio Forage Performance Trials

The 2008 Forage Performance Trials Report is now available. It has been published in a special supplement to Ohio’s Country Journal, but is also online at http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~perf/ and can be requested at any Ohio State University Extension office.

The report includes the performance of varieties of alfalfa, red clover, orchardgrass, tall fescue, perennial and annual ryegrass, teff, sorghum x sudangrass, sudangrass, and forage sorghum in tests planted in 2005 to 2008 across three Ohio sites: South Charleston, Wooster, and Jackson.

The alfalfa trial established in 2007 at Wooster had the highest alfalfa yields, averaging 8.3 tons/acre. High yields were also harvested in the Wooster trial seeded in 2006 (7.6 tons/acre) and at South Charleston in 2005 (7.1 tons/acre). Alfalfa weevil populations were low at all sites. Insecticides were used at all locations for control of potato leafhopper (PLH) in the standard yield trials. No insecticide was applied to the potato leafhopper resistance trial planted in April at South Charleston. High leafhopper populations resulted in significant yield differences among the alfalfa varieties in that test. The best varieties yielded 33 to 35% more than the susceptible check varieties in that trial.

Forage yields of red clover were just under 5 tons/acre in 2008, which was remarkable for a third-year stand. The results demonstrate how newer varieties of red clover yield more and persist longer than “common” red clover.

Orchardgrass varieties differed greatly in yield over the season and all varieties went dormant for part of the summer due to dry weather. The tall fescue trial of endophyte-free varieties at Jackson had low yields in 2008, a trend that began in 2007. Only two harvests were collect in 2007 and three in 2008 due to dry weather at Jackson. A perennial ryegrass trial at South Charleston also had low yields in 2008.

Annual ryegrass varieties were evaluated at South Charleston. They were seeded September 2007, and all survived the winter to varying degrees. Large yield differences were recorded, from a low of 1.74 tons/acre to a high of 5.76 tons/acre.

Warm season grass trials were seeded in June 2008 to compare varieties of teff, sorghum x sudangrass, and forage sorghum. The teff varieties yielded 3.3 tons/acre over three cuttings. Sorghum x sudangrass and sudangrass varieties yielded around 4.0 tons/acre in three cuttings. Forage sorghums yielded from 4.0 to 4.7 tons/acre at one single harvest.

Montgomery County Extension to Offer "Horseman's Dream" Series

The Montgomery County Extension Office will be offering their first ever "Hosremen's Dream" series for horse owners in and around the Montgomery County area. The Horsemen's Dream Series will consist of three different programs scattered throughout the end of 2008 and 2009. Programs offered in the series include:

A Forages for Horses Workshop- This workshop will take place on Monday, November 17 and Thursday November 20. The forages for horses workshop covers everything a horse owner needs to establish and or maintain the proper forages for proper horse nutrition. This workshop will be held from 6:30 to 9:30 on both evenings.

An Equine Environmental and Liability Awareness workshop-Helod on Monday, January 12 2009 and Thursday January 15 2009. The Equine Environmental and Liability Awareness Workshop will not only cover the environmental issues a horse owner must contend with but also the liabilities that come with owning a horse.

A Pasture Walk- After learning all about growing quality forages in the forages for horses workshop, participants will have the ability to go out in a pasture and put that knowledge to "hand's on" use. The date for the pasture walk has not been set but it will take place some time in the spring or summer of 2009. The specific date will be announced at the end of the Equine Environmental and Liability Workshop.

All three events in the Horsemen's Dream series are offered at a price of $65.00 for early registration and $75.00 at the door. With the understanding that, if you register at the door, some of the materials may not be available to you. Early registration deadline is November 3. For more information, and to register, contact Suzanne Mills-Wasniak at the Montgomery County Extension Office.

2007 Forage Variety Trial Results

Field performance data collected from forage variety trials in Ohio during 2007 is available online at http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~perf/. The report was published in Ohio’s Country Journal in December, and is also available at county extension offices in Ohio.

The report includes performance of commercial varieties of alfalfa, red clover, orchardgrass, tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, and annual ryegrass in tests at South Charleston, North Baltimore, Wooster, and Jackson, Ohio.

Forage yields varied widely from north to south in 2007. The effect of a late spring freeze and dry summer were more severe in the southern half of Ohio. First harvest yields in the performance trials ranged from 14 to 62% below normal, and total season yields ranged from 18 to 80% below normal.

The lowest yields were at Jackson in southeast Ohio, where alfalfa yielded only 1.1 tons of dry matter per acre and tall fescue yielded 2.4 dry tons/acre. In contrast, alfalfa yields at Wooster in northeastern Ohio were near normal with first harvest yields of 2.8 dry tons/acre and total season yields averaging 7.4 dry tons/acre.

Orchardgrass yields at South Charleston in west central Ohio in 2007 were 24% below the 2006 yields. Perennial ryegrass at South Charleston suffered winter injury, and yields were further reduced by the drought, averaging 68% below 2006 yield levels.

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service reported alfalfa yields in 2007 were 23% below 2006 yields in Ohio. Other hay in 2007 yielded 25% below 2006 levels in Ohio. The lower yields and a 6.6% drop in acreage resulted in a 30% drop in total Ohio hay production.