Grain harvest ahead of schedule
By
John Grimes-
Fall has officially arrived and grain harvest is progressing well ahead of schedule. The dryer weather pattern over the past several weeks has facilitated rapid drydown of area crops and field conditions pose no limitations for harvest equipment.
Early planted (mid-April) crops have recorded excellent yields thus far. However, expectations for later planted crops are a highly variable due to anticipated yield loss due to the lack of moisture late in the growing season.
Time to wrap up the last cutting of alfalfa
It is time to take the last cutting of alfalfa and red clover in Ohio. Cutting this week will allow plenty of time for the stand to regrow and store energy and proteins in the taproots, which are important for winter survival and early growth next spring.
It may be tempting to wait to cut the alfalfa because of low yield due to the recent dry weather, in hopes that rains will come and more growth will occur. But delaying the last cutting of alfalfa to late September into mid-October can carry serious risk to the health of the stand. Cutting later will interrupt the process of storage of energy and proteins in alfalfa taproots. When cut during the fall rest period, the plants will regrow and utilize precious taproot energy and protein reserves without sufficient time to replenish them before a killing frost.
Fall cutting may not result in real obvious stand loss, although that can occasionally happen. The more common occurrence is for fall-cut alfalfa stands to suffer some loss of vigor and yield next year that is not so obvious. One could only see such loss of vigor and yield next year if side-by-side comparisons were made within the same field, where strips of alfalfa are cut or not cut this fall. Often, the yield gained by cutting during the fall is lost in reduced yields the following year.
If stands cannot be cut this week or are not worth cutting due to low yield, a late fall harvest is probably a safer alternative than cutting next week and into mid-October, By late harvest, I mean as close as possible to a killing frost of alfalfa, which happens when air temperatures reach 25° F for several hours. This often does not happen until sometime in early November in Ohio. But I recommend a late harvest option only if the soil is well-drained, the stand is healthy, a variety is planted that has excellent winter hardiness, and the soil has good fertility status.
If you cannot cut alfalfa by this week, waiting to cut near the killing frost will prevent the late fall regrowth that “burns up” energy reserves. This will reduce the risk of loss of vigor next spring.
A fall harvest after a killing frost (end of October, early November) is relatively safe IF the soil is well-drained and there is no history of heaving on that particular soil. Without residue cover, the temperature at the soil surface will fluctuate more, so the potential for heaving injury is greater, especially on soils with less than perfect drainage.
I am often asked whether leaving a large amount of fall growth can harm the alfalfa stand in the winter. The fear is that the alfalfa will “smother itself out.” I have let pure stands of alfalfa go into the winter with a lot of growth, even more than we see this fall, and I have never experienced a problem or seen the crop “smother out.” So, if we do get a lot of growth this fall, and you don’t need the forage, it won’t harm the alfalfa stand to let it be and not cut it.
Source: Dr. Mark Sulc, Forage Specialist, OSU Extension
2010 Southwest Ohio Grazing School
Mark your calendars now for the upcoming 2010 Southwest Ohio Grazing School. It is scheduled for Oct. 19, 26, and 30.
The school consists of two classroom sessions on Oct. 19 and 26 from 6-9 p.m. at Eastern Brown High School and the Oct. 30 session will be on-farm for hands-on learning.
Topics to be covered in the school include the following: Grazing Management, Goals, Evaluate Resources, Environmental Benefits, Plant Physiology, Paddock Design, Livestock Nutrition, Species & Fertility, Economics, Hay Storage and Feeding, Stockpiling to Extend Grazing, Fescue/Frost Seeding, Forage Quality, Timely Harvest of Hay, Annual Forages, Crop Residue, Fence/Water, and Examples of Paddock Designs. Speakers for the program include individuals from OSU Extension, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the University of Kentucky’s Agronomy Department.
The cost for the entire program which includes materials and meals is $50 for the first person and $25 from each additional family member. Make checks payable to: OSU Extension, Brown County and send order form and money to: OSU Extension - Brown County, 325 W. State Street Bldg. B, Georgetown, Ohio 45121.
We want to recognize our sponsors that helped to make this program possible. They include: Trupointe, Southern States Maysville Co-Op, Cherry Fork Farm Supply, Winchester Ag. Services, W. C. Milling, Seaman, Ohio Farm Bureau, United Producers Inc., Cahall Brothers, Inc., The Union Stock Yards Co., Inc., Farm Credit Services of Mid-America, Spectrum Analytic Inc., Tractor Supply Company, Lerch’s Barnlot Ltd., Carney’s Feed Mill, Inc., Five Points Implement Co., Inc., Brown County Cattlemen’s Association, Equipment Super Store, Bethel Feed and Supply, Inc., Riverside Tractor & Equipment LLC, Blue Grass-Maysville Stockyards, LLC, Carrington Farm Supply, Inc., and Crop Production Services.
John Grimes is the Ohio State University Extension Educator for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Highland County.[[In-content Ad]]
Early planted (mid-April) crops have recorded excellent yields thus far. However, expectations for later planted crops are a highly variable due to anticipated yield loss due to the lack of moisture late in the growing season.
Time to wrap up the last cutting of alfalfa
It is time to take the last cutting of alfalfa and red clover in Ohio. Cutting this week will allow plenty of time for the stand to regrow and store energy and proteins in the taproots, which are important for winter survival and early growth next spring.
It may be tempting to wait to cut the alfalfa because of low yield due to the recent dry weather, in hopes that rains will come and more growth will occur. But delaying the last cutting of alfalfa to late September into mid-October can carry serious risk to the health of the stand. Cutting later will interrupt the process of storage of energy and proteins in alfalfa taproots. When cut during the fall rest period, the plants will regrow and utilize precious taproot energy and protein reserves without sufficient time to replenish them before a killing frost.
Fall cutting may not result in real obvious stand loss, although that can occasionally happen. The more common occurrence is for fall-cut alfalfa stands to suffer some loss of vigor and yield next year that is not so obvious. One could only see such loss of vigor and yield next year if side-by-side comparisons were made within the same field, where strips of alfalfa are cut or not cut this fall. Often, the yield gained by cutting during the fall is lost in reduced yields the following year.
If stands cannot be cut this week or are not worth cutting due to low yield, a late fall harvest is probably a safer alternative than cutting next week and into mid-October, By late harvest, I mean as close as possible to a killing frost of alfalfa, which happens when air temperatures reach 25° F for several hours. This often does not happen until sometime in early November in Ohio. But I recommend a late harvest option only if the soil is well-drained, the stand is healthy, a variety is planted that has excellent winter hardiness, and the soil has good fertility status.
If you cannot cut alfalfa by this week, waiting to cut near the killing frost will prevent the late fall regrowth that “burns up” energy reserves. This will reduce the risk of loss of vigor next spring.
A fall harvest after a killing frost (end of October, early November) is relatively safe IF the soil is well-drained and there is no history of heaving on that particular soil. Without residue cover, the temperature at the soil surface will fluctuate more, so the potential for heaving injury is greater, especially on soils with less than perfect drainage.
I am often asked whether leaving a large amount of fall growth can harm the alfalfa stand in the winter. The fear is that the alfalfa will “smother itself out.” I have let pure stands of alfalfa go into the winter with a lot of growth, even more than we see this fall, and I have never experienced a problem or seen the crop “smother out.” So, if we do get a lot of growth this fall, and you don’t need the forage, it won’t harm the alfalfa stand to let it be and not cut it.
Source: Dr. Mark Sulc, Forage Specialist, OSU Extension
2010 Southwest Ohio Grazing School
Mark your calendars now for the upcoming 2010 Southwest Ohio Grazing School. It is scheduled for Oct. 19, 26, and 30.
The school consists of two classroom sessions on Oct. 19 and 26 from 6-9 p.m. at Eastern Brown High School and the Oct. 30 session will be on-farm for hands-on learning.
Topics to be covered in the school include the following: Grazing Management, Goals, Evaluate Resources, Environmental Benefits, Plant Physiology, Paddock Design, Livestock Nutrition, Species & Fertility, Economics, Hay Storage and Feeding, Stockpiling to Extend Grazing, Fescue/Frost Seeding, Forage Quality, Timely Harvest of Hay, Annual Forages, Crop Residue, Fence/Water, and Examples of Paddock Designs. Speakers for the program include individuals from OSU Extension, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the University of Kentucky’s Agronomy Department.
The cost for the entire program which includes materials and meals is $50 for the first person and $25 from each additional family member. Make checks payable to: OSU Extension, Brown County and send order form and money to: OSU Extension - Brown County, 325 W. State Street Bldg. B, Georgetown, Ohio 45121.
We want to recognize our sponsors that helped to make this program possible. They include: Trupointe, Southern States Maysville Co-Op, Cherry Fork Farm Supply, Winchester Ag. Services, W. C. Milling, Seaman, Ohio Farm Bureau, United Producers Inc., Cahall Brothers, Inc., The Union Stock Yards Co., Inc., Farm Credit Services of Mid-America, Spectrum Analytic Inc., Tractor Supply Company, Lerch’s Barnlot Ltd., Carney’s Feed Mill, Inc., Five Points Implement Co., Inc., Brown County Cattlemen’s Association, Equipment Super Store, Bethel Feed and Supply, Inc., Riverside Tractor & Equipment LLC, Blue Grass-Maysville Stockyards, LLC, Carrington Farm Supply, Inc., and Crop Production Services.
John Grimes is the Ohio State University Extension Educator for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Highland County.[[In-content Ad]]