Green Gold Report â June 8, 2017 â WESTERN / CENTRAL
Green Gold Report – June 8, 2017 – WESTERN / CENTRAL Hay Day is past and presently RFV are in the 150 range. SITE Portage Winkler CENTRAL AVERAGE
RFV NIR 164
RFV PEAQ 164
Height 26
CP 25
164
164
26
25
Roblin Brandon North Virden Virden North WESTERN AVERAGE
164 156 137
203 203 149
19 19 31
24 20 20
152
185
23
21
The western area is reporting alfalfa in the early to late bud stage. For Portage it has entered the early flowering stage As we wind up the Green Gold Program for 2017 I would like to thank Miriam Sweetnam, Mike Graham and Darren Chapman for taking and submitting samples and to Jill Veraway for allowing us to use their field to take samples from to help provide the information that we have put into the Green Gold reports for 2017. Also special thanks to Kristal Harper with MBFI and Shawn Cabak, Mildred Valentino, Elizabeth Nernberg and Sunil Kawthekar with Manitoba Agriculture for taking samples. Access all 2017 Green Gold Reports For more info: John McGregor, MFGA Green Gold Coordinator e: [email protected], w: www.mfga.net or follow us on Twitter!
GOLD SPONSORS
PLATINUM SPONSOR
SILVER SPONSORS
BRONZE SPONSORS
2017 MFGA Green Gold Report
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MANITOBA FORAGE & GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION
Bale Wrapping How Late is too Late? Waiting for perfect conditions can result in forages that are too mature and lower in quality, and rains can contribute to diminished quality by essentially washing away the water-soluble proteins and carbohydrates. Silage bales allow producers to store high-quality harvested forage with diminished curing time in the field. Round bale silage can greatly improve the timeliness of harvest, which in turn, can improve the quality of harvested forage. When processed properly, baled silage is often higher in quality than similar hay because of reduced leaf loss in legumes, shorter curing time, reduced spontaneous heating and less weather exposure in silage. The biggest benefit is getting the hay out of the field without having to waste time waiting for it to properly cure It has been recommended that baled silage should be wrapped within two hours of baling, with moisture content of 40 to 60 percent. When silage is exposed to air, either from poor wrapping or not having the bale rolled tightly, the bales go through a heat and the plant sugars are converted to CO2. This causes a loss in dry matter and decrease in total digestible nutrients (TDN). If weather, equipment failure or other conditions prevent wrapping silage in a timely manner, there could be a decrease in the quality of the resulting forage. The U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center looked at what happens to fermentation when silage bale wrapping is delayed by one, two or three days. The internal temperature at baling was higher in all bales with delayed wrapping, but increased with longer delays. Peak temperatures during the 97-day storage period also increased as the wrapping delay increased. The water-soluble carbohydrate content decreased with increasing delayed wrapping, which was related to the increased temperatures during storage. The total silage fermentation acids were higher for bales that were wrapped immediately and these levels also declined with longer delays in wrapping. In summary, wrapping delays did inhibit fermentation and decreased the nutritive value of the silage after the 24-hour mark, but there appears to be more forgiveness in that first 24-hour period than previously perceived. https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/production/forages/pubs/baled_silage_production.pdf Alfalfa Flowering As mentioned none of the fields sampled in the Eastern area are flowering. Once alfalfa starts to flower it usually indicates that it is time to cut your hay no matter want type of livestock you are feeding. Alfalfa beyond full bloom doesn’t generally increase your tonnage of harvested material and as it matures it loses lower leaves rapidly (below), decreasing its feed value. Normally fields that are cut in early June, with rains and warm weather start to initiate new growth at the crown. What you should be planning for is that in 28-35 days you should be looking at taking your second cut. With haying in this area starting around the 5th of June you might expect second cut to start around July 17th. This will enable you to look at 3 cuts before the critical fall period and a 4th cut sometime in late September early October. It is always a good idea to have at least one cut go to flower. This practice enables your alfalfa to establish good root reserves so that it can recover somewhat from any past damage and go into winter in as good a shape as possible, allowing the crop to flower will insure that the root reserves are full. If you miss the second cut window you might want to consider letting the 2 nd cut flower or let the 3r d cut flower and take it after the critical period. For information on the Critical cutting date and managing that last cut contact your Mb Ag Forage Specialist or myself. 2017 MFGA Green Gold Report
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MANITOBA FORAGE & GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION
RFV NIR 164
RFV PEAQ 164
Height 26
CP 25
164
164
26
25
Roblin Brandon North Virden Virden North WESTERN AVERAGE
164 156 137
203 203 149
19 19 31
24 20 20
152
185
23
21
The western area is reporting alfalfa in the early to late bud stage. For Portage it has entered the early flowering stage As we wind up the Green Gold Program for 2017 I would like to thank Miriam Sweetnam, Mike Graham and Darren Chapman for taking and submitting samples and to Jill Veraway for allowing us to use their field to take samples from to help provide the information that we have put into the Green Gold reports for 2017. Also special thanks to Kristal Harper with MBFI and Shawn Cabak, Mildred Valentino, Elizabeth Nernberg and Sunil Kawthekar with Manitoba Agriculture for taking samples. Access all 2017 Green Gold Reports For more info: John McGregor, MFGA Green Gold Coordinator e: [email protected], w: www.mfga.net or follow us on Twitter!
GOLD SPONSORS
PLATINUM SPONSOR
SILVER SPONSORS
BRONZE SPONSORS
2017 MFGA Green Gold Report
~1
~
MANITOBA FORAGE & GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION
Bale Wrapping How Late is too Late? Waiting for perfect conditions can result in forages that are too mature and lower in quality, and rains can contribute to diminished quality by essentially washing away the water-soluble proteins and carbohydrates. Silage bales allow producers to store high-quality harvested forage with diminished curing time in the field. Round bale silage can greatly improve the timeliness of harvest, which in turn, can improve the quality of harvested forage. When processed properly, baled silage is often higher in quality than similar hay because of reduced leaf loss in legumes, shorter curing time, reduced spontaneous heating and less weather exposure in silage. The biggest benefit is getting the hay out of the field without having to waste time waiting for it to properly cure It has been recommended that baled silage should be wrapped within two hours of baling, with moisture content of 40 to 60 percent. When silage is exposed to air, either from poor wrapping or not having the bale rolled tightly, the bales go through a heat and the plant sugars are converted to CO2. This causes a loss in dry matter and decrease in total digestible nutrients (TDN). If weather, equipment failure or other conditions prevent wrapping silage in a timely manner, there could be a decrease in the quality of the resulting forage. The U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center looked at what happens to fermentation when silage bale wrapping is delayed by one, two or three days. The internal temperature at baling was higher in all bales with delayed wrapping, but increased with longer delays. Peak temperatures during the 97-day storage period also increased as the wrapping delay increased. The water-soluble carbohydrate content decreased with increasing delayed wrapping, which was related to the increased temperatures during storage. The total silage fermentation acids were higher for bales that were wrapped immediately and these levels also declined with longer delays in wrapping. In summary, wrapping delays did inhibit fermentation and decreased the nutritive value of the silage after the 24-hour mark, but there appears to be more forgiveness in that first 24-hour period than previously perceived. https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/production/forages/pubs/baled_silage_production.pdf Alfalfa Flowering As mentioned none of the fields sampled in the Eastern area are flowering. Once alfalfa starts to flower it usually indicates that it is time to cut your hay no matter want type of livestock you are feeding. Alfalfa beyond full bloom doesn’t generally increase your tonnage of harvested material and as it matures it loses lower leaves rapidly (below), decreasing its feed value. Normally fields that are cut in early June, with rains and warm weather start to initiate new growth at the crown. What you should be planning for is that in 28-35 days you should be looking at taking your second cut. With haying in this area starting around the 5th of June you might expect second cut to start around July 17th. This will enable you to look at 3 cuts before the critical fall period and a 4th cut sometime in late September early October. It is always a good idea to have at least one cut go to flower. This practice enables your alfalfa to establish good root reserves so that it can recover somewhat from any past damage and go into winter in as good a shape as possible, allowing the crop to flower will insure that the root reserves are full. If you miss the second cut window you might want to consider letting the 2 nd cut flower or let the 3r d cut flower and take it after the critical period. For information on the Critical cutting date and managing that last cut contact your Mb Ag Forage Specialist or myself. 2017 MFGA Green Gold Report
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MANITOBA FORAGE & GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION
