Green Gold Report â May 28, 2015 â EASTERN
Green Gold Report – May 28, 2015 – EASTERN Return of cool conditions slow alfalfa development Hay Day now estimated for June 4th but frost this weekend could delay it further. Note that taller fields are more advance and could be ready sooner. SITE Il de Chene St Pierre Grunthal Kleefeld south Kleefeld east Steinbach Giroux NewBothwell AVERAGE
RFV NIR 252 241 225 213 249 216 207 230 229
RFV PEAQ 260 252 237 237 268 210 204 222 238.29
Height 13 14 16 16 12 19 20 17 15.71
CP 23 30 24 24 25 24 27 24 25.29
Alfalfa fields that are now over 16 inches are in the early bud stage. Over the past 4 days the crop has jumped 3 inches as we have experienced normal GDD’s. If we look at PEAQ to estimate when to cut at 8 pts/day June 2 is the cutting date. Nutritionists like to target hay in the 135-150 RFV towards Dairy cows in the 1st trimester and towards dairy calves. The RFV hay from 125-140 is fed to the dairy cows in the last 200 days and heifers 12-18 months of age. Hay at 115-130 makes excellent Beef cow and heifer 12-18 month old feed and any from 100-115 is good for the Dry cow and heifer between 18 and 24 month.
Access all 2015 Green Gold Reports For more information contact: John McGregor, MFGA Extension Support e: [email protected], website: www.mfga.net or follow us on Twitter!
Financial support for this project provided by the following sponsors: SILVER SPONSORS
GOLD SPONSOR
BRONZE SPONSORS
2015 MFGA Green Gold Report
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MANITOBA FORAGE & GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION
Growing Degree Days We have mentioned this before about GDDs and predicting when to cut alfalfa. Because each spring is unique in temperature, precipitation and growing degree days (GDD), the date hay is ready for a first cut can vary as many as three weeks from year to year. It typically takes 300 to 350 GDD to reach RFV of 180 for the first cut. About 350 to 400 GDD yields RFV closer to 160. An RFV of 140 would require 450 to 500 GDD. Looking at the graphs below you can see the accumulation of GDDs and I have also included the normal accumulation (blue). Assuming that condition stay normal, we should reach 350 GDD’s around June 8th or 9th. Shorting Drying Times Understanding how cut hay dries and how losses occur during cutting, conditioning, raking and baling is the first step in choosing techniques for maintaining the quality of cut hay. Rain is most detrimental to hay quality if it occurs in the first day or two after cutting when danger of leaching losses is higher. Two inches of rain in a single event is less detrimental than a halfinch of rain over four days, because wet plants respire longer, compromising quality and dry matter. A cut plant continues to respire loosing sugars until it drops to below 40% moisture so shorting the time it takes to go from 80 to 40% increases the energy content of the hay. Techniques like wide swaths, conditioning the hay and time of day can speed the drying process and enable you to put up hay in better condition. For more information on making better quality hay click on High Quality Hay Management Grasses Thursday I noticed that some of the grass heads are just starting to emerge. This field had some timothy that was just heading. I only mention this as one of the suggestions for getting top quality forage is to time your cutting when the grasses start to head and alfalfa is in the late bud stage. Not all your hay needs to be of high quality and therefore if you are looking at quantity and still have some quality letting the grasses advance beyond seed set adds little to yield. For more information on when to cut alfalfa/grass mixtures click on either of the following articles When to Make First Spring Cut of Alfalfa and Mixed Alfalfa/Grass High Quality Hay Management Growers with alfalfa and grass mixed stands should not use the GDD method to establish your cutting schedule. Consider harvesting these fields before harvesting the pure alfalfa stands. Grasses have higher NDF content than alfalfa cut at the same age. Spring harvest of alfalfa-grass mixtures is based on alfalfa maximum height and the proportion of grass in the stand. Michigan State University Extension suggests that producers consider harvesting fields that have the most grass first so purer alfalfa stands can be harvested at the appropriate NDF levels. If wet weather delays harvest, you may want to harvest the purest alfalfa stands first since fields with grass will likely be past the optimum NDF levels and may be better used for dairy rations requiring higher fiber, or for dry cows and heifers. 2015 MFGA Green Gold Report
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MANITOBA FORAGE & GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION
2015 MFGA Green Gold Report
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MANITOBA FORAGE & GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION
RFV NIR 252 241 225 213 249 216 207 230 229
RFV PEAQ 260 252 237 237 268 210 204 222 238.29
Height 13 14 16 16 12 19 20 17 15.71
CP 23 30 24 24 25 24 27 24 25.29
Alfalfa fields that are now over 16 inches are in the early bud stage. Over the past 4 days the crop has jumped 3 inches as we have experienced normal GDD’s. If we look at PEAQ to estimate when to cut at 8 pts/day June 2 is the cutting date. Nutritionists like to target hay in the 135-150 RFV towards Dairy cows in the 1st trimester and towards dairy calves. The RFV hay from 125-140 is fed to the dairy cows in the last 200 days and heifers 12-18 months of age. Hay at 115-130 makes excellent Beef cow and heifer 12-18 month old feed and any from 100-115 is good for the Dry cow and heifer between 18 and 24 month.
Access all 2015 Green Gold Reports For more information contact: John McGregor, MFGA Extension Support e: [email protected], website: www.mfga.net or follow us on Twitter!
Financial support for this project provided by the following sponsors: SILVER SPONSORS
GOLD SPONSOR
BRONZE SPONSORS
2015 MFGA Green Gold Report
~1
~
MANITOBA FORAGE & GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION
Growing Degree Days We have mentioned this before about GDDs and predicting when to cut alfalfa. Because each spring is unique in temperature, precipitation and growing degree days (GDD), the date hay is ready for a first cut can vary as many as three weeks from year to year. It typically takes 300 to 350 GDD to reach RFV of 180 for the first cut. About 350 to 400 GDD yields RFV closer to 160. An RFV of 140 would require 450 to 500 GDD. Looking at the graphs below you can see the accumulation of GDDs and I have also included the normal accumulation (blue). Assuming that condition stay normal, we should reach 350 GDD’s around June 8th or 9th. Shorting Drying Times Understanding how cut hay dries and how losses occur during cutting, conditioning, raking and baling is the first step in choosing techniques for maintaining the quality of cut hay. Rain is most detrimental to hay quality if it occurs in the first day or two after cutting when danger of leaching losses is higher. Two inches of rain in a single event is less detrimental than a halfinch of rain over four days, because wet plants respire longer, compromising quality and dry matter. A cut plant continues to respire loosing sugars until it drops to below 40% moisture so shorting the time it takes to go from 80 to 40% increases the energy content of the hay. Techniques like wide swaths, conditioning the hay and time of day can speed the drying process and enable you to put up hay in better condition. For more information on making better quality hay click on High Quality Hay Management Grasses Thursday I noticed that some of the grass heads are just starting to emerge. This field had some timothy that was just heading. I only mention this as one of the suggestions for getting top quality forage is to time your cutting when the grasses start to head and alfalfa is in the late bud stage. Not all your hay needs to be of high quality and therefore if you are looking at quantity and still have some quality letting the grasses advance beyond seed set adds little to yield. For more information on when to cut alfalfa/grass mixtures click on either of the following articles When to Make First Spring Cut of Alfalfa and Mixed Alfalfa/Grass High Quality Hay Management Growers with alfalfa and grass mixed stands should not use the GDD method to establish your cutting schedule. Consider harvesting these fields before harvesting the pure alfalfa stands. Grasses have higher NDF content than alfalfa cut at the same age. Spring harvest of alfalfa-grass mixtures is based on alfalfa maximum height and the proportion of grass in the stand. Michigan State University Extension suggests that producers consider harvesting fields that have the most grass first so purer alfalfa stands can be harvested at the appropriate NDF levels. If wet weather delays harvest, you may want to harvest the purest alfalfa stands first since fields with grass will likely be past the optimum NDF levels and may be better used for dairy rations requiring higher fiber, or for dry cows and heifers. 2015 MFGA Green Gold Report
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MANITOBA FORAGE & GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION
2015 MFGA Green Gold Report
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MANITOBA FORAGE & GRASSLAND ASSOCIATION
