26 Story Idea? Email Paul.Nolan@Farms.com Better Farming | November/December 2023 Answering Forage questions I work with farmers and seed companies that sell forage seed across the country. The following questions come from farmers in the Prairies as well as Eastern Canada. Some questions are the same in every province. Others are very specific to certain areas. Here is one of the best and most often asked questions. Question: I sold seed to a farmer and he thinks there were weed seeds in it. What can I do? Answer: This one is easy to answer. First, I ask the farmer how he seeded the alfalfa. Most common answer is a drill. I ask if the alfalfa is coming up in rows. The answer is yes. Then I ask if the weed is in the rows or between the rows. Typically, the answer is “I don’t know.” When they get back to me, they say that the weeds are in the row and between the rows. That means the weeds were in the soil and not in the forage seed. If the alfalfa is planted broadcast, I ask if the weeds are uniform across the whole field or just in areas. The answer has always been “just in areas.” This points to the fact the weeds were in the soil, not in the forage seed. Sometimes the farmer will tell me they have never seen this weed before on this farm. That is possible, if the farmer has a rotation where the various herbicides used are controlling the weed all the time. If it is a winter annual, and the field is worked before planting, that tillage will control the weed. Question: Last year I saw a great response from putting sulphur on my alfalfa. This year I did not see as great a response. Why? Answer: Forages need sulphur. There is sulphur in the soil, but it will not be released until the soil warms. In a cool spring, applied sulphur has a greater visual effect than in a spring when the soil warms up and releases soil sulphur. But even though you do not see the colour response when you apply sulphur, there still can be a yield reFORAGE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS THESE TOP TIPS CAN HELP IMPROVE YOUR STAND. BY PATRICK LYNCH ImagineGolf/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo
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