The best ideas for improving forage management
Thursday, December 5, 2013
From seeding to fertilizing and cutting, here is a selection of ways to make the most of your forage production
by PAT LYNCH
During the past year I have spoken at meetings and listened to speakers and producers on forage production across Ontario and the three Maritime provinces. The following are my findings with the best of these ideas coming from Paul Sullivan, CCA, who works with dairy producers in Eastern Ontario.
Seeding. Most seeding failures are due to seeding depth – it's either too deep or too shallow. In 2013, there were more problems with too shallow. Systems used in other years worked mostly because of rainfall after planting. In 2013, the dry weather after planting resulted in poor establishment because the soil was too dry.
Most seeding failures relate to a loose seedbed. You want a firm seedbed. This means that, when you walk into the field, the soil does not come above the sole of your shoe. In 2013, seed that was planted with roller packer types of drills had more failures than seed planted with ordinary drills. In dry loose soils, seed planted with roller packer seeders did not have enough soil moisture.
A common problem with drills is seeding too deep. This will not occur if you have a firm seed bed and you check seeding depth. You should see about five per cent of the seed on top of the ground when using a drill.
Fertilizing. Fertilizing forages has got to increase. If you harvest 4.5 tonnes per acre of forage testing at 3.5 to four per cent K, you remove 350-400 pounds per acre of K²O. It takes about 20 pounds per acre to reduce the K soil test level by one point. If you are not replacing this K with fertilizer, you can easily drop K soil test levels by 15-20 points a year. This means that you should build up K soil levels before you seed. You need soil test K levels of at least 120-130 to start. Too often, once soil tests drop below 100, you cannot maintain K levels. A shorter rotation is a better way to maintain the K soil test level.
Cover crops. Some producers are more worried about their cover crops than the forage stand. Cover crops work against your forages. Cover crops are all right when you are short of feed and need more forage in early summer. But they are detrimental to a good forage stand.
If you decide to grow a cover crop, cut it early – at least by June 15-20. This will not give maximum yield in the seeding year, but is best for the longevity of the stand. Well-managed new seeding yields three cuts in the establishment year and 60 per cent yield from a fully established stand. The best cover crop for dollars spent and forage returned is oats. It is not as aggressive as the popular pea mixes, so is easier on your forage crop.
Cutting schedule. This is a balance of yield and quality. More cuts mean lower yields but higher quality. For maximum production, a four-cut system, starting in late May and cutting every four to five weeks, is ideal. Paul Sullivan says that "typically one cut is no good. It is better to have one cut out of four poor as opposed to one cut out of three." Cutting earlier means more consistent feed.
The idea of not harvesting during the critical harvest dates is, according to Paul Sullivan, "an outdated idea that does not fit into today's production scheme." Over the last few years, I have taken pictures in the fall of fields that were partially harvested and checked them in the spring to validate that you should not harvest during the critical harvest period. I have not found any fields where there was a visual difference in the spring where fields were partially harvested during the critical harvest period.
Diseases. The newest disease affecting Ontario forage stands is Aphanomyces, a root rot that looks somewhat similar to Phytophthora root rot. This disease has been around for years, but in 2010 a new race of these fungi has been identified. Most varieties do not have resistance to this new race. I have checked a few fields and most have it. It rots the main root, restricting plants' ability to get water and nutrients.
Variety selection. New varieties will have the Roundup resistant gene. These varieties have higher digestibility because of lower lignin. Also, companies are putting more emphasis on milk per tonne of forage as opposed to yield. Forage production is changing. Are you ready to change? BF
Consulting agronomist Pat Lynch, CCA (ON), formerly worked with the Ontario agriculture ministry and with Cargill.