WNYCMA March 2012 Newsletter
Posted Feb 5, 10 in WNYCMA News
Winter Manure Spreading
Posted Apr 12, 12 in WNYCMA News
The following link is a document prepared by Karl J. Czymmek, Senior Extension Associate for the PRO-DAIRY Program at Cornell University, on the Federal Guidelines for manure spreading in New York. We hope that this information will help clear up any confusion you may have had.
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/prodairy/pdf/WinterSpreadingUpdateMarch2012.pdf
What to do with Frosted Alfalfa
Posted Apr 11, 12 in WNYCMA News
We received this information from Jerry H. Cherney, E.V. Baker Professor of Agriculture, Dept. of Crop & Soil Sciences @ Cornell University, via e-mail this morning. With the weather we have had this month and in March we felt that it would be helpful to share with you all. There is also a PDF document attached from the Mid-West.
Since the questions keep coming, here is some general info I have sent out to some, about frosted alfalfa. I have heard everything from frozen to the ground, to once flat but now recovered, to slightly singed alfalfa.
Quite a few people nervous about whether to do anything with damaged alfalfa stands. While there are some in the Midwest that suggest mowing now if there is significant damage, more suggestions are like the two in the attached document. If alfalfa was less than 10” tall, do nothing. I would be surprised if any was more than 10” tall. If any stands were somehow completely frozen (killed plants), then an assessment would have to be made regarding the future of the stand. Dead stands would seem unlikely. Grazing off damaged growth is questionable, as they could have nitrate issues.
Whether it is mowed or not, damaged alfalfa stands may be running behind schedule. This is difficult to say conclusively, because before the frost, alfalfa was way ahead of schedule. Frost damage probably will reduce first cut yields, but mowing now may reduce them more.
Stands will need to be watched more closely than usual, some delay in spring harvest may be helpful for the alfalfa. One issue that has come up several times this week is whether or not alfalfa is now out of sync with grass, and if so, how should mixtures be managed. If grass is more advanced than normal, this could indicate an earlier harvest than normal, which could be detrimental to the weakened alfalfa. Delaying harvest at all could make for a crappy first cut. We have no data on this. It is quite possible that alfalfa max height will have a different relationship with grass quality, compared to “normal” years, making a mess of our NDF prediction equations.
So my guess is that mowing will not improve the situation. This is probably a good year for some “scissors cut” sampling, to assess current quality.
Jerry
Frost_Damage_to_Alfalfa,_WI_and_IA_suggestions.pdf
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