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In
my opinion, Alfalfa is the best way to go in the Northeast region of the Country
if your looking to sell your hay or graze your animals.
Grazing Alfalfa will need a companion crop to avoid
bloat, especially in Horses.
But is there enough of a market to sustain a business?
Who are you going to be selling to?
- Dairies
- Cattle feedlots
- Sheep operations
- Goat or Alpacca Farms
Each has their own special needs when it comes to what they'll feed their livestock.
Find you niche market/customers and do your homework.
- Soil fertility (pH should be 6.5 - 7.0)
- Fertilizer needed? (lime, phosphorus, potassium, calcium)
- Correct equipment for seed bed preparation
Planting Guide
On your standard "dryland" or "favorable dryland" with limited irrigation you'll need anywhere from 10-15
lbs. of Alfalfa Seed/Acre.
Direct seeding = 15-18 lbs.
With a single
companion crop = 12-15 lbs. (such as clover)
With FULL
Irrigation = 18-20 lbs.
** We use 6-8/lbs. in our pasture mix
(which equates to approx. 15% of the total seed mix), which also includes Orchard
grass, Red & White Clover & Timothy. However as the season continues
and you mow these fields or pastures for winter hay stockpiles, you’ll generally only see Timothy in your 1st
& 2nd cutting.
Stand Age & Plants per Sq. Foot
Alfalfa should be re-evaluated each year to measure deterioration.
Stands less than the levels shown below probably justify a new seeding.
On the seeding year there should be 20-30 plants/stands per sq. ft.
Second year = 12-20
Third year = 8-12
And on the fourth and subsequent years = 6-8
| After plowing, we use a 10' Roller/Harrow |
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| It break's up the clumps/furrows/hard-pan to smooth out your seedbed for even "drop-seeding" |
You'll reap ($$$) what you sow!
Don't buy cheap seed! You'll get cheap hay!
The old saying..."You'll get what you pay for", is very true when it comes to seed,
The Kuhn Family Farm
only uses
DOEBLER'S
"DMX-H" Grass Mix's
(located in Jersey Shore, PA)
Planting recommendations:
The Alfalfa (Prolific), has been "inoculated", which provides benificial living, nitrogen-fixing
bacteria to the seed. With this type of seed treatment, some planting adjustments may be required. To obtain
your desired seeding rate, it is recommended that you increase your manufacturer's suggested drill setting. The recommendation
does not imply that more seed is needed. Rather, it infers that you should recalibrate your equipment to adjust for seed coatings.
| You don't need fancy/Expensive seeding equipment. |
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| We bought this 17 row dbl. disc planter for $500, and it works for everything from corn to hay seed |
Alfalfa-Grass
Mixes Reduce Leafhopper Damage
Planting a cool-season grass with DOEBLER'S
leafhopper-resistant PROLIFIC alfalfa (Not a GMO), will reduce leafhopper damage and increase yield compared to having
no grass in the mix. According to a recent study conducted in New York and Pennsylvania,
adding a grass to potato leafhopper-resistant alfalfa offered limited benefits in addition to those already provided by the
resistant alfalfa. The research, funded by Northeast Integrated Pest Management, looked at potato leafhopper-resistant alfalfa
varieties spring-seeded with orchardgrass, tall fescue or timothy. During the seeding year, there were limited differences
between grass species.
Source: Marvin Hall, Penn State Field Crop News.
Seeding rate:
Seeding ratescan range from 5-30+ pounds per acre depending on your location.
Method of seeding, seedbed prep., soil type & fertility, and purpose of seeding are factors which determine
proper seeding rate.
There approx. 220,000 alfalfa seeds per pound. Each pound of seed planted per acre provides
about 5 seeds per square foot. The number of seedlings surviving the first year of planting is likely to be about
10-50% due to competition, disease, insects, winter injury and other causes.
When no companion crop is used (red & white clover), it is important to have 20-30 plants per square
foot during the seeding year for maximum yields and for protection against weed competition.
Plant 12-25 pounds of seed per acre to attain this goal.
Time to plant?
Most farmers will plant in late summer-early fall. Some plant in early spring.If planting in late
summer like we do, make sure you seed at least 6 weeks prior to a hard frost so seedlings can develop adequately to
withstand winter conditions.
Even if your seedlings survive the winter when not given the proper establishment time, their spring growth
is likely to be poor, resulting in low yields and severe weed infestation.
Your best bet is to prepare the seedbed in mid-summer, and than seed when soil moisture is available.
Over fertilizing not only can be costly but also may contribute to pollution of surface water supplies. In an ongoing
pasture liming and fertilizing program, retest every 4 to 5 years to determine wheather your fertilization strategy is on
track.
Manure Can Boost Alfalfa
Yields
Applying as much as 12,000 gallons of liquid manure or 50 tons of dry manure
per acre before planting alfalfa can boost yield more than commercial fertilizers at the same nutrient levels, according to
Bruce Anderson, University of Nebraska extension forage specialist.
The nitrogen in the manure probably won't be utilized.
But manure is also rich in phosphorus, potassium, sulfur and many micronutrients that alfalfa needs in large quantities, Anderson
points out. Yield also increases on both low- and high-fertility soils with manure, while only low-fertility soils respond
to commercial fertilizer. The increases may be due to other factors, such as improved soil tilth, increased soil microbial
activity, micronutrients and early nitrogen availability, he says.
Growers who plant a companion crop like oats, to
be harvested for grain, should not apply a heavy level of manure before seeding alfalfa because the companion crop can lodge
and smother alfalfa. If the companion crop is cut early for hay or silage, however, it should be fine.
Soil and manure
tests can determine how much manure to apply. Use tillage to mix manure well into the soil, and prepare a firm seedbed so
new alfalfa seedlings will emerge rapidly and vigorously.
Plan your weed-control program carefully, since manure can
stimulate weed seedlings. Proper timing of seeding, firm seedbeds and herbicides or clipping can control weed pressure, according
to Anderson.
Source: Nebraska Crop Watch Newsletter.
Watch the weather!
Weather plays a very important role in the haymaking proccess.
You'll want to make sure you have a good 3-5 day's of sunny, dry, and slightly breezy weather to
make hay.
Of course the "perfect" weather rarely ever happens and you have to expect to get rushed or rained
on once in awhile. Pain can ruin your hay once cut. Mostly after it has begun to dry. The longer it's been
laying in windrows and it get's rained on the worst of your going to be.
There are always way's to cope with rained on hay. There are multiple "additives" that
can be introduced into the hay while bailing it that will help with hay that is bailed to soon due to an expected storm.
That in itself will cause you to incure additional cost's, not to mention the cost of the add on equipment to you baler to
spray the product.
If it rains on your "fresh" cut hay it won't damage the too much. It will lose some nutritional
quality, but the real quality loss occurs after the dry-down proccess has had a time to begin.
Ex. If you cut at 6pm and it rains that evening, you can wait until it dries and the following day
run a hay tedder through it to fluff it up and spread it out. If it rains 12 - 24 hours after cutting/mowing and the
hay has had time to dry prior to the rain, you'll loose alot of forage quality and than when you rake and or bale you'll loose
most of the leaves (on legumes like alfalfa), which is where most of the nutritional quality is found.
Some farmers will hand spread a special salt additive on each layer of hay as it's being thrown'
up in the barn's mow, to prevent over heating of the hay which can cause a devistating fire.
Nutrition
Monitor Wet Hay For Heating Problems
Hay baled too wet can heat and lose quality.
At very high temperatures, it can spontaneously combust.
"A rule of thumb is to check baled hay four or five days
after baling for its initial temperature rise level," says South Dakota State University (SDSU) Extension forage specialist
Peter Jeranyama.
He shares some general guidelines provided by Iowa State University Extension forage agronomist Steve
Barnhart on how to monitor the temperature of stored hay that was baled a little wet.
- Temperatures up to 120°F are
caused by normal respiration by fungi and bacteria. The process is referred to as normal sweating during hay curing. This
temperature rise occurs when hay is baled at 15-20% moisture. These temperatures generally don't cause serious concerns in
forage quality loss. However, mold may develop.
- Temps of 110-150°F are caused
by fungi able to grow at this range. Chemical reactions during heating will denature some protein and cause some fiber to
be less digestible.
- Temps of 135-160°F are caused
by fungi respiration. At 150°F, check temperature every day. At temperatures above 160°F, chemical reactions dominate the
heating process. If the temperature continues to rise, check temperature every four hours. At this stage, the situation may
become dangerous.
- At temps of 175°F, continue to
check the temperature every few hours and notify your local fire department. Don't move the hay without fire department assistance.
- At
temps of 195°F or more, spontaneous combustion is possible. Ask your fire department to assist you.
-- Marianne Stein, SDSU AgBio Communications
Is it ready?
If your growing/selling Alfalfa, there are two times that you can cut/mow your product.
Most producers will cut Alfalfa when it is mature. The plant will produce small purple/pink
flowers. Best time to mow is when they are just starting to appear. If you wait, the stems will become "stalky"
and tough. The leaves will have a greater chance of falling off during the conditioning phase (rolling/crimping of the
plant to assist with drying).
This is also the point where the plant will dry in the best time. Cut before the
plant reaches maturity and it won't dry as quickly. It may also stunt/slow re-growth and hamper your ability to
get 3, 4 or maybe even 5 cutting in 1 season.
We squeezed in 5 cuttings in 2002, simply due to the drought (No rain). The last cutting was
done in mid-November. It took 6 day's to dry enough to be baled due to the short day's and cool nights of fall.
And because we cut earlier than normal in the spring.
Normally we can get the first cutting in the barn by late Memorial Day.
Organic Hay
Market Will Increase, Grower Says
"If you haven't had a caller asking you for organic
hay yet, you soon will," Lou Anderson, president of S&L Commodities, Fairfield, ID, told hay
growers at the recent Midwest Hay Business Conference.
"I get calls every week from someone looking for organic hay
in our area. I haven't known where any is for about three months and that's kind of a cool deal. What I'm telling you is,
there is a market and it's going to get bigger," Anderson
said.
Anderson buys organic hay -- hay produced without conventional chemicals and
fertilizers for a minimum of three years -- from around 70 growers primarily in Idaho, Utah and Colorado. He also grows organic
and non-organic alfalfa on about 4,000 acres of his own. Before going organic, Anderson
said, growers should consider several factors:
- Packaging. "Look at how (organic) hay needs to be packaged. Small square bales, if they're made
of organic hay, are marketable," Anderson said. "I'll bet
you, in some of the areas you guys are in, there are small organic dairies starting up or converting over. A lot of those
guys want small bales. I could sell a lot of organic hay in small bales, even where we are. And we're in an area where the
dairies are giants, and the organic dairies are pretty big, too."
Don't forget the horse industry when considering
the organic market and how you may package your product, he said. "You're not going to produce organic milk or meat from a
horse, but a lot of people feel like, because it's organic, it's better for their horses. If people feed their children organic
products because they feel it's healthier for them, they're going to feed their horses organic products. I'm not saying that's
the case right now; I'm saying that's the thought process."
- Quality. "If you're going to grow organic hay and are under the perception that, because it's organic, it doesn't
have to be good quality, then you're going to be disappointed," Anderson
warned. There should be a good market for organic hay that tests in the 150-RFV range, he added.
- Challenges. Growing good-quality hay without conventional pesticides takes a lot of thinking ahead,
Anderson said. "You have a method of solving those challenges
now. If you couldn't do it the way you do by conventional methods, how would you solve them? If you have a weed problem, how
are you going to handle it?"
Composting and using manure for fertilizer, selecting resistant varieties and using microbial
treatments help reduce fertility and pest problems. "There is a lot of research now that wasn't because organic wasn't mainstream
enough. Things are coming that will help solve challenges we have right now in soil fertility," he predicted. Commitment. Anderson said growers committed to growing organic
products are successful. "You can make just about anything work if you try."
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