May 18, 2020 1st Cutting Alfalfa-Grass Quality Report

The warmer temperatures have brought better alfalfa and grass growth this week.  Click here to access this week’s report.  As you peruse the report, you’ll notice that alfalfa heights are still behind 2018 and 2019 averages.  We stand at an average height of 9.9″ across NNY this week, compared with 18.5″ in 2018 and 15.1″ last spring, despite the cool temps of early 2019.

GDD accumulations for the past week are better, and the forecast for the next week should bring good alfalfa growth. Grasses will grow more too, as long as they aren’t about to head. Feel some grass stems, or cut them open, to see how far up the stem those flowers are.

It’s really too late now to apply N to grass fields (if less than 50% legume and no manure history). At this point, urea or manure should go on after first cutting.

Watch grass fields for signs of maturity and developing quality. Flowering for most grass species occurs in response to day length, so lack of GDD does not slow maturity. Grasses will head at about the same time as previous years, but the yield will likely be lower. Watch your fields to capture quality of grass or mostly-grass fields at good quality. Grass quality at late boot is likely to be better than a normal year at late boot because of the slow accumulation of GDD.

Check out the report for some additional tidbits and let us know if we can help with forage management, or any other topics.  Be well and safe and rely on CCE for all sorts of information and assistance during this stressful time.  We are available via email, web, YouTube, blog, and USPS mail as normal.