This week’s 1st Cutting Alfalfa-Grass Progress Report may be found here or click on the image below.
- Alfalfa heights averaged 9.1” and ranged from 6” to 12” this week – growth of an average of 3.5” since last Tuesday. Growth remains a bit sluggish, though this week should push plant development along.
- Accumulation of GDD41 so far this spring is a bit behind 15-year averages and our alfalfa remains below average height. Over the past 5 years, alfalfa heights during this first week of May have averaged 11.7″, 12.4″, 9.8″, 6.8″, and 13.8″. GDD41 remain below the 15-year average across the NNY region, but they are forecast to catch up this week. Alfalfa and grasses should respond quickly.
- Nitrogen should be applied to grass fields (if less than 50% legume and no manure history) now, if it’s not already on. Ideally, N application should be timed just prior to the increase in plant demand to limit risk of losses to ground and surface water and to the atmosphere. (Risk of volatilization is higher for urea surface-applied to sods than when incorporated into tilled soils, but if applied just before a 0.5″ rain, or with a urease-inhibitor, N loss can be minimized.)
LASTLY, this report is meant to be a general guide, or an early-indication system, for your own fields. Notice the variation in alfalfa heights just among the fields included this week. The best way to use this info is to know the % grass / %alfalfa in each of your own fields and begin monitoring them directly, first in the grassiest fields and then the alfalfa-iest fields, and note your own alfalfa heights and subsequent quality. Dairyland Labs emphasized this variation among fields in their weekly newsletter today too. They note that peak quality occurs in different fields at different times and applying an average across all fields will result in lots of fields harvested inaccurately.
Have a good week of field prep and corn planting.