First Cutting Monitoring – May 14th, 2019 SCNY Report

This is the SCNY Team’s second full week of monitoring heights for first cutting quality in 2019.  The full report for the six-county region can be found in the following link:  Alfalfa Height Reporting Sheet 5.14.2019.  The updated field map for measurements this year can be found here.

From Janice Degni, The SCNY Dairy & Field Crops Team’s Field Crop Specialist:

Measuring alfalfa this week was a soggy affair.  Alfalfa suffering from waterlogged soil is barely holding steady, with some going backwards.  Younger stands on ground without standing water looked great. Heaved crowns stood out in the wet pockets.  Unfortunately, those plants won’t survive past first cutting.

Alfalfa growth seemed to be outpacing winter annual weeds like chickweed and henbit, but that can vary too depending on field conditions.  I found orchardgrass, our earliest maturing grass, only occasionally in late boot stage or with an early head.  The cooler temperatures are helping to hold it back from maturity.  If we do get a few warm days, we’ll see heads popping out all over.

Since much of the alfalfa across the region is near or taller than 14 inches the predicted cutting date for clear grass has been triggered.  Since its too wet to get into the field I think we have a bit of a reprieve and can stretch another week for decent quality in our clear grass fields.  Grass species matters.  Although orchard is on the cusp of heading, other grasses are vegetative. For a closer assessment of the quality, a scissor’s cut sample and lab analysis can give you clearer picture of quality and fiber analysis.

Mixed stands will be ready for harvest at the first opportunity that the weather allows.  At this time it looks like clear alfalfa is still vegetative, there are no signs of buds. Stands will be ready near the end of the month but if the weather pattern changes that could change too.

On average, alfalfa grew a strong 3″ in the past week.  In general, fields in the southern counties of our region had alfalfa in the 17-20″ range, while fields in the northern end of our region had alfalfa measuring 13-17″ tall.

The string of cold weather has kept grasses from coming out of the boot in most cases, but as fields are waterlogged at best and ponds at worst, a dynamic harvest schedule will be key for getting this crop harvested.  If you are able to leave all grass fields for heifers and dry cows, and focus on mixed stands for lactating cows, it may be the best strategy to allow fields to dry out and minimize rutting.

Timing for cutting mixed grass/alfalfa fields is almost upon us, as predictions are falling from end of this week to end of next week across the region for peak quality. 

Weather outlook is showing temperatures in the mid-60’s during the day and mid-40’s overnight for the next week with another shot of rain on Friday, but more sun in the forecast than we’ve seen in all of May.  A jump in temperature will most likely bring on significant growth in both grasses and alfalfa, so monitoring your own fields for conditions will be key for capturing peak quality in your location.

As a risk strategy reminder, we include an excerpt of an email from John Winchell of Alltech:

2019 Spring Risk Potential

With the weather this spring, the cloud cover, and the way the GDD are shaping up, I want to remind some of you of the penicillium issue we saw in the 1^st cutting haylage in 2017.  The weather is similar to 2017 with less rainfall, but similar temperatures and cloudiness.  These penicilliums appeared in June and July in newly opened 1^st cutting bags, piles, and bunks.   The lower sugar content impeded the already slow fermentation capacity of haylages.  This allowed for the penicillium to bloom in storage with marginal forage pH.  This caused digestive issues and loss of milk in the lactating herds.

For those interested, the CNY Region’s May 14th report can be found at the following link:  CNY 5142019 1st cutting forage quality summary.  The CNY Dairy Livestock & Field Crops Team covers Chenango, Fulton, Herkimer, Madison, Montgomery, Otsego, Saratoga and Schoharie Counties in NY.  Any questions about their report can be directed to Kevin Ganoe, khg2@cornell.edu.

Look for our next report of monitoring heights to come out on Wednesday, May 22nd.  In the meanwhile, if you can’t get out to check your fields, call one of us on the team – we have our hip waders ready.

Credit to field measurements goes to Janice Degni, Melanie Palmer, Mary Kate Wheeler, Shona Ort and Betsy Hicks.