Warm and Growing; Mowers Going!
Rain or shine, the forages grow, and in the last week grasses grew on 4.25 inches, reaching an average of a 19 inch canopy height! We even measured some Meadow Foxtail at 30 inches! Legumes averaged nearly 14.5 inches, gaining over 2.5 inches since the previous week. Grasses gained 0.5 points of aNDFom per day over the last week, reaching an average aNDFom of 47%; prime quality for lactating dairy cattle or for finishing grass-fed beef. By now, these levels are likely in the low 50s, still excellent quality, but we would expect they would increase by about 3/4 to 1 point per day going forward and grass fields will move out of prime dairy quality before May 25. Truly mixed grass/ legume (>30% legume) stands are now moving into the prime dairy quality harvest window, and should be harvested before May 28. Legume stands are more than a week away from target NDF.
Don’t Miss the Digestibility
With grain prices in the stratosphere, highly digestible forages will be as important as ever for profitable dairy rations. Take advantage of any good weather windows to harvest at optimal quality. Thus far this year, fiber digestibility appears excellent and should feed very well.
Even with very high fertilizer prices, you may want to consider an application of nitrogen (50#/acre should do) to boost second cutting yields and ensure a good inventory of high digestible forage with higher Crude Protein levels.
A Reminder on Cutting Height
Don’t mow too short. We recommend a cutting height of about 4 inches. Grasses regrow using energy stored in the base of stems and leaves, cutting too short will delay regrowth and lower yields in the next cutting.
Sample Results
The Table below has each sample location, listed by Town and elevation, and lists the species sampled, average height, Neutral Detergent Fiber (aNDFom), Neutral Detergent Fiber Digestibility (NDFD), and Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN). Look for fields with similar species and elevation to your farm, and consider your target NDF/TDN for the animals you will be feeding. Growing beef animals can benefit from high TDN/lower fiber forage, and mature dry beef cows will do best on high fiber/lower TDN hay.
| Delaware County Scissors Cuts Results | May 11, 2021 | May 18, 2021 | |||||||||
| Farm | Town | Elev | Species | Ht | aNDFom | NDFD 24 hr | TDN | Ht | aNDFom | NDFD 24 hr | TDN |
| Darling | Andes | 1520 | RClov(25%)/TFesc | 7/11 | 31.9 | 81 | 74 | 8/14 | 34.7 | 80 | 76 |
| Eisele | Andes | 1425 | RClov(35%)/orch | 7/17 | 39.1 | 70 | 72 | 8/22 | 43 | 68 | 75 |
| Evans | Andes | 1810 | Orchardgrass | 15 | 45.3 | 70 | 73 | 24 | 48.2 | 74 | 75 |
| Gladstone | Andes | 1990 | R Clov(35%)Orch | 10/16 | 42.6 | 71 | 73 | 10/22 | 44.4 | 68 | 75 |
| Mattson | Colchester | 1080 | Alf(50%)/TFesc | 14/14 | 34.1 | 69 | 73 | 18/18 | 42.3 | 67 | 70 |
| Frisbee | Delhi | 1380 | mixed grass | 11 | 48 | 70 | 72 | 12 | 55.9 | 57 | 71 |
| Mushkoday | Delhi | 1340 | Alf(70%)/RClov | 16 | 27.5 | 70 | 74 | 21/23 | 36.4 | 54 | 68 |
| Rama | Delhi | 1400 | RClov(50%)/grass | 10/17 | 33.9 | 68 | 77 | 12/22 | 41.3 | 67 | 78 |
| Sherwood | Delhi | 1610 | mixed grass | 13 | 44.4 | 73 | 70 | 14 | 46.6 | 70 | 72 |
| Sullivan | Delhi | 1425 | mixed grass | 15 | 44.3 | 69 | 71 | 10/20 | 35.3 | 53 | 70 |
| Grant | Franklin | 1650 | Orchardgrass | 21 | 43.8 | 76 | 72 | Cut | 49.3 | 63 | 78 |
| Taggart | Franklin | 1720 | mixed grass | 15 | 42.6 | 74 | 71 | 18 | 47.9 | 67 | 73 |
| DiBenedetto | Halcott | 1730 | Orchardgrass | 19 | 42.9 | 75 | 71 | 25 | 48 | 64 | 71 |
| Hutson | Hamden | 1275 | Alfalfa | 16 | 28.6 | 62 | 73 | 20 | 26.4 | 52 | 80 |
| Moody | Hamden | 2100 | mixed grass | 14 | 42 | 77 | 74 | 15 | 45.6 | 77 | 76 |
| Reed | Hamden | 1740 | Orchardgrass | 11 | 37.6 | 73 | 72 | 14 | 44.6 | 72 | 71 |
| Scobie | Hamden | 1480 | mixed grass | 9 | 45.1 | 73 | 75 | 12 | 48.4 | 68 | 72 |
| Hilriegel | Hardenburgh | 1670 | Orchardgrass | 18 | 48.8 | 72 | 68 | 22 | 46 | 69 | 72 |
| Sebastian | Kortright | 1640 | Orchard/RCanary | 14 | 40.9 | 85 | 72 | 18 | 47.3 | 68 | 67 |
| Cieri | Meredith | 2200 | Orchardgrass | 12 | 40.8 | 77 | 72 | 16 | 45.2 | 72 | 74 |
| Elliot | Middletown | 2060 | RCanary/Orchard | 19 | 46.8 | 69 | 71 | 26 | 49.2 | 69 | 70 |
| Gray | Middletown | 1910 | Reed Canarygrass | 18 | 45.9 | 70 | 71 | 27 | 49.9 | 66 | 68 |
| Albano | Roxbury | 1760 | mixed grass | 13 | 43.5 | 72 | 72 | 12 | 46.3 | 68 | 70 |
| Gockel | Roxbury | 1680 | mixed grass | 18 | 43.2 | 72 | 71 | 22 | 52.4 | 65 | 69 |
| Kuhn | Roxbury | 1980 | mixed grass | 15 | 44.3 | 73 | 71 | 30 | 52.8 | 72 | 67 |
| Perry | Roxbury | 1830 | mixed grass | 10 | 45.2 | 69 | 72 | Cut | 45.7 | 61 | 71 |
| Johnson | Sidney | 1070 | Alfalfa | 12 | 29.4 | 68 | 75 | 15 | 26.9 | 52 | 76 |
| Johnson | Sidney | 1070 | Orchardgrass | 22 | 46.2 | 71 | 73 | 28 | 51.4 | 68 | 70 |
| Deysenroth | Stamford | 1495 | mixed grass | 14 | 38.5 | 80 | 72 | 16 | 43.4 | 69 | 70 |
| Hanselman | Stamford | 1500 | Alfalfa | 12 | 25.9 | 67 | 75 | 16 | 30.1 | 52 | 72 |
| Ryan | Stamford | 1800 | mixed grass | 11 | 46.1 | 70 | 72 | 13 | 47.4 | 68 | 72 |
| Trovato | Stamford | 2080 | mixed grass | 12 | 43.9 | 70 | 71 | 14 | 43.4 | 68 | 69 |
| LaTourette | Tompkins | 1210 | Alf(20%)/grass | 13/17 | 49.4 | 68 | 71 | 15/19 | 40.5 | 68 | 71 |
| Marsiglio | Walton | 1750 | Orchardgrass | 12 | 44.6 | 74 | 72 | 16 | 43.1 | 68 | 72 |
| Wickham,B | Walton | 1170 | Alf(60%)/Orch | 13/22 | 47.1 | 72 | 72 | 17/26 | 34 | 68 | 73 |
| Wickham,D | Walton | 1240 | Alf(45%)/Orch | 14/18 | 33.9 | 74 | 72 | 17/20 | 40.7 | 72 | 72 |
| Boest | Kortright | 1815 | Rclov(40%)/TFesc | 10/13 | 38.3 | 67 | 72 | 13/18 | 35.5 | 60 | 73 |
| Average, Grass | 44 | 73 | 72 | 47 | 68 | 71 | |||||
| Average, Mixed | 37 | 73 | 74 | 40 | 68 | 73 | |||||
| Avg., Legume | 28 | 65 | 74 | 29 | 51 | 75 | |||||
For 2021 we are reporting several measures of forage quality. Different types and groups of cattle have different demands and each measure tells a slightly different story. If harvesting for dairy forage, we suggest harvesting based on NDF, for beef choose and appropriate TDN target or the animals you will be feeding.
aNDFom – Neutral Detergent Fiber (organic matter or “ash free” basis) is a measure of the structural fiber in a feed sample. NDF correlates well with how much forage a cow can eat (gut fill). Earlier cut hay = lower NDF = higher dry matter intake = higher performance.
NDF goals for Dairy Cattle Forage: Grass hay and silage – 48 – 55%, MMG hay & silage – 45 – 50%, MML hay & silage – 38 – 45%, Legume hay & silage – 36 – 42%
NDFD – NDF Digestibility As forage plants mature, the fiber percentage increases, and at the same time the digestibility of the fiber decreases. NDFD measures the digestibility of fiber by rumen fluid. We report 24hr NDFD as an indicator of forage digestibility. Higher digestibility = more energy available from a forage.
TDN – Total Digestible Nutrients The sum of the digestible fiber, protein, lipid, and carbohydrate components. TDN is a measure of energy available from forage and is related to digestible energy. TDN is useful for beef cow rations that are primarily forage. Higher TDN values indicate higher energy available, cattle groups with higher energy demands require higher TDN intakes.
TDN goals for Beef Cattle Forage: Growing Calf (2lb ADG) 70 – 72, Growing Yearling (2lb ADG) 64 – 66, Lactating Beef Cow 60 – 64, Mature Dry Cow 52 – 55