Be Prepared

Hay grew steadily this week; grasses height averaged 16 inches, growing about 4 inches, and legumes averaged 12 inches, growing about 2 inches. Heights remain at about average compared to previous scissor cut years. Forage quality measures are holding steady, as we expect at this point in the growth cycle. As grasses start stem elongation, height will increase more rapidly and fiber content will begin to increase. None of the fields sampled are at target quality and are at least a week away from recommended start of harvest. At this point in the season we expect NDF to increase about 1 % point per day, which sets our predicted first day at target NDF for grasses at May 17, almost exactly on our 20-year average. We will sample again on May 16, so keep an eye out for next weeks results to fine tune your plans.

A note on early harvest of grasses. As grasses grow and start the heading process, the growing point is at the top of the stem as it elongates. If plants are cut before the growing point is above the cutting height, the cut plant will continue to push the seed head up, with few leaves, resulting in a field that looks like all heads. When this happens, the grass will eventually fill in, but quality will be reduced. This is something to consider if you are cutting very early. You can split a few grass stems and see the length of the developing stem, if the growing point is lower than cutting height you may want to wait a day or two to avoid rapid heading of the regrowth.

Reminder: Check mower cutting height settings. Grasses store energy reserves in the base of the stem, cutting too low can remove the reserves the plants need to start regrowth quickly. Setting cutting height to 4 inches is a good practice to ensure heathier plants and quicker regrowth.

We have a great forecast for completing field work, don’t let first cutting time sneak up on you. Looks like we have the making of a good cropping season, lets make the most of it.

The Table at the bottom has each sample location, listed by Town and elevation, and lists the species sampled, average height, Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), Neutral Detergent Fiber Digestibility (NDFD), and Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN). We have sampled grass, legume and mixed legume/grass fields across the region and at elevations from 1070 to 2240 feet. Look for locations with similar forage type and elevation to your farm.

We report 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.

Special thanks to Dairy One for providing the sample analysis

Delaware County Scissor Cuts Results				May 2, 2023				May 9, 2023
Farm	Town	Elev	Species	Ht	aNDFom	NDFD	TDN	Ht	aNDFom	NDFD	TDN
Darling	Andes	1505	Red Clover	11	27.7	58	72	13	28.3	88	74
Darling	Andes	1500	Mixed Grasses	10	39.3	79	67	14	37.6	75	69
Eisele	Andes	1412	Orchardgrass	12	40.7	79	67	12	41.4	70	69
Evans	Andes	2240	Mixed Grasses	7	39.7	73	67	9	36.6	66	68
Gladstone	Andes	1960	RClov(35%)Grass	6/10	35.7	72	68	7/13	40.3	75	70
Mattson	Colchester	1080	Alf(60%)Tfesc	14/13	34.9	64	67	18/20	35.4	63	66
Cerosaoletti	Davenport	1285	Alfalfa	16	30.1	66	68	14	24.4	54	69
Frisbee	Delhi	1380	Mixed Grasses	10	47.1	73	67	15	42.1	70	67
Mushkoday	Delhi	1340	Alfalfa	18	27.2	71	68	15	26.4	70	70
Rama	Delhi	1400	Clov(25%)Grass	7/13	42.9	77	67	11/19	44.9	72	69
Sherwood	Delhi	1610	Mixed Grasses	13	41.8	73	67	18	40.9	76	66
Sullivan	Delhi	1425	Orchardgrass	12	46.3	73	65	14	43.1	68	71
Buel	Franklin	1260	Alf(50%)Orch	11/17	35.9	76	67	14/21	33.6	71	67
Grant	Franklin	1650	Mixed Grasses	16	36.2	83	69	19	44	80	68
Taggart	Franklin	1720	Mixed Grasses	11	43.3	78	68	15	44.1	72	66
DiBenedetto	Halcott	1730	Orchardgrass	15	43.3	76	67	18	42	77	68
Moody	Hamden	2100	Clov(50%)Grass	5/9	38.5	72	67	6/8	39.4	70	68
Scobie	Hamden	1490	Mixed Grasses	6	39.3	75	69	9	38.7	71	69
Hillriegel	Hardenburgh	1670	Orchardgrass	10	45.7	71	67	12	45.8	70	67
Hager	Kortright	2000	Tall Fescue	11	38.9	84	70	17	40.5	78	73
Haynes	Kortright	1860	Orchardgrass	14	46.4	71	67	14/21	42.2	74	68
Cieri	Meredith	2230	Orchardgrass	7	32.8	80	72	13	36.8	84	68
DeDominicis	Meredith	2100	Orchardgrass	7	40	74	68	9	35.9	71	68
Keator	Meredith	1600	Tall Fescue	10	43.1	77	66	15	42.3	68	67
Elliot	Middletown	2060	Orch/Rcanary	14	41.9	77	67	17	41.7	78	68
Gray	Middletown	2020	Reed Canarygrass	15	42.5	79	66	18	43.3	73	65
Coombe	Neversink	1420	Tall Fescue	10	38.4	92	70	13	41.7	78	68
Krum	Neversink	1700	Mixed Grasses	4	42.1	74	67	8	41.3	67	67
Albano	Roxbury	1950	Mixed Grasses	11	43.9	75	69	17	41.8	75	67
Gockel	Roxbury	1890	Orchardgrass	10	44	75	67	16	44.7	71	70
Kuhn	Roxbury	1980	Mixed Grasses	8	41.7	71	66	20	46.6	67	68
Perry	Roxbury	1830	Orchardgrass	15	42.5	75	66	17	42.9	73	66
Johnson	Sidney	1070	Orchardgrass	14	40.2	76	70	24	44.5	75	74
Johnson	Sidney	1070	Alfalfa	13	28.8	70	67	19	28.3	62	69
Deysenroth	Stamford	1510	Orchardgrass	9	42.7	74	68	15	45.5	71	65
Hanselman	Stamford	1488	Alfalfa	10	29.7	69	67	13	24.6	51	71
Martin	Stamford	1560	Alf(40%)Orch	10/14	35.9	71	66	19	39.7	73	66
Ryan	Stamford	1800	Mixed Grasses	9	42	69	69	6/12	40.7	72	67
Trovato	Stamford	2080	Mixed Grasses	10	43	75	68	8/14	44.7	75	66
LaTourette	Tompkins	1210	Clov(25%)Grass	6/12	45.3	74	67	7/18	44.3	71	67
Walley	Tompkins	1235	Clov(35%)Grass	7/13	46.3	78	66	12/18	40.4	68	69
Wickham,B	Walton	1170	Alf(40%)Orch	11/15	42.2	72	67	13/17	38.2	68	69
Wickham,D	Walton	1240	Clov(30%)Grass	10/14	39.6	79	68	15/19	34.7	71	68
			Av Grass Ht	11.3	41.7	76.1	67.7	15.6	41.9	73.0	68.0
			Av Legume Ht	9.5	28.7	66.8	68.4	12.1	26.4	65.0	70.6