84—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 29,1980
Speakers discuss challenges in alfalfa production
HERSHEY To insure
that alfalfa continues to be a
major factor in animal
agriculture in the 1980’s, it
will be important to
eliminate the use of low
yieldmg, obsolete varieties
and insure genetic diversity
This was reported bv A. A.
Solar hay drying saves energy,
HERSHEY - Solar hay
drying not only saves energy
but also increases hay
quality, points out Vemon
Vahlkamp, a commercial
hay grower from R 2,
Carlyle, Illinois.
Vahlkamp, who dries 500
How to produce top alfalfa yields
HERSHEY How do you production practices of top
produce top alfalfa yields? growers,” said John Baylor,
This question was an- Penn State Extension
swered by fanners who kept agronomist,
records as part of the Alfalfa
Growers Program spon- In 1978, the top 10 growers
sored by Pennsylvania State used a total of six known
University’s extension high-yielding varieties, and
service. in 1979, a total of five
“Perhaps the best varieties,
measure leading to high All growers both years
yields is a summary of planted alfalfa on well-
New technology
to give instant ration
HERSHEY - Instant
forage analysis and ration
formulation are being taken
directly to farmers through
near infrared reflectance
(NIR) technology, it was
reported by John Shenk,
professor of plant breeding
at Penn State.
Shenk, a speaker at the
Forage Conference held
Monday and Tuesday in
Hershey, noted that a
nonochromater-based NIR
instrument placed in a van
along with a dryer, grinder,
and computer software, can
not only tell the fanner in
stantly how to supplement
his forage for a given level of
animal production, but also
provide information on the
cost-effectiveness of feeding
different forages.
“The formulation from the
van computer lists not ony
the recommended ration for
each hay but also lists the
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Hanson, director of research
for W-L Research, Inc.,
Highland, Md., at the
Pennsylvania Forage and
Grassland Council’s 20th
Anniversary Forage Con
ference held this week.
“It is irr>f>erat'Vf> that we
tons of alfalfa annually,
figures his solar drying
system costs $B.lO per ton for
high moisture hay. And, by
harvesting at between 25 and
40 percent moisture, the
leaves are saved, thus,
improving quality
cost of supplementing the
mixture with com gram,
soybean meal, calcium, and
phosophrus,” the Penn State
specialist emphasized.
“The NIR van provides the
unique opportunity to in
teract with farmers,” Shenk
points out.
“The operator can help the
farmer interpret the
analytical results and apply
them to his particular
operation.”
High moisture forage and
feeds can be analyzed in
seven to 10 minutes. Two
minutes are required to
analyze low moisture hay
and grams.
“We believe that an NIR
van serving the needs of
livestock feeders in a
community will be a
necessity in the 1980’s to
keep pace with rising feed
costs and low profit
margins,” he said.
reduce damage from plant
pests through advances in
developing multiple pest
resistant varieties and by
the effective application of
unproved pest management
programs,” he emphasized.
The research agronomist
He noted that he installed
solar collectors on the north
and south walls of his drying
shed. Drying the hay bales is
accomplished by turning the
bales up on one end forcing
air up through them.
“The solar collector is
drained soils. Lime and
fertility programs for
establishment and main
tenance were based on soil
tests. High application of
manure in the rotation
before alfalfa resulted in
generally high levels of
potassium.
Baylor noted that each of
the top 10 growers in 1978
made four cuttings. One
grower in 1979 cut five tunes,
the others harvested four
times.
The average cutting in
terval was 36,39, and 45 days
between cuts one and two,
two and three, and three and
four, respectively in 1978.
Mother Nature was more
of a factor in 1979 The
respective cutting intervals
were 39, 36, and 46 days,
respectively.
AH top growers in 1978
sprayed for leafhoppers and
other insects at least once.
Seven growers sprayed two
or more times.
In 1979, the frequency of
spraying for insects was
less, with three growers
reporting almost no insect
damage.
“We now that leafhopper
populations m 1979 were
down slightly in some areas.
But we also know that the
insect management
program set up by Extension
entomologists has helped top
producers keep a closer eye
on the build-up of insects in
their fields,” the agronomist
emphasized.
Standard Livestock trailer
with metal top sleeper
van. Comes in
16.20,24,28 ft. lengths,
brakes on all wheels.
also noted that we must
maintain balanced research
programs designed to in
crease the value and total
contribution of this im
portant crop.
Andy Bell, ranch manager
for J.G. Boswell Company,
quality
working better than an
ticipated,” he said. “Of the
18 million BTU energy
available for 10 hours of
collection in mid-July with
nine fans running, 7.9 million
BTU of energy are being
used to dry the hay.”
The Vahlkamp operation
is cash hay. The market is
local dairymen. The solar
dried hay is sold at a
premium of $l5 a ton which
more than pays for drying
and the investment Saving
hay from the weather is hard
to figure, but $lO a ton is
used. But, an $B.lO per ton
drying expense will return
$25 worth of hay for each ton.
The commercial hay
grower points out that
dairymen feeding solar
dried hay are noting in
creases of 2 to 4 pounds of
milk per cow each day. This
means a profit of $56.80 per
cow when feeding the solar
dried hay.
“Moisture levels can be
reduced to 10 percent with
this solar drying system.
This makes it possible to
pellet, cube, or high density
bale even in humid areas,”
Vahlkamp added.
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Summer ventilation is easier to accomplish because of the absence of
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Corcoran, California, also a
conference speaker, said
that complete weed is ab
solutely necessary for
continual production of
certified alfalfa seed.
"To achieve control, we
must think in terms of
rotation first, and then the
use of chemicals,
cultivation, and hand
weeding where necessary,”
he points out.
The ranch manager also
emphasized that the future
price the farmer has to
receive for his production,
and the price the hay farmer
pays for his seed will depend
on our ability to combat the
many insect problems we
have while at the same time
insuring croppollenation.
“An exciting aspect of
research on any crop is the
part of the results that is
totally unpredictable. Un
foreseen breakthroughs in
breeding, growth modeling,
pesticides, and forage
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utilization could drastically
change the way alfalfa is
grown,” noted R.R. Hill, Jr,
USDA research agronomist
at Penn State’s Pasture
Research Laboratory.
Another unpredictable
aspect of alfalfa research m
the next decade is our
reaction to the unknown,
new pests that may develop,
he noted.
A prime justification for
continual support of alfalfa
research is to maintain an
ability to react to the
unknowns of the future.
Theme of the conference
was “Forages in the 80’s.”
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