NEWARK, Del. Each year
five to 20 percent of the annual hay
and silage crop cannot be fed to
dairy cows because it’s chopped or
baled at the wrong moisture
content. But many dairy farmers
own a kitchen appliance that can
tell them at the push of a button
when their crop is ready to
harvest.
“A microwave oven can give you
a quick, 95 percent accurate check
on forage moisture,” says Dr.
George Haenlein, extension dairy
specialist at the University of
Delaware. “The technique works
on grasses and legumes and on
forage from the windrow, bale or
silo provided your family
doesn’t object to the smell of hay or
silage in the kitchen.”
The microwave can also be used
to check the moisture content of
haylage already ensiled.
The testing process takes about
15 minutes. It requires few ad
ditional tools and just a few simple
calculations. Here’s what to do.
First, collect a representative
sample of the forage crop. Chop
this into 2- to 3-inch lengths with
heavy sheets or hedge clippers.
Place a microwave-safe ceramic
plate or heavy paper plate on a
gram scale. Record the weight of
UPRIGHT
BUNKER SILOS
• Low cost storage
• Fast installation
• Moveable
MANURE PITS
• Poured in place or precast
concrete
• Above or below ground
• SCS approved
• Long lasting reinforced pre-
cast concrete
• 3 styles of H-Bunk available
• 4 styles of J-Bunk available
CATTLEGUARDS
• No more opening and closing
gates
• 12'and 16'available
• Maintenance free precast
MONOLITHIC
CONCRETE SILOS
• 6" steel reinforced solid
concrete walls
• Conventional top unloading
• Oxygen controlled bottom
unloading
" - -J
Sollenberger Silos Corp
Box N. Chambersburg, PA 17201
Address
Use microwave to test forage moisture level
the empty plate. Then weigh out
100 grams of the fresh chopped
forage and spread it evenly on the
plate. If the plate won’t hold 100
grams, record the fresh weight of
the forage to the nearest gram.
The accuracy of the test depends
on the quality of the scale and the
accuracy of the weights recorded.
Haenlein says a good diet scale
that weighs in grams is acceptable
and costs about $2O to $25. But a
balance scale which weighs to the
nearest one-tenth of a gram is
perferable. Balance scales are
available from farm supply
catalogs for about $BO to $lOO.
Fill an 8-ounce measuring glass
with water to the three-quarter
level and place it in a back comer
of the microwave to prevent the
forage from charring and to
protect the oven.
Put the forage plate in the oven.
For haylage (50 to 70 percent
moisture content) heat for four
minutes; for hay ready to rake (35
to 40 percent) or baled hay (20 to 25
percent) heat for two minutes.
Remove the plate, weigh it and
record the weight. Mix the forage,
rotate the plate and return it to the
microwave. Heat haylage an
additional minute, or hay an ad
ditional 30 seconds. Remove the
FEED BUNK
.Zip
State
plate and again weigh it and record
the weight.
Continue this heating, mixing
and weighing procedure until the
forage weight does not decrease by
more than two grams, at which
point you have reached the dry
weight, Haenlein says. If the
forage starts to char o! ;
NORRISTOWN - The Mon
tgomery County no-till planting
program has had a successful
spring planting season. About 40
cooperating farmers have planted
over 1200 acres using the Mon
tgomery County Conservation
District’s no-till planting equip
ment.
The program, in its second year,
has already exceeded its goal of
1,000 acres for the year. Still ahead
are summer forage crop seedings,
and the fall small grain planting
season.
No-till, short for no tillage, is the
name for the practice of growing
farm crops without plowing,
disking, or disturbing the soil
surface in any way. This reduces
or eliminates soil erosion in the
r**>
T
r
V
Please send information on
□ l
Upright Bunker
Silos
□ 2 Manure Pits
□ 3 Feed Bunk
Montgome
IV
B 4 Cattleguards
5 Monolithic
Concrete Silos
this stage, use the last recorded
weight as the dry weight.
To figure the moisture content,
subtract the final dry weight from
the beginning fresh weight of the
forage. Divide this difference by
the beginning fresh weight and
multiply by 100.
v o r oxqmnlp Haenlein says if
no-till acres
y U a
t X>
'♦ V * 0 *
I
Ed Brzostek, district conservationist, soil conservation
service, inspects Montgomery County no-till corn field.
fields. Soil conservation is the
primary reason for the use of no
till practices.
According to Bill Steuteville, the
No-Till Program Coordinator, the
crops look very good; “on the
whole, I am very happy with the
no-till crops I have seen in Mon
tgomery County.” He adds, “This
has been an unusual spring
planting season. No-till has stood
up under some pretty severe
conditions this year.”
The program, created to
promote no-till agricultural
practices, has enabled area far
mers to try it without having to
invest in expensive equipment.
The program has also made no-till
affordable for small farm
ORDER NOW FOR
PROMPT DELIVERY
Blue Ball (717)354-4125
Gap (717)442-4148
you measured out 100 grams of
forage on the plate and, after
drying, the final weight was 71
grams, the calculations would be:
100 grams - 71 grams = 29 grams;
29 grams divided by 100 grams =
0.29; 0.29 x 100 = 29 percent
moisture content.
increase
•*»* ~ *
operators who simply can’t afford
the new equipment necessary for
no-till.
In addition to these farmers,
other Montgomery County farmers
have used no-till on their own.
These farmers, using thjeir own
equipment, have planted an ad
ditional 2000-4000 no-till acres in
Montgomery County. Steuteville
thinks “These acre figures
represent a dramatic increase
over previous years, but I believe
an even more dramatic increase
will occur in years to come.”
Anyone interested in no-till or
having questions, should call Bill
Steuteville at the Soil Conservation
Service in Norristown at 279-1178.
The satisfaction that comes
from doing a good job
of fanning
Liming is one of the most important factors
in keeping your soil in the highest
productive range A good pasture with a
pH of 6 sor higher for example will make
300 to 400 lbs of beef per acre and
produce up to $lOO gross income per acre
This means with the help of lime profits
from pastures can compare favorably with
feed or grain crops
Martin
LIMESTONE
‘<4.
'■tW,
v*:
1 *r