C4-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 4,1986
By Dr. John E. Baylor
Director of Market Development
Beachley-Hardy Seed Company
Flnrt the Seed-
Forage Grasses
In my last column I took you on a
very brief tour into the seed
producing areas for several im
portant forage legumes. Today I’d
like to do the same for several cool
season forage grasses.
Timothy
Variable amounts of common
timothy seed are produced in New
York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
However, for the most part seed
production in these areas is a by
product of the hay industry. If the
standing crop is no longer suitable
for hay, or is not needed for forage,
it may be left and a seed crop
harvested. Thus, both seed yields
and seed quality are highly
variable and the amount of seed
available each year is uncertain.
Today four states (Minnesota,
Missouri, Idaho and Ohio) are the
primary producers of certified
seed of named varieties, with the
largest seed acreage in Minnesota.
Canada is also a supplier of
timothy seed.
Seed production and. cer
tification procedures for improved
grass varieties, including timothy,
are nearly as sophisticated as
those for improved legume
varieties. In Minnesota, for
example, timothy seed fields are
either row or solid planted to
CALF KENNELS
lame Advantages As Hutches, w/Inside Feeding
Compare the Steltzf us
Woodwork Calf Hutch
Lifting Hook
for easy handling One Sheet
Rear Vent (Option! x Galvanized
(0 P tlonl Metal Roof
Sturdy 2x4 conatrnctian Tilt Oat Feeder for/
Treated akida eaay acceaa.
exterior plywood
ALSO AVAILABLE: TRACK FOR FASTENING CALVES'
CHAIN TO CEILING OF HUTCH
STOLTZFUS WOODWORK
MFD.
BY:
JRt. 897 North - Gap, PA 17527
toundation or registered seed on
properly isolated weed-free fields.
Fertility programs for lime,
phosphate and potash are based on
soil test with nitrogen applied at
rates of 80-100 pounds per acre
annually to assure top seed yields.
Seed fields are harvested, swathed
and allowed to dry in the swath
prior to combining. Seed yields
range from 250-600 pounds/acre.
Orchardgrass
Virginia still produces a small
amount of orchardgrass seed. But
of die improved varieties, in
cluding Pennlate, nearly 100
percent is produced in the state of
Oregon where conditions are
normally extremely favorable for
grass seed production.
Extreme care is taken to select
fields for seed production that are
weed free of other grasses. Seed
fields are row planted (18” - 24”
rows) and critically inspected to
assure purity. As with timothy,
orchardgrass seed fields are
harvested, swathed and allowed to
dry in the swath prior to com
bining. Thus no articial drying of
the seed is necessary.
Post harvest burning or other
residue removal is an important
management step to minimize
weed seeds and prepare the field
for the application of a soil active
herbicide.
>*»
717-442-8972
Smooth bromegrass in its area of
m adaptation is still one of the best
* cool-season grasses for forage. Yet
I for several reasons usage of this
jT species has declined in recent
9 years.
Kansas, Nebraska and South
Dakota are major seed producers
of common bromegrass as well as
certified seed. But Washington and
Idaho are currently important
producers of certified seed of
improved varieties.
Seed production practices in
certified seed fields are, of course,
closely monitored. For seed
production purposes smooth
bromegrass is commonly narrow
row planted without a legume and
fertilized similar to seed f'c!±; of
other grasses. Seed fields may be
direct combined if conditions are
excellent, or mowed and picked up
by the combine after the seed has
dried in the swath.
Burning or removal of post
harvest residue has proven to be
"an important practice in
bromegrass seed fields in the
Northwest to maintain seed yields
and control certain weeds and
diseases.
Historically, common reed
canarygrass seed production was
strictly a by-product of the hay
industry in Minnesota and the
Dakotas. But with the introduction
of new varieties such as Palaton,
up-to-date seed certification and
production practices are in place.
Minnesota and the Dakotas con
tinue to be tiie major seed
production states.
While solid stands for seed
production are still common, row
planting is the rule with most
recent varieties. Seed shatter has
always been a problem with this
species but newer varieties tend to
shatter less and tend to have
higher seed weight per panicle.
Seed fields are commonly direct
combined and seed usually must
be dried to prevent heating.
Because of the shattering and
weather-related problems in
major seed production areas, seed
yields of reed canarygrass con
tinue to be variable.
le
ling
Simple, efficient
eyebolt and pin
connector
36" or 50" high wire
enclosure (Option)
Bromegrass
Reed Canarygrass
WATER-REEL® Traveling Irrigators
When Your Bottom Line
irTop
rity.
few-
Tall Fescue
Last year nearly 95 percent of
the tall fescue seed was produced
in the states of Missouri, Ken
tucky, Tennessee and Kansas on
fields managed for both forage and
seed. Missouri alone supplied over
80 percent of the total seed crop.
Again as newer improved varieties
such as Johnstone become
available, and as the production of
endophyte-free seed increases,
certified seed production is slowly
shifting to the more favorable seed
production areas of the Northwest
using modern seed production
techniques.
Fescue seed is harvested from
solid stands in the upper south
while row plantings with careful
post harvest management in
cluding refuse removal is the rule
in Oregon. As a result average
seed yields in Oregon are ap
proximately 2% times the national
average.
Other Cool Season
Forage Grasses
Virtually 100 percent of the U.S.
ryegrass seed supply is grown in
USDA announces producer
assessments for Ohio,
Wisconsin tobacco
WASHINGTON, D.C. - To
obtain price support on 1985-crop
cigar filler and binder tobaccos
(types 42-44 and 53-55), producers
must agree to pay assessments on
all marketings for deposit in “no
net cost” tobacco accounts, a U.S.
Department of Agriculture official
said recently.
Everett Rank, executive vice
president of USDA’s Commodity
Credit Corporation, said the
assessments were approved in
consultation with tobacco producer
associations, as: ten cents per
pound for Ohio filler (types 42-44);
three cents per pound for northern
Wisconsin binder (type 55) and two
* SON CO.
the Willamette Valley of Oregon
using improved practices to
control weeds and diseases in
cluding controlled buring or other
methods for removal of residue.
Prior to 1900 nearly all com
mercial Kentucky Bluegrass seed
was produced in Kentucky from
pastures. Today, however, most
U.S. grown quality seed of im
proved varieties is a specialized
business with production in
Oregon, eastern Washington and
northern Idaho, and some
production in Minnesota. In
novations in weed control and
other management practices have
been instrumental in higher yields
of quality seed.
Thus, today for both forage
legumes and grasses, seed
production is a very specialized
business. And with continued
modern seed production practices
eastern consumers are assured of
a constant supply of high quality
seed of improved varieties.
May I take this opportunity to
wish each of you a successful and
profitable 1986.
cents per pound for southern
Wisconsin binder (type 54).
“The assessments ensure that
the tobacco support program for
these tobaccos will be operated at
no net cost to the taxpayer, in
conformity with the No Net Cost
Tobacco Program Act of 1982,”
Bank said.
Producers who do not agree to
contribute to the no net cost ac
count will be ineligible for price
support and subject to a penalty of
81 cents per pound for filler and
binder tobaccos, he said.
The penalty equals 75 percent of
1984’s average market price and is
the same penalty that applies to
the marketing of excess tobacco.
• LOW COST-EFFICIENT
RELIABLE
• COMPLETE RANGE OF
MODELS
• SWIVEL OR NON-SWIVEL
UNITS
• BELLOWS OR TURBINE
DRIVE
11/2”l l/ 2” TO 4*V I D TUBE SIZE
UP TO 1250 FEET LONG
Contact Hammonton, New Jersey Office
PHONE - 609-567-3910
Serving Your Total Ag Irrigation Needs
QUALITY IRRIGATION SINCE 1953