Foraging Around Jnlui R. Icykr KNpmlmf of Mwkot Oovotopmofit BoocMoy-HordySood Company Anaoal Forages - Another Look After a wet, early spring in most areas of the Northeast much of May was exceedingly warm and dry. And while first cuttings of perennial hay crops came off early and generally in good shape, sec ond cuttings could be affected by lack of moisture. Furthermore, several weather forecasters sug gest a hotter and dryer than normal summer in many areas of the East And this could affect the com crop. Thus, you may want to take a moment now to assess your 1991 feed needs. And if there is a chance you may be short, you can still plug annual forage crops into this year’s cropping plans. Two weeks ago I reviewed the Brassi cas. These offer one possibility for pasture. The other possibility includes the warm weather annual grasses such as the sudangrasses and sorghum-sudangrass hybrids. These grasses are not ideal for hay, but among the annuals there POURED SOLID For Hog Operation - 324.000 Gal. All sizes available round or rectangular are crops that make excellent sup plemental pasture, great chop or silage. And they are heat and drought tolerant and are very pro ductive when moisture and fertili ty arc adequate. Here’s another brief run-down of your choices: Sudangrasses have finer stems and are usually slightly higher in digestibility than the sorghum sudangrass hybrids, but they are also usually lower yielding. Piper Sudangrass, the most widely grown variety, is also the lowest in prussic acid potential, and is nor mally used for pasture. Hybrid sudangrasses such as Beachley- Hardy’s Suretreat produce some what more forage than Piper but also may have a slightly greater prussic acid potential. However, this difference is small and with good management the sudangrass hybrids are excellent for summer pasture as well as green chop and silage. Sorghum-sudangrass hybrids such as RSH are usually much 17 Years Experience In Pouring Concrete Manure Pits! Take the questions out of your new construction. Call Balmer Bros, for quality engineered walls. Invest in Quality - It will last a lifetime. CONCRETE WORK, INC. higher yielding than Piper and are used mostly in a green chop or sil age situation. They do have a higher prussic acid potential and must be managed more carefully during the summer and fall. These multi-harvest, warm sea son annual grasses can be planted right now and will usually be ready for grazing or green chop about 6 or 7 weeks after planting They can be no-till seeded ir stubble or sod, or drill planted on; prepared seedbed. In the absenct of a soil test 50 to 75 pounds each of N, PjOj and K fi worked into the seedbed before planting is desirable. In general, seeding rates of 30-35 pounds per acre for the sudangrasses or 35-45 pounds per acre for the sudan-sorghum hybrids are adequate. If you plant a sudan-sorghum hybrid specifi cally for silage a mixture of soy beans (90 lb. per acre) and the hybrid (25 lb. per acre) can be used. Piper sudangrass can be grazed when it reaches a height of 18” with no danger of prussic acid; a two foot height is recommended for sudangrass hybrids. If properly fertilized and managed these crops can normally be grazed two or three times during the growing season. The sudan-sorghum hybrids should reach a height of 214 -3 feet before grazing or chop ping. At earlier stages, the forage will be higher in quality but may contain unsafe levels of prussic acid. If cut at a stubble height of five to six inches they will recover rapidly for a second crop. If harvested for direct-cut silage these crops should be allowed to reach the early head to early bloom stage of growth. If harvested for silage at more immature stages wilting is desir- CONCRETE SYSTEMS able. While hay made from these crops harvested at the more imma ture stage is fair to good in quality, field curing can be a serious prob lem; thus, the use of a hay condi tioner is essential. Japanese Millet seeded at the rate of 15 lbs. per acre is occasion ally grown as an annual forage on the cold, poorly drained soils of Northern Pennsylvania and New York while Pearl Millet may be used in the lower Mid-Atlantic regions. However, these crops produce little or no aftermath and are generally considered inferior to the sudangrasses where the sudangrasses can be grown. The drought and heat tolerant forage sorghums grown alone or with soybeans can be grown for silage in place of com. Under Group Seeks Dairy Farmers For Exchange Program WASHINGTON, D.C. WANTED: Dairy farmers sought for cultural and technical exchange with Egyptian farmers. Washington, D.C. based non profit organization will bring 80 Egyptian dairy farmers to the United States for three-week farm-stays this year. This cultural exchange between American families and program participants serves as a rich learn ing experience for everyone. It offers a unique chance to leant about Egyptian culture, while pro viding an opportunity for Egyp tians to learn about American farming techniques. Host farmers will receive $2O a day to cover their costs. Host farmers will participate in designing programs to expose the Lancaster Arming, Saturday, Jun# 8. IMI-A27 favorable growing conditions adapted com hybrids harvested as silage arc said to yield slightly more feed per acre. However, the sorghums are more drought resis tant and less subject to damage from deer where deer feeding on com is a problem. When grown alone, row plant at the rate of 8 to 12 pounds per acre. Fertilize as for com. If grown with soybeans use 90 pounds per acre of beans and 6 to 8 pounds of sorghum. Harvest for silage when the sorghum is in the soft to medium dough stage of growth. It’s too early to accurately pre dict the moisture conditions for this growing season. Thus, plant ing some acreage to a summer annual could be a good hedge against the unknown. Egyptians to current cultivation practices and farm management operations. Each program will center around on-farm experi ences as the participants take part in the daily routine of American farmers including meetings with the farmer’s agricultural extension agent, cooperative representa tives, suppliers, and neighboring growers. ACDI will provide logistical support and work closely with the American farmer to arrange the program. Farmers who are interested in participating in the project may write to Linda Schmid at ACDI SO F. Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001 or call (202) 638-4661. CONCRETE PUMPING SERVICE AVAILABLE Mixer And Boom Trucks •'SP- ' ~ - ''■•*■ *W»- *'** ' ** I W*. r-«r •* *’ •"* -.