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 •* *’ •"* -. <r&** •
' : .. ':v j
Placing Concrete On Site
243 Miller Road
Akron, PA 17501
(717) 733-0353
6:30 AM - 3:30 PM
(717) 859-2074
After 6:00 PM