Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland Council mf
WfORAGING AROUNdW
‘lndustry, Farmer, Scientist Working Together Toward A Sounder Grassland Program’
Erie County Dairy Is Rooted In Orchardgrass
George Helntz is spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Forage and
Grassland Council (PFGC) who believes strongly In orchardgrass.
He stands with his dog, Nicky, a Golden Retriever mix.
W c(lnes(l;i\, 1i hi u;ir> II
Northwest Pa. Livestock and Grazing
Management Workshop Series,
Wesley Grange, Baikeyville, 7
Management Workshop Series,
Weekly Grange, Baikeyville, 7
Pennsylvania Forage & Grassland Council
Newsletter Section February 7,1998
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❖ Farm Calendar ❖
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George’s County Extension Office,
Conference. Grantville Holiday
Inn, Grantville, thru March 5.
!g PFGC Annual Meeting and Awards
Reception during Grazing
ference, Indianapolis, Ind., thru
iagi
(Turn to Page 6)
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CAROLYN N. MOYER
Bradford Co. Correspondent
UNION CITY (Eric Co.) As the
spokesperson for the Pennsylvania
Forage and Grassland Council
(PFGC), dairy farmer George Heintz
has a message for all farmers, espe
cially those living in the northern
United States.
“If you can grow alfalfa, alfalfa is a
good crop. But our grasses are for the
northern part of the whole country,”
said Heintz.
The grass he speaks most highly of
is orcbardgrass.
“We’re a small farm. We’ve been
here about 20 years and we grow high
quality grass forages because we can
not grow alfalfa. We try. but it’s
usually a failure. Now we manage our
grasses to give us high quality for-
LOOKING AHEAD
Dick Kaufftnan
PFGC President
This issue of “Foraging Around”
kicks off the new year for PFGC. The
articles that appear in this issue and
the issues to follow in April, July, and
October will cover a wide range of in
terests.
You will discover different forage
production practices that may be use
ful on your farm. Included will be re-
Grazing And Forage Conference
To Feature Irish Grazing Specialist
GRANTVILLE (Dauphin Co.) Dr.
Sinclair Mayne, a scientist at the Agri
cultural Research Institute of Northern
Ireland, will be the keynote speaker at
the Pennsylvania Grazing And Forage
Conference here at the Grantville
Holiday Inn March 4-5.
Mayne’s grazing research with
dairy cattle and beef is some of the
strongest in the world. Sinclair
Myne’s research has emphasized im
proving grazing management to in
crease intake and utilization of pas
ture. In addition, he has been involved
in a long-term study to evaluate the
optimum genetic merit of different
cow breeds for grazing management
systems.
In additon to Sinclair Mayne, the
program includes presentations on
Focusing on grasses instead of leg
umes often puts Heintz on a different
schedule then most of his fellow
dairymen. While they are planting
com or waiting for their legumes to
reach the right stage of maturity,
Heintz is sitting on his tractor with the
mower ready to go.
“The biggest problem is the men
tality or attitude change that is needed.
You need to get out there and cut it
when it needs to be cut,” Heintz said.
Between May IS and May 30,
Heintz isn’t looking at the stage of
maturity or the height of his grass. In
stead, he’s watching weather patterns
very carefully.
“When we start to get a good cycle
of weather, I get out there and mow. If
the yield is low, it just means I’m get
ting better quality forage, and the sec-
(Turn to Page 8)
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❖ Presidents Corner ❖
a'
search reports from industry and uni
versities, feature articles on forage
producers in Pennsylvania, special in
terest articles from around the country
and around the world, and of course,
upcoming events and past happenings
sponsored by PFGC.
If you are not a member of PFGC,
now is a good time to join.
The article in this issue by Dr. John
Baylor summarizes the Alfalfa Grow
(Turn to Page 2)
Dr. Sinclair Mayna