Page B—Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 11, 1998 JUD HEINRICHS Dairy And Animal Science Extension Penn State This spring and summer, as you are making haylage and hay, keep in mind some basic management principles of good forage making. First of all, proper maturity counts. In fact it is likely the most important pan of a good forage program. Second, check dry matter. If it is haylage, we know that there are speci fic moisture ranges that encourage good packing and fermentation. If we go too wet, which is less than 30 per cent dry matter, or too dry, greater than 60 percent dry matter, we drastically increase the likelihood of a poor fer mentation. High quality silage requires a proper fermentation to promote good intakes and high levels of milk production. The only way to know the dry matter of haylage is to measure it. Use a micro wave, oven, or koster tester —but you must measure the first load and check it periodically. If you are good at squeezing a handful to monitor mois ture, then calibrate your handful with a few measured analyses in the micro wave. Very few people can retain their band squeezing calibration over the winter or from cutting to cutting. A next point for haylage is to check panicle size as you chop it Nothing you do to haylage after harvest increas es the particle size but everything re duces particle size post-harvest. Silo filling, solo unloading, TMR mixers, and feed delivery'systems all reduce panicle size of forage. Some systems are minimal in their effects and some are great If moisture raises are monitored tor haylage. it is strtmgly suggested to try to achieve the greatest particle length possible that bale splitters Distributed By: [g<l] CUMMINGS am) BRICKED, Inc. wholesale distributors 100 Slovar Dnva 100-120 LaOrgh Ava PO 80«925 Carlisle PA 17013 BlUvia Naw York 14021-0925 717/249*720 716/343-5411 l-aOO-222-9959 I SOO-252 1552 Serving Farmers Through Perm Equipment Dealers Since 1961 rIUGENT ENGINEERING I Easy Connection with Universal 3 Point Linkage Safety Guard Unique Two-sided Blade 4 Quality Forged Tines Hardwiring Enamel Finish Manufactured From Heavy Gauge Steel Cuts Bales of all Sizes High Speed Cutting Action Cuts Easily, Cleanly & with Minimum of Effort will fit with your storage and feeding systems. For upright silos, you are more lim ited that with bunker silos in terms of acceptable length. Bunker silos still have to have proper moisture in order to pack longer material. Never compromise a good fer mentation with too long a particle size. The problems of poor packing and moldy, poorly fermented haylage will far outweigh any increases that you may gain from longer haylage particle size. If the maturity and moisture of the crop arc in the proper ranges, then get ting your cow’s physical effective fib er from grass or legume forages in the form of haycrop silage, balage, and hay will usually beat the physical fiber achieved from com silage. There arc often more problems with fermenta tion and fiber digestibility from long chopper com silage supplying physical effective fiber for your cows than if that long fiber comes from a haycrop source. POTATO LEAFHOPPER- RESISTANT ALFALFAS IN 1997 DAN UNDERSANDER University of Wisconsin Potato leafhopper is the insect now causing the greatest economic loss in alfalfa to most Wisconsin farmers, Resistance to this.insect has been widely promoted as a major break through for alfalfa. The resistance is due to glandular hairs on the stem that physically inhibit the ability of leaftioppers to reproduce and may exude a substance that kills leafhop pers. David Hogg, entomologist at the University of Wisconsin, has shown that the trait really does work-that potato leafhoppers will fail to repro duce on resistant plant and will eventually die. However, released potato leafhop per resistant varieties have had mixed success in the field during 1997. Why? First, we need to recog nize that we had the highest levels of potato leafhopper during 1997 of any of the last 10 years. This caused significant yield loss in both new seedlings and established stands. Our data would indicate that such stress on new varieties. Historically, we would have done all the research first and had many answers on release of varieties with new traits, but now, in the rush to get new traits to farmers, much of this infor mation must be developed after the release. We learned this year that 60 percent resistance or more may be necessary for severe potato leafhopper infestations. Most of the varieties released last year are first generation varieties with 20 to 40 percent resistance. The lower resis tance will still be helpful in years of lower infestation. Further, the expression of the resistance may be affected by the environment and not always be pre sent to the same extent. Lastly, the resistance may be pri marily to insect breeding and repro duction and be less effective against the first infestation of adults that come from the south. This may mean that the thresholds for spray ing are different, and the number of sprayings are reduced for the season but not eliminated. Many of the users of resistant varieties experience some level of potato leafhopper infestations, but will achieve some yield benefits. I believe as we learn more about management of these varieties and gradually develop better varieties, we will find potato leafhopper resis tance an indispensable tool in the production of alfalfa. Yeager Receives PFGC Scholarship DOYLESTOWN (Bucks Co.) The PFGC scholarship at Delaware Valley College was awarded to Jere my Yeager of Chambersbuig. Jenny grew up on a daily farm near Cham bersbuig and has recently worked for a crop consulting firm in Shippens buig. The PFGC provides this scholar ship to a Delaware Valley College stu dent studying forages or forage-re lated subjects.
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