Page 24—Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 11, 1998
PAUL H. CRAIG
President, PFGC
As president of the Pennsylvania
Forage and Grasslands Council
(PFGC) for 1998, hello to everyone.
Let me tell you a little about myself.
I have been member of this ambi
tious group of farmers, industry rep
resentatives, and educators called
PFGC for nearly 20 years. In that
time I have attended many local and
state events sponsored, promoted or
conduct by the Forage Council
throughout the state.
As an extension agent I have
assisted PFGC members to conduct
forage grass and alfalfa research tri
als that have been used by many for
age producers across the state. I
have worked with other PFGC mem
bers at pasture walks, forage confer
ences, speaking contents, hay con
tests, and in-depth training schools.
Earlier in my extension career I
was fortunate to receive financial
support to develop educational
materials that have been utilized to
increase forage production efficien
cy. I have also spent many hours in
discussions with the leaders in for
age production in Pennsylvania. I
have gained a wealth of knowledge
and experience as a result of the
opportunity that PFGC has given
me. Now as president I hope to work
with the board of directors to contin
ue to keep PFGC active.
Many times individuals are asked
to make a contribution and join an
organization. I would ask you to con
sider joining our organization, the
Pennsylvania Forage and
Grasslands Council - the reasons
are many. The council is the only
state organization that provides an
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opportunity for forage producers,
industry representatives, and edu
cators to work together to strength
en the forage industry of
Pennsylvania. Research trials,
equipment demonstrations, field
days, marketing, local producer
recognition, and promotion of
responsible agricultural practices
are just a few of the activities of the
Forage Council. Get involved. At Ag
Progress Days, you can enter the
1998 Hay show sponsored by PFGC.
Start collecting entries now.
There should be a lot of excellent
first-cutting samples.
As Progress Days is also the time
of the year when PFGC holds its
annual picnic. This event is held
rain or shine on Wednesday
evening, Aug. 19, near the Ag
Progress Day site. Food is served at
about 6:30 p.m., but attendees usu
ally arrive earlier to enjoy good con
versations and to relax along the
banks of Spruce Creek. There is a
reservation fee of $B. If you are com
ing up to APD and would like to
attend the picnic, drop a note to the
Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland
Council, Attn. Picnic; P.O. Box 355,
Hershey PA, 17033. Registration
informatioa will be sent.
At Ag progress Days at the Hay
Show you will be able to pick up a
PFGC membership application. I
would encourage you to join. The
opportunities that result as a mem
bership in PFGC are worth a lot
more than the membership fee. My
experiences with this group of men
and women has been very reward
ing I urge you to participate.
Had they been still growing com,
the farm would have been left “high
and dry,” Sayre noted. They had good
moisture in the spring and excellent
grazing, and had a first cutting of hay.
They wanted to get another cutting and
fulfill their storage requirements.
However, it soon turned dry. Where
normally they would achieve 2-3 cut
tings and then graze the hay fields in
September and October, last year they
had to graze most of what would have
been second cutting hay ground in July
and August. The pastures simply
weren’t recovering as they do
normally.
This flexibility, key to successful
grazing, saved them from taking dras
tic steps, Sayre noted either start
feeding or sell the cattle.
Stocking rate for the 3-4 different
herds runs 25,000-35,000 pounds of
live weight per acre. The cattle will
make about 300 moves through 65-70
paddocks during the grazing season.
All this flexibility is made possible
when using electric fence, polywire,
tread-in posts, and a portable watering
system, he noted. The watering system
consists of a submersible well-pump in
a 6-inch PVC pipe sleeve lying in the
side of the pond and a small pressure
tank supplying a 1-inch black plastic
line lying on top of the ground under
the fence. At various points in this line,
they “T” off plastic ball vales with gar
den hose snap-in couplers. “We can
then snap in garden hose (up to 250
feet at times) to feed the Cool-Spring
tanks,” he noted. “These tanks are on
4x4 skids so we can drag them from
paddock to paddock. This way we eli
minate long lanes and the manure is
distributed more evenly.”
It’s important for cattle breeders or
feeders who want to use grazing to
select the right type of cattle for a parti
cular grazing situation.
“Go to a herd where the cows are
raised in the type of environment
you’re going to put them in,” Sayre
said.
Along with using more forage
ground also comes the responsibility
of what to do with the excess nitrogen
generated.
In the past, nutrients were disposed
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Jays Bams
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Maryland
George Hines Equipment
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Potomac VUley Supply
Hagerstown. MD • 301/223-6877
Walter G Coale, Inc
ChurehviHe, MD •410/838-6470
Near Jersey
Brodheckar Farm
Newton, NJ • 201/383-3592
Quality Structures
Ffemfngton. NJ • 908/782-7408
‘Summer Slump’
(ContlnuMi from Pag* 23}
Richard Kanworthy
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Pennsylvania
BlueMt Diesel
New Tripoli, PA • 610/298-3483
C B Hoober
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Rome, PA • 717/247-2539
Erb 8 Henry Equipment
Newßeriinviffe, FA •215/367-2169
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of on com ground, where they were
readily available to the plant But “our
ability to put manure on com ground is
not like it used to be,” said Les Lanyon,
Penn State.
Lanyon spoke at the conference
about the challenges in nutrient man
agement faced by graziers.
A big challenge is how to “convince
animals not to congregate,” said
Lanyon. “Where they hang out is
where the manure accumulates.”
The issue is: how to redistribute the
manure so the available nutrients can
be allocated where needed.
Lanyon offered the following man
ure application guidelines:
• Apply manure at low rates.
• Spread the manure as evenly as
possible. Avoid clumping and uneven
distribution.
• Avoid critical runoff areas
streams, drainage ways, and unpro
tected wells.
• Apply manure soon after harvest
or grazing for established perennials.
• Avoid application with heavy
equipment when soils are wet to pre
vent compaction.
• Record applications and balance
nutrient requirements with manure
nutrients available.
• Maintain nutrient balance in fields
and pastures. Soil test regularly and
watch magnesium levels for grazing
animals.
Others who spoke at the conference
include Jerry M. Swisher, Jr., exten
sion agent in dairy science from Virgi
nia Tech; Titus Martin of Ti-Lin Hols
teins, Fayetteville; and Forrest Striek
er. Berks County grazier.
Swisher spoke about how dairies are
using rotational grazing as an oppor
tunity for producers “to reduce cost as
well as increase their net cash farm
income.”
Martin, who maintains a Holstein
farm four miles east of Chambersburg,
spoke about how grazing leads to
“more profit less work. It’s great”
And Strieker provided an overview
of how grazing has “a $406 per cow
advantage over confinement, even
though milk production is down 2,912
pounds per cow."
George Gross, Inc
Dover. FA • 717/292-1673
Gunther Hauaaman, Inc Longanackars, Inc
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Glenn Wagoner
Darlington. PA •412/827-2184
Kellers Farm Machinery
Ouakertown, PA • 215/536-4046
Lapp's Bam Equipment
Gap, PA • 717/442-8134
Leaders Farm Equipment
Everett, PA • 814A&-2800
Lebanon Valley Important
Richland, PA • 717/966-7518
Marshall Machinery
Honasdah, FA • 717/729-7117
Nawswanger Machinery
Kutztown. PA • 610/883-5970
Raiffs Farm Service
Shlppansburg. PA • 717/532-6601
Rombargar Farm Supply
Kbnganßown, FA • 717/648-2061
Rovaodaia Ag 8 Bam
Wataontom. PA • 717/538-9664
Wyn Koop Farm Equipment
Marion Canter. FA • 412/397-4960