Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland Council mUM WBJ
Wforaging aroundW
Industry, Farmer, Scientist Working Together Toward A Sounder Grassland Program’
Striving For Quality? Take It Easy On The Hay,
According To Halifax Producer
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
HALIFAX (Dauphin Co.) Don’t
over-rake U. Don’t beat it Get it baled
dry enough and as soon as possible.
Above all, to get good hay, you have
to feed it
“Fertilizer pays. It doesn’t cost
you,” said Joel Steigman, who farms
250 acres at two separate sites below
Broad Mountain near Halifax.
Steigman took home champion hon
ors in Class 4. alfalfa grass mixed, later
cutting, field dried, at the 1998 Hay
Show during this year’s Ag Progress
Days.
All the alfalfa hay on the faim was
topdressed with 0-15-30, in addition to
soil testing recommendations where
needed, according to Steigman. An
important ingredient for champion
hay, besides good soil tilth and pH, is
the use of manure.
Steigman applies layer manure to
the fields as needed. “I soil test alUhe
time,” he said.
He applies manure from 40-some
head of feeder cattle, in addition to
chicken manure, which is worked into
the soil on a rotation. He maintains
some cows and calves and buys
feeders.
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, - apt —right, ows the long
root structure of a new type of hybrid grass while Bucky Ziegler, Milton,
looks on. Find out more about the hybrid grass on page 16.
Pennsylvania Forage & Grassland Council
Newsletter Section October 24,1998
Joel Steigm<m took home champion honors in Class 4, alfalfa grass mixed, later cutting, field dried, at
the 1998 Hay Show during this year’s Ag Progress Days. He also maintains test plots of new alfalfa var
ieties on his farm. About seven acres with six different varieties are kept at the farm. The test plots are
looking at the correct seeding rates for the hay. Photo by Andy Andrews
Pennsylvania Dept, of Ag
Nutrient Management
Did you know that Pennsylvania is
the 10th largest producer of hay in the
United States? I didn’t!
Based on results from the Pennsyl
vania Crop Reporting Department on
an annual basis, Pennsylvania pro
duces 4.7 million tons of hay on nearly
2.1 million acres.
Alfalfa is the state’s largest single
forage crop, making up slightly more
than 800.000 acres and more than one
half the total hay production. In addi
tion to hay production, there are more
than 2.3 million acres of pasture in
Pennsylvania.
The forage industry is a major agri
cultural enterprise in Pennsylvania and
the northeastern United States. About
60 percent ($1.9 billion ) of the total
cash receipts from the sale of agricul
tural products in Pennsylvania are de
rived from meat and milk sales. In
Pennsylvania there are approximately
❖ President's Corner ❖
720,000 milk cows, 216,000 beef
cows, and 134,000 sheep. Forage crops
constitute the major feed component in
the diet of these animals, making for
ages the backbone of Pennsylvania’s
agriculture and rural economy.
In addition, forages are environ-
Tuesday, November 17
--P 8 e **-
School, Princess Royale Oceanfront
Hotel and Conference Center,
Ocean City, Md., thru Dec. 10.
Dairy Feeding Systems Confemce,
Radisson Penn Harris Hotel and
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