Marvin Hall
Penn State
Forage Specialist
Yield and persistence were once
the primary concerns of producers,
and cutting at full flower was a
common practice. However, with
the release of multidisease resistant
varieties which have a broad range
in dormancy levels, producers have
considerable flexibility in choosing a
harvest management strategy to
meet their needs.
Harvest of alfalfa that is spring-
Give A
Membership In PFGC
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ZIMMERMAN’S FARM SERVICE
School Road, Rt. 1, Bethel, Pa.
D.W.OGG
5149 Cap Stein Road, Frederick, MD
C.J. WONSIDLER BROS.
Finland Rd., Quakertown, Pa
215-536-1935 / 215-536-7523
Rts. 309 & 100, New Tripoli, Pa.
610-767-7611 / 570-648-2088
Don’t ‘Baby’ Alfalfa During Seeding Year
❖ Grazing Bits ❖
717-933-4114
301-473-4250
seeded without a companion crop
should not be delayed in an attempt
to improve persistence. Young al
falfa stands (seeding year) are capa
ble of persisting under more severe
harvest management practices than
older alfalfa stands.
Cutting of alfalfa 40 days after
seeding does not lower stand persis
tence compared to cutting 80 days
after seeding. Timing of the first
harvest after seeding, however, does
effect alfalfa yield and quality. Har
vesting the newly seeded alfalfa be
tween the bud and 10 percent bloom
that “keeps on giving,” a member
ship in the PFGC.
A PFGC membership provides a
source of valuable forage produc
tion and utilization information
throughout the year.
Call Richard Hann, (717) 520-
2349, for more information on how
to give this gift.
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Economy starts-here.
If you make less than 100
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Stop by and check out the
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along with a wide selection of
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I A I Nobody knows hay Ilka
ftHESSTON
STANLEY’S FARM SERVICE
RD 1, Box 46, Khngerstown, Pa.
570-648-2088
MARSHALL MACHINERY, INC.
Honesdale, Pa.
570-729-7117
HERNLEY’S FARM EQUIPMENT, INC.
2095 S. Market St., Elizabethtown, Pa.
717-367-8867
UMBERGER’S OF FONTANA, INC.
RD 4, Box 545, Lebanon, Pa
717-867-2613
stage of development produces the
greatest dry matter and quality
yield.
Harvesting earlier produces less
dry matter and harvesting later re
sults in less nutrient yield per acre.
If soil fertility is optimum, the stand
appears healthy, and a highly
disease resistant variety of alfalfa
was seeded, then harvesting at the
bud stage should be considered as a
harvest management option.
When a companion crop is
spring-seeded with the alfalfa, har
vesting of the companion crop dic-
Graziers Learn Management
farm, with 270 acres in grass. The
rented acreage yields corn silage and al
falfa haylage for the operation.
Hertzler started out buying two
Dutch Belted cattle for his wife as a gift,
which grew a year later when she pur
chased more animals ready to calve.
Hertzler purchased his Perry County
farm in 1978 and built an 80-cow tree
stall barn. In 1993, the Hertzler family
started looking at opportunities to
become more profitable.
By then they were farming 1,000
acres, putting in 16-hour days, dealing
with herd health problems, high
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 21,2001, Foraging Around-
(Continued from Page 19)
somatic cell counts, and considering
equipment replacement.
Because several people suggested
grazing, the Hertzlers began to take the
idea seriously. After visiting a grazing
operation in December of 1993, they
were convinced of the potential of farm
ing on a grass-based operation. They
began implementing their own grass
land operation almost immediately and
were ready to graze by April.
Since then, they have met goals such
as buying less protein, feeding less
grain, lowering the somatic cell count,
improving herd health and reproduc
tion, identifying heat detection more
easily, decreasing cull rate, and enjoy
ing a less stressful workday.
“We found that farming was less of a
science and more of an art,” said Hcrt
zler. “For example, it’s not up to the
feed salesman but up to me to know
when to change the fences.”
Kenneth King, Hutchinson, Kan., is
the owner and manager of “JaKo,” a
family corporation. The King family
milks 75 head of cattle and owns 300
acres, 300 of which are in grass. Erosion
problems on the Kansas plain helped to
lead to the grassland operation.
King’s opening audience
participatory demonstration with
rubber bands illustrated that most
people think along inhibited lines.
“Don’t make assumptions,” he said.
“Be creative.
“Have you ever told your kids, ‘stop
dreaming and get to work?’” he asked.
“Have you ever spent a day helping
your kids fulfill their dreams?
“I propose that when we develop our
children’s hands which develop on
their own anyway instead of devel
oping their minds which takes cre
ative attention to develop then we
lose out on a wonderful opportunity
and resource.
“For too long in my life I’ve used my
hands, scooping feed. It was when I
spent time on the fence posts, observing
my cows, that my life changed.
“I’m not downplaying or criticizing
working with your hands,” he said. But
working with your hands comes natu
rally, and you have got to cultivate your
mind, whether yours, or your childrens’,
or your employees’.
“You don’t need to produce more
than your neighbor to be competitive,
you just have to produce more effi
ciently, or have a better marketing
strategy.”
King outlined resourceful strategies,
from a polytape cattle guard which
allows vehicles to drive over, to an insu
lated water tank made from a 30-gallon
drum inside a 55-gallon drum and sur
rounded with styrofoam.
The calves, born in early April, nurse
on their mothers until they are 3-4
months old, and then they are weaned
by simply being placed in an adjoining
pasture.
Spend time trying to optimize, he
said, and consider your resources, such
as land, cattle, or customers. Even prob
lems can be resources, as problems can
be turned into assets. “The only limiting
factor to resources is our minds,” he
tates the timing of the initial alfalfa
harvest. Alfalfa seeded during late
summer or early fall is usually well
established by the following spring
and can be subjected to the same
harvest regime as established al
falfa.
Cutting alfalfa for the first time at
a stubble height greater than three
to five-inches does not improve per
sistence, but does lower yield. Yield
reductions of approximately 35 per
cent are reported when alfalfa is cut
at nine-inch compared to three-inch
stubble height.
Ken King, Kansas
227