HomeUncategorizedScissors Cut Report 5/9/2023

Scissors Cut Report 5/9/2023

Be Prepared

Hay grew steadily this week; grasses height averaged 16 inches, growing about 4 inches, and legumes averaged 12 inches, growing about 2 inches. Heights remain at about average compared to previous scissor cut years. Forage quality measures are holding steady, as we expect at this point in the growth cycle. As grasses start stem elongation, height will increase more rapidly and fiber content will begin to increase. None of the fields sampled are at target quality and are at least a week away from recommended start of harvest. At this point in the season we expect NDF to increase about 1 % point per day, which sets our predicted first day at target NDF for grasses at May 17, almost exactly on our 20-year average. We will sample again on May 16, so keep an eye out for next weeks results to fine tune your plans.

A note on early harvest of grasses. As grasses grow and start the heading process, the growing point is at the top of the stem as it elongates. If plants are cut before the growing point is above the cutting height, the cut plant will continue to push the seed head up, with few leaves, resulting in a field that looks like all heads. When this happens, the grass will eventually fill in, but quality will be reduced. This is something to consider if you are cutting very early. You can split a few grass stems and see the length of the developing stem, if the growing point is lower than cutting height you may want to wait a day or two to avoid rapid heading of the regrowth.

Reminder: Check mower cutting height settings. Grasses store energy reserves in the base of the stem, cutting too low can remove the reserves the plants need to start regrowth quickly. Setting cutting height to 4 inches is a good practice to ensure heathier plants and quicker regrowth.

We have a great forecast for completing field work, don’t let first cutting time sneak up on you. Looks like we have the making of a good cropping season, lets make the most of it.

The Table at the bottom has each sample location, listed by Town and elevation, and lists the species sampled, average height, Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), Neutral Detergent Fiber Digestibility (NDFD), and Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN). We have sampled grass, legume and mixed legume/grass fields across the region and at elevations from 1070 to 2240 feet. Look for locations with similar forage type and elevation to your farm.

We report several measures of forage quality. Different types and groups of cattle have different demands and each measure tells a slightly different story. If harvesting for dairy forage, we suggest harvesting based on NDF, for beef choose and appropriate TDN target or the animals you will be feeding.

Special thanks to Dairy One for providing the sample analysis

Delaware County Scissor Cuts Results May 2, 2023 May 9, 2023
Farm Town Elev Species Ht aNDFom NDFD TDN Ht aNDFom NDFD TDN
Darling Andes 1505 Red Clover 11 27.7 58 72 13 28.3 88 74
Darling Andes 1500 Mixed Grasses 10 39.3 79 67 14 37.6 75 69
Eisele Andes 1412 Orchardgrass 12 40.7 79 67 12 41.4 70 69
Evans Andes 2240 Mixed Grasses 7 39.7 73 67 9 36.6 66 68
Gladstone Andes 1960 RClov(35%)Grass 6/10 35.7 72 68 7/13 40.3 75 70
Mattson Colchester 1080 Alf(60%)Tfesc 14/13 34.9 64 67 18/20 35.4 63 66
Cerosaoletti Davenport 1285 Alfalfa 16 30.1 66 68 14 24.4 54 69
Frisbee Delhi 1380 Mixed Grasses 10 47.1 73 67 15 42.1 70 67
Mushkoday Delhi 1340 Alfalfa 18 27.2 71 68 15 26.4 70 70
Rama Delhi 1400 Clov(25%)Grass 7/13 42.9 77 67 11/19 44.9 72 69
Sherwood Delhi 1610 Mixed Grasses 13 41.8 73 67 18 40.9 76 66
Sullivan Delhi 1425 Orchardgrass 12 46.3 73 65 14 43.1 68 71
Buel Franklin 1260 Alf(50%)Orch 11/17 35.9 76 67 14/21 33.6 71 67
Grant Franklin 1650 Mixed Grasses 16 36.2 83 69 19 44 80 68
Taggart Franklin 1720 Mixed Grasses 11 43.3 78 68 15 44.1 72 66
DiBenedetto Halcott 1730 Orchardgrass 15 43.3 76 67 18 42 77 68
Moody Hamden 2100 Clov(50%)Grass 5/9 38.5 72 67 6/8 39.4 70 68
Scobie Hamden 1490 Mixed Grasses 6 39.3 75 69 9 38.7 71 69
Hillriegel Hardenburgh 1670 Orchardgrass 10 45.7 71 67 12 45.8 70 67
Hager Kortright 2000 Tall Fescue 11 38.9 84 70 17 40.5 78 73
Haynes Kortright 1860 Orchardgrass 14 46.4 71 67 14/21 42.2 74 68
Cieri Meredith 2230 Orchardgrass 7 32.8 80 72 13 36.8 84 68
DeDominicis Meredith 2100 Orchardgrass 7 40 74 68 9 35.9 71 68
Keator Meredith 1600 Tall Fescue 10 43.1 77 66 15 42.3 68 67
Elliot Middletown 2060 Orch/Rcanary 14 41.9 77 67 17 41.7 78 68
Gray Middletown 2020 Reed Canarygrass 15 42.5 79 66 18 43.3 73 65
Coombe Neversink 1420 Tall Fescue 10 38.4 92 70 13 41.7 78 68
Krum Neversink 1700 Mixed Grasses 4 42.1 74 67 8 41.3 67 67
Albano Roxbury 1950 Mixed Grasses 11 43.9 75 69 17 41.8 75 67
Gockel Roxbury 1890 Orchardgrass 10 44 75 67 16 44.7 71 70
Kuhn Roxbury 1980 Mixed Grasses 8 41.7 71 66 20 46.6 67 68
Perry Roxbury 1830 Orchardgrass 15 42.5 75 66 17 42.9 73 66
Johnson Sidney 1070 Orchardgrass 14 40.2 76 70 24 44.5 75 74
Johnson Sidney 1070 Alfalfa 13 28.8 70 67 19 28.3 62 69
Deysenroth Stamford 1510 Orchardgrass 9 42.7 74 68 15 45.5 71 65
Hanselman Stamford 1488 Alfalfa 10 29.7 69 67 13 24.6 51 71
Martin Stamford 1560 Alf(40%)Orch 10/14 35.9 71 66 19 39.7 73 66
Ryan Stamford 1800 Mixed Grasses 9 42 69 69 6/12 40.7 72 67
Trovato Stamford 2080 Mixed Grasses 10 43 75 68 8/14 44.7 75 66
LaTourette Tompkins 1210 Clov(25%)Grass 6/12 45.3 74 67 7/18 44.3 71 67
Walley Tompkins 1235 Clov(35%)Grass 7/13 46.3 78 66 12/18 40.4 68 69
Wickham,B Walton 1170 Alf(40%)Orch 11/15 42.2 72 67 13/17 38.2 68 69
Wickham,D Walton 1240 Clov(30%)Grass 10/14 39.6 79 68 15/19 34.7 71 68
Av Grass Ht 11.3 41.7 76.1 67.7 15.6 41.9 73.0 68.0
Av Legume Ht 9.5 28.7 66.8 68.4 12.1 26.4 65.0 70.6

forage quality goals for classes of cattle Thanks to Dairy One for providing sample analysis