HomeAg & Natural ResourcesForage Quality Scissors Cut Results May 14, 2024

Forage Quality Scissors Cut Results May 14, 2024

Dairy Prime Now

Great weather this week for hay growth resulted in grass increasing an average of 7 inches (2”-12”) and legumes up 4 inches (2”-7”). Fiber content (NDF) increased ⅔ point per day, with grasses averaging 52%, mixed stands 44%, and alfalfa 32%.

Grasses and Mixed stands are at target dairy quality. Beef producers can wait a week or two for most of their needs. Legume fields are still at least a week away from dairy quality.
Fiber Digestibility decreased a few points over the week, but remain in a favorable range, while TDN stayed the same.

Grass harvest is already started around the county, and dairy producers should be harvesting core grass fields as quickly as possible.

 Estimated days from May 14 to Target Quality

   Beef
Dairy Growing Calf Growing Yearling Lactating Cow Mature Dry Cow
Grass NOW NOW 7 -14 days 14+ days 14+ days
Mixed NOW NOW 7 -14 days 14+ days 14+ days
Legume 7-10 days 7-10 days 10-14 days 14+ days 14+ days

A few things to keep in mind:

  • Mow Wide – Mow into as wide a swath as possible to encourage rapid wilting, the longer it takes to dry down the more energy is lost to respiration.
  • Pay attention to forage moisture (aka Dry Matter) – For bunkers shoot for 35% to 40% DM, for Bags a bit dryer, and for baleage between 50% and 60% DM is best
  • Density matters – for bunkers, make sure you have adequate packing capacity, the faster the silage is coming in the more tins you need on the bunk, for balegae – dryer forage packs better, make bales as dense as possible.
  • Cover/Wrap quickly – Get bunkers filled and cover as quickly as possible, wrap bales within 3 or 4 hours. Oxygen is the enemy of good silage, cover it quick and keep birds and rodents from spoiling the seal.
  • Park the Corn Planter – get core hay acres harvested, then finish corn planting. The quality in your hay crop (1st and 2nd cutting) will offset any yield lost.

Stay safe and enjoy the hay harvest season.
Our next sample day will be Tuesday May 21.Thanks to Dairy One for providing sample analysis

Delaware County Scissor Cuts Results May 7 May 14
Farm Town Elev Species Ht aNDFom NDFD TDN Ht aNDFom NDFD TDN
Darling Andes 1560 RedClov(60%)/TFesc 13/20 32.3 47 70 20/20 32.7 57 67
Darling Andes 1580 Mixed Grasses 12  47.2 63  70 21 48.7 61 76
Eisele Andes 1412 RClov(35%)/orch 11 46.9 70 71 23 49.4 67 76
Evans Andes 2065 chart data 16 50.8 72 75 26 54.9 67 75
Gladstone Andes 1960 Orch/Bome 18 49.4 73 73 27 52.5 71 72
Brannen Bovina 1840 Mixed Grasses 9 45.1 71 70 15 52.6 58 71
Rossley Bovina 1680 Mixed Grasses na 47.8 68 71 na 49.5 64 70
Mattson Colchester 1080 Alf(50%)/Tfesc 15/17 31.3 50 72 19/22 43.2 51 72
Grant Davenport 1285 Alf(70%)/Grass 13/14 31.1 55 70 19/23 42.7 67 69
Frisbee Delhi 1380 Mixed Grasses 14 49.2 68 69 36 62.8 58 71
Mushkoday Delhi 1340 Alf(50%)/Tfesc 15/20 29 56 72 13/22 30.8 52 73
Rama Delhi 1400 Mixed Grasses 23 48.6 71 68 23 50.7 72 70
Sherwood Delhi 1610 Clov(20%)/grass 8/18 47.8 64 70 12/22 50.6 61 68
Sullivan Delhi 1425 Orchardgrass 24 49.6 70 71 32 58.4 64 68
Buel Franklin 1260 Orchardgrass 27 49.6 66 71 36 50.3 69 71
Grant Franklin 1650 Mixed Grasses 20 44.3 66 78 28 47.3 68 75
Taggart Franklin 1720 Mixed Grasses 20 54.6 60 69 na 52.5 66 69
DiBenedetto Halcott 1730 Orchardgrass 19 46.1 73 71 27 49.9 72 71
Potter Hamden 2100 Orchardgrass 20 43.6 65 72 29 51.8 63 69
Scobie Hamden 1480 Mixed Grasses 12 42.2 67 73 18 49.3 69 70
Hillriegel Hardenburgh 1670 Mixed Grasses 15 47.5 71 68 21 50.6 73 72
Hager Kortright 2000 Mixed Grasses 16 42 77 74 22 46.6 73 74
Haynes Kortright 1865 Orchardgrass 16 50.9 68 74 21 49.1 59 71
Scott Masonville 1615 Reed Canarygrass 20 48 65 68 24 53.3 65 66
Scott Masonville 1650 Clov(30%)/Fesc 6/17 50.2 69 67 8/22 53.8 67 68
Cieri Meredith 2300 Orchardgrass 18 46.4 75 70 23 48.1 74 71
DeDominicis Meredith 2050 Tall Fescue 14 43.1 71 72 19 50.4 69 73
Keator Meredith 1600 Tall Fescue 16 44.8 72 70 25 53.3 69 68
Elliott Middletown 2060 RCanary/Orch 20 51.3 71 72 27 48.3 69 74
Gray Middletown 2020 Reed Canarygrass 20 46.9 67 68 27 53.9 65 70
Coombe Neversink 1420 Mixed Grasses 9 46.1 84 70 18 43 74 68
Krum Neversink 1700 Mixed Grasses na na na na 9 46.7 67 74
Albano Roxbury 1950 Mixed Grasses 10 42.5 73 74 18 44.4 71 72
Gockel Roxbury 1890 orchardgrass 14 51.4 69 69 22 54 67 71
Kuhn Roxbury 1980 Meadow Foxtail 21 48.2 65 69 31 61.6 57 67
Perry Roxbury 1830 Mixed Grasses 14 48.3 73 67 24 50 68 67
Johnson Sidney 1070 Orchardgrass 22 48 69 71 30 55.2 68 67
Johnson Sidney 1030 Alfalfa 16 32.1 54 70 20 32.1 54 70
Deysenroth Stamford 1495 Mixed Grasses 18 45.3 76 70 25 53.9 70 67
Hanselman Stamford 1488 Alfalfa 15 29.5 62 71 19 31.6 51 73
Martin Stamford 1560 Alf(35%)/Orch 12/22 39.6 71 70 17/28 41 71 71
Melvin Stamford 2020 Orchardgrass 17 48.3 69 70 23 54.1 70 75
Trovato Stamford 2200 Clov(25%)/Grass 8/18 49.1 73 67 12/25 54.8 62 72
LaTourette Tompkins 1220 Mixed Grasses 19 53.9 67 65 24 58.7 67 71
Walley Tompkins 1230 Mixed Grasses 24 52.3 69 72 29 59.7 69 68
Wickham Walton 1240 Orchardgrass 24 51.1 70 72 mowed 54 na 64
Grass 18 47.8 69.8 70.8 24 51.9 67.2 70.7
Mixed Grasses – 38.8 60.6 69.8 – 43.7 61.0 70.0
Legume 12 30.8 58.0 70.5 16 31.9 52.5 71.5