Better Hurry ‘Cause it’s Goin Fast
We had another week of nice weather, and hay fields are growing like mad. Most farms have started first cutting, and it’s a good thing since maturity is ahead of normal. Yields look good, but quality will likely be
| Beef | |||||
| Dairy | Growing Calf | Growing Yearling | Lactating Cow | Mature Dry Cow | |
| Grass | PAST | PAST | NOW | 7 days | 10-14 days |
| Mixed | PAST | PAST | NOW | 7 days | 10-14 days |
| Legume | 7 days | 7 days | 7 days | 7-10 days | 10-14 days |
lower than what you experienced last year.
Grass jumped an average of 9 inches (3”-16”) and legumes grew 8 inches (6”-10”). Grass fiber content (NDF) increased almost 1 point per day, with grasses averaging 61%, mixed stands 51%, and alfalfa 35%. All the grasses are heading, which means that not only is fiber content increasing every day, but fiber digestibility is also decreasing just as rapidly.
Grasses and mixed stands are past dairy quality. Legume fields should reach dairy quality next week. Beef producers can wait a week or two for most of their needs.
Dairy producers should be harvesting core grass/mixed fields as quickly as possible and preparing to harvest alfalfa next week.
- Keep the Corn Planter Parked until your core hay acres are harvested. Hay is declining in quality rapidly and focusing your efforts this week to harvest quality forage will bring the biggest return.
Harvested fields are re-growing quickly. Remember, second cut yields can be almost equal to first on early cut fields. Plan and prepare now to start second cut 30-35 days after first cut, even if all your first cut is not complete. NDF in second cut increases almost as fast as in first cut, even though the plants aren’t heading. - Stay safe and enjoy the hay harvest season.
Our next sample day will be Tuesday May 28
| Delaware County Scissor Cuts Results |
May 14 |
May 21 |
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| Farm | Town | Elev | Species | Ht | aNDFom | NDFD | TDN | Ht | aNDFom | NDFD | TDN |
| Darling | Andes | 1560 | RedClov(60%)/TFesc | 20/20 | 32.7 | 57 | 67 | 28/30 | 40.9 | 49 | 70 |
| Darling | Andes | 1580 | Mixed Grasses | 21 | 48.7 | 61 | 76 | 30 | 53.1 | 55 | 70 |
| Eisele | Andes | 1412 | RClov(35%)/orch | 23 | 49.4 | 67 | 76 | 33 | 58.4 | 64 | 69 |
| Evans | Andes | 2065 | Orchardgrass | 26 | 54.9 | 67 | 75 | 38 | 65.3 | 60 | 69 |
| Gladstone | Andes | 1960 | Orch/Bome | 27 | 52.5 | 71 | 72 | 37 | 61.1 | 61 | 65 |
| Brannen | Bovina | 1840 | Mixed Grasses | 15 | 52.6 | 58 | 71 | 24 | 62.2 | 60 | 67 |
| Rossley | Bovina | 1680 | Mixed Grasses | na | 49.5 | 64 | 70 | 24 | 63.2 | 61 | 68 |
| Mattson | Colchester | 1080 | Alf(50%)/Tfesc | 19/22 | 43.2 | 51 | 72 | 27/36 | 49.0 | 54 | 68 |
| Grant | Davenport | 1285 | Alf(70%)/Grass | 19/23 | 42.7 | 67 | 69 | mowed | 54.4 | 68 | 68 |
| Frisbee | Delhi | 1380 | Mixed Grasses | 36 | 62.8 | 58 | 71 | 42 | 60.3 | 58 | 72 |
| Mushkoday | Delhi | 1340 | Alf(50%)/Tfesc | 13/22 | 30.8 | 52 | 73 | hvstd | – | – | – |
| Rama | Delhi | 1400 | Mixed Grasses | 23 | 50.7 | 72 | 70 | mowed | 60.5 | 58 | 68 |
| Sherwood | Delhi | 1610 | Clov(20%)/grass | 12/22 | 50.6 | 61 | 68 | hvstd | – | – | – |
| Sullivan | Delhi | 1425 | Orchardgrass | 32 | 58.4 | 64 | 68 | 40 | 66.4 | 57 | 66 |
| Buel | Franklin | 1260 | Orchardgrass | 36 | 50.3 | 69 | 71 | hvstd | – | – | – |
| Grant | Franklin | 1650 | Mixed Grasses | 28 | 47.3 | 68 | 75 | hvstd | – | – | – |
| Taggart | Franklin | 1720 | Mixed Grasses | na | 52.5 | 66 | 69 | 34 | 59.0 | 61 | 69 |
| DiBenedetto | Halcott | 1730 | Orchardgrass | 27 | 49.9 | 72 | 71 | mowed | 62.8 | 64 | 66 |
| Potter | Hamden | 2100 | Orchardgrass | 29 | 51.8 | 63 | 69 | 36 | 54.3 | 57 | 69 |
| Scobie | Hamden | 1480 | Mixed Grasses | 18 | 49.3 | 69 | 70 | 30 | 58.0 | 62 | 66 |
| Hillriegel | Hardenburgh | 1670 | Mixed Grasses | 21 | 50.6 | 73 | 72 | 27 | 58.1 | 62 | 71 |
| Hager | Kortright | 2000 | Mixed Grasses | 22 | 46.6 | 73 | 74 | hvstd | – | – | – |
| Haynes | Kortright | 1865 | Orchardgrass | 21 | 49.1 | 59 | 71 | mowed | 60.7 | 61 | 70 |
| Scott | Masonville | 1615 | Reed Canarygrass | 24 | 53.3 | 65 | 66 | 38 | 63.3 | 61 | 65 |
| Scott | Masonville | 1650 | Clov(30%)/Fesc | 8/22 | 53.8 | 67 | 68 | 16/38 | 56.7 | 61 | 71 |
| Cieri | Meredith | 2300 | Orchardgrass | 23 | 48.1 | 74 | 71 | hvstd | – | – | – |
| DeDominicis | Meredith | 2050 | Tall Fescue | 19 | 50.4 | 69 | 73 | 32 | 58.7 | 61 | 67 |
| Keator | Meredith | 1600 | Tall Fescue | 25 | 53.3 | 69 | 68 | 37 | 64.5 | 59 | 63 |
| Elliott | Middletown | 2060 | RCanary/Orch | 27 | 48.3 | 69 | 74 | mowed | 64.6 | 63 | 64 |
| Gray | Middletown | 2020 | Reed Canarygrass | 27 | 53.9 | 65 | 70 | mowed | 60.2 | 59 | 67 |
| Coombe | Neversink | 1420 | Mixed Grasses | 18 | 43.0 | 74 | 68 | 28 | 57.4 | 59 | 70 |
| Krum | Neversink | 1700 | Mixed Grasses | 9 | 46.7 | 67 | 74 | 15 | 56.4 | 55 | 70 |
| Albano | Roxbury | 1950 | Mixed Grasses | 18 | 44.4 | 71 | 72 | hvstd | – | – | – |
| Gockel | Roxbury | 1890 | orchardgrass | 22 | 54.0 | 67 | 71 | mowed | 56.8 | 54 | 68 |
| Kuhn | Roxbury | 1980 | Meadow Foxtail | 31 | 61.6 | 57 | 67 | 38 | 63.7 | 50 | 67 |
| Perry | Roxbury | 1830 | Mixed Grasses | 24 | 50.0 | 68 | 67 | 27 | 61.1 | 62 | 69 |
| Johnson | Sidney | 1070 | Orchardgrass | 30 | 55.2 | 68 | 67 | 40 | 61.6 | 62 | 70 |
| Johnson | Sidney | 1030 | Alfalfa | 20 | 32.1 | 54 | 70 | 30 | 34.9 | 47 | 69 |
| Deysenroth | Stamford | 1495 | Mixed Grasses | 25 | 53.9 | 70 | 67 | 33 | 61.7 | 62 | 68 |
| Hanselman | Stamford | 1488 | Alfalfa | 19 | 31.6 | 51 | 73 | 27 | 34.5 | 46 | 70 |
| Martin | Stamford | 1560 | Alf(35%)/Orch | 17/28 | 41.0 | 71 | 71 | 23/35 | 42.4 | 55 | 69 |
| Melvin | Stamford | 2020 | Orchardgrass | 23 | 54.1 | 70 | 75 | mowed | 58.0 | 58 | 67 |
| Trovato | Stamford | 2200 | Clov(25%)/Grass | 12/25 | 54.8 | 62 | 72 | 18/32 | 60.4 | 63 | 69 |
| LaTourette | Tompkins | 1220 | Mixed Grasses | 24 | 58.7 | 67 | 71 | 31 | 66.8 | 59 | 67 |
| Walley | Tompkins | 1230 | Mixed Grasses | 29 | 59.7 | 69 | 68 | 36 | 59.5 | 55 | 70 |
| Grass | 24 | 51.9 | 67.2 | 70.7 | 33 | 60.6 | 59.3 | 68 | |||
| Mixed Grasses | – | 43.7 | 61.0 | 70.0 | – | 50.6 | 58.3 | 69 | |||
| Legume | 16 | 31.9 | 52.5 | 71.5 | 24 | 34.7 | 46.5 | 69 | |||
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 an appropriate TDN target or the animals you will be feeding
- NDF – Neutral Detergent Fiber is a measure of the structural fiber in a feed sample. NDF correlates well with how much forage a cow can eat (gut fill). Earlier cut hay = lower NDF = higher dry matter intake = higher performance.
- NDF goals for Dairy Cattle Forage: Grass hay and silage – 48 – 55%, MMG hay & silage – 40 – 50%, MML hay & silage – 38 – 45%, Legume hay & silage – 36 – 42%
NDFD – NDF Digestibility As forage plants mature, the fiber percentage increases, and at the same time the digestibility of the fiber decreases. NDFD measures the digestibility of fiber by rumen fluid. We report 24hr NDFD as an indicator of forage digestibility. Higher digestibility = more energy available from a forage. Grasses inherently have a higher NDF digestibility than legumes. - TDN – Total Digestible Nutrients The sum of the digestible fiber, protein, lipid, and carbohydrate components. TDN is a measure of energy available from forage and is related to digestible energy. TDN is useful for beef cow rations that are primarily forage. Higher TDN values indicate higher energy available, cattle groups with higher energy demands require higher TDN intakes.