HomeAg & Natural ResourcesMay 21, 2024 Forage Quality Scissors Cut Results

May 21, 2024 Forage Quality Scissors Cut Results

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
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

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

 

 

 

 

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.