First Cutting Updates Week of May 25, 2015
Betsy Hicks, Area Dairy Specialist
South Central New York Dairy & Field Crops
May 27, 2015
This past week, many farms have gotten into the thick of harvesting first cutting and several have actually completed harvest and covered bunk. Conditions in Chemung and Tioga Counties have been a little drier than in Cortland and Tompkins and have allowed a lot of fields to be harvested. Across the region, orchard grass has been seen to be fully headed and most all alfalfa is in at least early bud stage to budded, and some are at 30+ inches in height. For peak quality for dairy rations, remember first cutting alfalfa should be mowed at 28” in a pure stand to achieve 40% NDF! It goes without being said, but the better quality hay crop you put in now affects your production and feed bill YEAR ROUND. We anticipate that most all the fields we are measuring will be mowed by this time next week. If you would like to share your 2015 hay crop samples’ NDF and protein back to Janice and Betsy, please feel free to email them to us or give us a call!
The SCNY Dairy & Field Crops Team of Cornell University Cooperative Extension is monitoring alfalfa heights this spring to help predict quality and %NDF. Alfalfa height has been proven to be a reliable indicator of NDF values in the field for alfalfa, alfalfa/grass mixed and all grass stands. Results will be compiled and emailed on a weekly basis until first cutting has been completed.
The table lists the locations around the region where we have measured the alfalfa height, as well as the elevation. The table gives predicted harvest dates for a 100% grass stand, a mixed grass/alfalfa stand and a 100% alfalfa stand. Even if your fields aren’t measured, you can use the location and elevation as a guide to conditions that may be similar to your own. If the table reads “too early”, the height of the alfalfa in that field was too short to give a reliable prediction on harvest date.
The numbers that are indicators for using alfalfa heights for NDF content are as follows:
• 100% grass stands should be cut when nearby alfalfa is 14 inches tall, to achieve 50% NDF
• Begin cutting 50/50 mixed alfalfa/grass stands when nearby alfalfa is 22 inches tall, to achieve 44% NDF
• Begin cutting 100% alfalfa stands when alfalfa is 28 inches tall, to achieve 40% NDF
Predicted days to cut are based on daily NDF increases for grasses of 1.0% point, 50/50 mixed alfalfa/grass stands of 0.8% points, and alfalfa of 0.5% points. Predictions are adjusted for the coming week’s weather.
Typically NDF increases about 0.8 to 1.2 per day for grasses, with cooler weather being the lower end of the range and warmer weather being the higher end.
For alfalfa, NDF increases about 0.4 to 0.7 per day, also dependent upon warm/cool weather.
For questions, you can reach Janice at 753.5215 or jgd3@cornell.edu or Betsy at 753.5213 or bjh246@cornell.edu.
Look for our email weekly for the newest updates!
Alfalfa Heights - May 25, 2015 (pdf; 134KB)
- spreadsheet showing heights and corresponding predicted harvest dates
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