July 2011July 2011July 2011July 2011

Cover Crop Update

Radishes – Radishes as a solo cover crop continue to provide impressive results. Successful results have been achieved by drilling, broadcasting, and precision planting on 15 inch or 30 inch rows. The ability to grow a deep tap root helps recycle nutrients that have moved past the normal crop root zone. These nutrients are calcium, sulfur, and potassium. As I write this newsletter the corn has only been out of the ground for two weeks and I have already been told that the corn in radish fields has a greener look compared to fields without radishes. In order to achieve maximum results, I recommend applying 15-20 units of nitrogen as a starter.

Annual Ryegrass - Last fall’s weather had a definite impact on the annual ryegrass fields. The ryegrass field that I saw with the greatest success was seeded in August of 2010 after a dairy manure application and was fortunate enough to get a shower of rain after seeding. In another ryegrass seeded in August 2010, no success was achieved because it did not receive the rain shower the other field had. The field with success had a thick dense root system when I dug in it last October. Annual ryegrass that overwinters will go to seed head the next spring and this can be an issue of getting a lot of seed shedding that will cause a reseeding and a potential for a ryegrass that becomes a weed in your farming operation. If the ryegrass goes to head and reseeds in your field, the key thing to remember is to avoid tilling the soil. If you can avoid tillage, the seed will sprout on top of the ground and a herbicide application will eliminate the ryegrass. Triticale – The Trical brands of triticale continue to produce a high quality forage. Unfortunately, most of us did not get the highest quality forage that we desired this year. If you were able to get a high quality forage, some damage may have been done to your crop field due to the wet conditions. For most, the fields finally were fit to work when the triticale was in the flowering stage. At this point, protein and energy begin to drop. One of the options at this point, is to harvest it as is or let it progress to a milky-dough stage and harvest with a higher starch content. The option that I took was making a head straw out of the triticale. When the triticale is flowering you cut it for dry hay and over time it will lose it green color and turn into a bright yellow straw. Currently, I am using this for a dry cow and heifer feed, and they do not hesitate to eat it. Cereal Grains – With the wet spring the wheat and rye cover crops were not able to be terminated before they were 18 inches tall. When the cereal grains are above 18 inches tall there is enough carbon there to start making an unbalanced carbon-nitrogen ratio. When this ratio is unbalanced crops like corn will show nitrogen deficiencies as the carbon material from the cereal grains tie up the applied nitrogen. The way to avoid this is to add 28% N in with your herbicide application. Typically, 20 gallons of 28% N with the herbicide is enough to over come an unbalanced carbon to nitrogen ratio. On the other hand, the continued growth of the cereal grains actively pulls water from the soil to help dry the soil to allow the wet fields to be planted sooner. I talked with an individual whose soybeans are emerging and has yet to terminate his rye cover crop. Even though a situation may seem less than favorable, there are ways to manage around it.

Precision Planted Radishes– 30’ rows Broadcast Radishes Precision Planted Radishes– 30’ rows

Terminated wheat cover crop Ground cover after planting Corn planted into wheat cover crop

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Sorghum Sudan – The BMR 6 sorghum sudans continue to produce a high quality feed that can fit into our lactating dairy rations. These sorghum sudans are a great utilizer of nutrients following a manure application or by utilizing other nutrients that have leached past the crop root zone. From a nutrition standpoint, the BMR 6 sorghum sudans are an economical

substitute for corn silage in the ration especially with the current corn prices. In a recent dealer publication from Byron Seeds, they provided a little explanation on the NEL adjustment for the BMR 6 sorghum sudan feeds. In the past they have always stated a 10 to 15 point adjustment was needed to prevent overfeeding energy in the ration. In this recent publication, they stated if the ADF on the feed sample is close to 40 then a 10 point adjustment is needed and if the ADF is closer to 30 a 15 point adjustment is needed. On the soil health standpoint, the sorghum sudan provides a deep dense root system which helps bring up the same nutrients that I talked about above in the tillage radishes. Moreover, the biomass production helps raise the soil’s organic matter.

Timothy – This is one cover crop option you should not look by another year. Seeding 15 pounds of Timothy after corn silage or soybeans in the fall will provide you with great benefits in the spring. Last fall, the Timothy could hardly be seen because of the dry fall. When spring came it was still thin, but over time and with the addition of nitrogen, the field continued to green up. The water courses in the field were damaged because of the big rain fall in February 2011. I harvested the Timothy 7 days earlier than I normally do, since there was great drying weather. Overall, 1.2 tons of dry matter was produced per acre and it is in the form of a nice soft, leafy, slightly headed grass. After harvest, dairy manure was applied using an Aerway tool, and the field is greening up since we have been receiving rain. Sorghum sudan will be planted when the field is fit for working again. Even if you do not want a forage, but mainly a cover crop, I would recommend this as it is not as aggressive as the cereal grains and does not pose the reseeding threat of annual ryegrass. The fine root system and biomass production makes this a great soil conditioner.

Forage Plus Oats – The Forage Plus Oats can provide a lot of feed for the low cost of seeding them. These oats are seeded at 1.5 bushels per acre, at a cost of approximately $20.00 per acre. In order to get a large forage crop, seeding in August after wheat will provide the greatest return. Since oats are a cool season annual you do not want to seed any earlier than August, and you should expect to harvest them at the end of October. The Forage Plus Oats are a great source of digestible fiber.

Cover Crops and Weed Management

Summer seeded cover crops after wheat can develop weed pressures during the growing season. Depending on the weeds that pressure your farm the most, different cover crop options are available. The first weeds we want to address are the broadleaves, mainly marestail. I have not seen the large patches of marestail locally that are seen as you drive south. However, they will probably become more prevalent over time in areas where they have not been a problem yet. Wheat fields sown to radishes the last two years have had marestail come through even though they were sprayed prior to planting. The problem with marestail is that it has become glyphosate resistant and the pre-application of glyphosate does not control the marestail. If you have noticed this to be a problem and would like to address it in a different manner you may want to try the following. In this situation switch your cover crop to a sorghum sudan. The sorghum sudan will deep root like radishes and provide a lot of organic matter. After seeding, and pre-emergence apply 2 pounds of atrazine per acre and 1 pint of 2,4-D per acre. This will give you good broadleaf control, including the marestail. However, grasses will not be controlled, but the aggressiveness of the sorghum sudan will help control the grasses. Also to ensure no herbicide carry over, corn shall be the following crop. The next weed issue to discuss with cover crops is grass. Primarily, this problem exists with volunteer wheat in radishes. Last year, I recommended an application of glyphosate prior to seeding tillage radishes to control any volunteer wheat. This probably would have worked out if all of the wheat was sprouted at the time of application. There was a three week period between harvest and glyphosate application, but there was not enough moisture to sprout all of the wheat and now in 2011 volunteer wheat is prevalent. If you plan to seed tillage radish this summer and want to control annual and perennial grasses an application of 6-8 ounces of Select, along with a proper balance of crop oil will help control these grasses. These are two scenarios of using the proper cover crop and herbicide to help you gain better control of weeds. If you are using other cover crops always check with an agronomist prior to herbicide application.

Timothy– October 26, 2010 Timothy - May 23, 2011 Timothy - June 2, 2011

Sorghum Sudan - 45 Days Growth

Sorghum Sudan Roots - 48 days

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Cover Crop Test Plot

The following data is from a cover crop test plot that was planted in 2009 in Darke County, OH. The plot was managed by Greg McGlinch at the Darke SWCD. The purpose of the plot was to utilize manure nutrients after manure applications to wheat stubble. Tiffany Teff, Tillage Radishes, and Haymaker Sudan were the cover crops used in the plot. Each cover crop had three replications of 1.6 acres and each replication was divided into 4 – 0.4 acre plots that were treated as follows: Plot 1 – No cover crop and no manure application, Plot 2 – No cover crop and manure application, Plot 3 – Cover crop and manure application, and Plot 4 – Cover crop and no manure application. These plots were planted into corn in 2010 and the following is the data obtained at corn harvest.

Sorghum Sudan Plots

NC-NM 199.40 Bu/Ac

NC-M 219.64 Bu/Ac

CC-M 242.56 Bu/Ac

CC-NM 201.79 Bu/Ac

Tillage Radish Plots

NC-NM 173.21 Bu/Ac

NC-M 209.82 Bu/Ac

CC-M 223.21 Bu/Ac

CC-NM 225.30 Bu/Ac

Tiffany Teff Plots

NC-NM 202.68 Bu/Ac

NC-M 202.68 Bu/Ac

CC-M 262.80 Bu/Ac

CC-NM 231.55 Bu/Ac

Kingfisher 444

• Perfect disease resistance • High resistance to Race 2 Aphanomyces • Resists Leaf hopper yellowing • Wide area of adaptation and soil types • Extremely winter hardy • Resists heaving • Tolerates wetter soils • Very high yields • Long stand life • Yields in heavy traffic areas • Tolerates grazing • Great quality with high leaf to stem ration • Can have both branchroot and taproot Disease Resistance: 30 Fall Dormancy: 4 Winter Survival: 1.5 Forage Quality: High Leaf to Stem: Excellent Persistence: �����

Kingfisher 243 - StandFast

• An Alfalfa for the aggressive manager, cutting every 26 - 28 days

• 30% faster growing - extra 6” - 7” growth in the first 21 days

• Bigger yield in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th crops • Showy variety with a dense canopy that helps suppress

weed growth • Multifoliate - finer stemmed than other StandFast

alfalfas, great leaf to stem ratio • In trials, 243 is the leader in yield • Has late Fall growth Disease Resistance: 29 Fall Dormancy: 5 Winter Survival: 2.0 Forage Quality: Very Good Leaf to Stem: Excellent Persistence: �����

Kora Tall Fescue

• High NDFd • Great for dry hay • Tremendous Yields Leaf Texture: 6 Maturity: 9 Digestibilty: 10 Winter Hardiness: 9 Grazing Palatability: 7

1= least desirable 10 = most desirable Rating value only comparable of Byron products within Tall Fescue only

Kootenai - Timothy

• Early heading • Very high yields • Great for double cropping Maturity: 3 Palatability: 6 Digestibility: 6 Winter Hardiness: 9 Suitability for Grazing: 5

1= least desirable 10 = most desirable Rating value only comparable of Byron products within Timothy only

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE

PAID CELINA, OH PERMIT NO. 47

Contact Information

Tim Brunswick

419-852-3477 (cell) 419-375-1047 (home)

Benco Poly Film July Prices

Plastar Silage Bags - 9 mil Thickness 9’ x 250’ $530.00 10’ x 250’ $590.00 9’ x 300’ $627.00 10’ x 300’ $698.00

Price subject to change

Hay Saver 68% Acid - $1.05/lb 2400# Tote 480# Barrel * Can be used for High Moisture Corn

Intensiv - Orchard Grass

• Excellent drought tolerance • Very winter hardy • Excellent disease resistance • Late heading Maturity: 9 Palatability: 9 Rust Resistance: 9 Density: 8 Winter Hardiness: 10

1= least desirable 10 = most desirable Rating value only comparable of Byron products within Orchard Grass only

Athos - Orchard grass

• Good drought tolerance • Tremendous leafy and soft • Very late heading with quality • Excellent palatability Maturity: 9 Palatability: 10 Rust Resistance: 10 Density: 10 Winter Hardiness: 7

1= least desirable 10 = most desirable Rating value only comparable of Byron products within Orchard Grass only