Earth Sciences Commons^™

Weed Control Strategies For Alfalfa Production, James R. Martin

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

The importance of weed control in alfalfa production should not be overlooked especially when you consider the high investment associated with this crop.

Management Options For Thinning Alfalfa Stands, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa "Queen of the Forage Crops", is the most important forage legume grown in the United States. It is widely adapted and is grown over a wide range of soil and climatic conditions. Alfalfa has the highest yield potential and highest feeding value of all adapted perennial forage legumes. It is a versatile crop which can be used for pasture, hay, silage, green-chop, soil improvements and human consumption (sprouts, etc.). As a result of this crops many merits, especially yield, quality and versatile use, it can be used successfully in many animal feeding programs.

Alfalfa Varieties, Jimmy C. Henning

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Few areas of forage agriculture are changing faster than variety development in alfalfa. The 1990 revised "Alfalfa Varieties" publication of the Certified Alfalfa Seed Council listed 26 new alfalfa varieties. Of the available certified alfalfa varieties, only 10 to 15% are public varieties. The remainder are developed and marketed by commercial companies such as Agripro, Dairy land, FFR, Pioneer, Vista, W-L Research, and others. The need for yield and performance information on alfalfa varieties therefore increases yearly. In 1990, the alfalfa variety testing program was re-started under the leadership of the University of Kentucky and Western Kentucky University (WKU). Three …

Procedures For No-Till Alfalfa, Harlan E. White

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Technology is now available to successfully establish new stands of alfalfa without the need for tillage and preparation of a fine seedbed. Establishing new stands of alfalfa no-till essentially eliminates the threat of soil erosion while the new seeding is becoming established as well as the resulting ruts and gullies which damage equipment and can be dangerous to equipment operators. In addition to conserving soil, no-till seedings conserve moisture already present in the seedbed. This, plus the dramatic reduction in water run-off, improves the moisture supply for new seedlings. Less time and fuel are required to seed using no-till methods …

Foreword [1991], Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

This is the front matter of the proceedings.

Kentucky Pride Hay Growers Association — After One Year, Mark Mattingly

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

High quality forages have been the "frontline" for successful horse and cattle operations for years. In Kentucky, we have grown, harvested and stored hay on the farm for as long as we have farmed. It is one of our principal forms of overwinter feed and has been grown primarily as an on-the-farm feed source.

Drying High Moisture Alfalfa Hay, Michael Collins, Blaine Frank Parker, George M. Turner

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

We all recognize the value of alfalfa in horse, dairy and beef rations. That's why we harvest over 17 million acres of this crop in the United States every year. Hay is a good way to harvest alfalfa because it stores well, provides long fiber in rations and we can market the surplus as a cash crop. Higher yields and higher quality mean more profit so we push to be sure we use the best management practices. All too often though, we lose part of all of a crop to rain damage. Some yield and quality is lost due to …

Hay Additive Review: "Where We've Been, Where We're Going", William C. Mahanna, Steve Soderlund

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

The losses from harvest to feed bunk are undoubtedly greater with hay than any other crop grown by the American farmer. The economic implications of reducing losses through improved harvest technologies is staggering when one considers the 75-85 million tons of alfalfa harvested out of the total 140-145 million tons of hay produced annually in the United States.

Alfalfa Producers: Do You Really Know How Good Your Alfalfa Is? Forage Analysis: Importance And Interpretation, Jimmy C. Henning

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Forages make up over 75% of the diet of all cattle and are the basis of cow-calf industry in the midwest. However, a recent survey of over 1000 livestock producers in Missouri revealed that only 5.6 % had ever had their hay tested. They gave several reasons for why they had not tested hay (Table 1). By a large margin, the greatest reason for not testing was that they did not see a need. This fact highlights the purpose of this paper and presentation at the 10th Annual Kentucky Alfalfa Conference. This paper will explain the terms used in …

Alfalfa Cutting Management, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa "Queen of the Forage Crops" is the most important forage legume grown in the united States. It is grown over a wide range of soil and climatic conditions. Alfalfa has the highest yield potential and the highest feeding values of all adapted perennial forage legumes. It is a versatile crop which can be used for pasture, hay, silage, green-chop, soil improvements and human consumption. As a result of this crops many merits; especially yield, quality and versatile use, it can be used successfully in many animal feeding programs.

Developing Alfalfa Varieties For The 21st Century, Jim Moutray

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

As we approach the end of the 20th century, alfalfa improvement is happening at a very rapid pace, New varieties are being released at the rate of more than 30 per year. During the past 30 years, the roles of public and private research have changed significantly. Emphasis in public efforts has changed from variety development to basic research accompanied by an overall reduction in funding. Private industry, which released less than 20% of the new varieties prior to 1960, has released over 95% of the varieties since 1981. Funding of private research has increased dramatically during this period.

Foreword [1990], Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

This is the front matter of the proceedings.

Putting A Top Quality Forage Program Together On Your Farm, Richard Brown Phillips

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

You know most of us here, and I am including myself, really don't have a super talent for predicting the future with a great deal of consistency, however, our interest doesn't have to be in predicting, but rather, just primarily in considering potentials and opportunities in the future. What do you say, let's take a little time to look at some of the opportunities in the forage industry. The nation's No. 1 cash crop.

Sampling And Testing For Quality, Buddy Sims

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is preparing to implement a unique and far-reaching program to provide forage producers with a detailed analysis of the quality of hay.

This program was mandated by the Kentucky legislature in 1988 as a means to enhance the marketing of Kentucky hay. A statewide hay testing and marketing program was recommended by a special legislative task force report issued in 1987 and has the endorsement of a number of agricultural organizations, including the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture and Kentucky Farm Bureau.

Marketing Kentucky Hay — A Reality, J. Kenneth Evans

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

As I write this in early December, Kentucky does not yet have a system for marketing hay. The above title reflects an attitude which positively expects a marketing system to be in place by the 1989 season. Many details of such a system have been discussed, some decisions have already been made and more will be made by the time you read this. Literally hundreds of decisions need to be made before hay is marketed in 1989. since these decisions will be made by a group of people (a producer Board of Directors and the KY Department of Agriculture personnel) …

Equipment And Chemical Advances In Harvesting And Storing Quality Hay, Michael Collins

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

In some areas of the country, many producers have gone to silage or haylage for storage of a portion of their forage. However, hay remains the most popular storage method for forage. Hay stores well for long periods and is better suited to cash sale and transportation over substantial distances than silage. Mechanical conditioning, which gained acceptance during the 1950's is probably still the greatest single change in hay harvesting and storage technology during this century. However, a number of other noteworthy changes and innovations have occurred in recent years which have helped to reduce the extent of losses during …

Alfalfa Hay: Quality Makes The Difference, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa "Queen of the Forage Crops" is one of t.he most important forage legumes grown in the U.S. It can be grown over a wide range of soil and climatic conditions, it has the highest yield potential and the highest feeding values of all adapted perennial forage legumes. Alfalfa is a versatile crop which can be used for pasture, hay, silage, green-chop, soil improvements and human consumption (sprouts, etc.).

Foreword [1989], Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

This is the front matter of the proceedings.

Evaluating Hay Quality, William C. Templeton Jr.

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

One of the frustrations to nutritionists interested in the feeding value of roughage has been that with all their book knowledge and technical aids no dependable scheme they could devise would consistently rank forages in feeding value, while the dumb ruminant animal could unerringly detect differences in their nutritive values.
-E. W. Crampton, 1965

Alfalfa Yield, Quality And Persistence, Michael Collins

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa management in complex because it requires the simultaneous consideration of factors that affect the yield of the crop, forage quality for ruminants and the persistence of the stand. Considerable research has demonstrated the importance of agronomic factors such as soil pH, drainage and soil fertility in successful alfalfa production. Beyond soil factors and cultivar selection, selection of harvest date is one the most important management factors that influence yield, quality and stand persistence.

The Alfalfa Plant's Reaction To Grazing, Paul Deaton

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Will the alfalfa plan survive grazing intensively by cattle? This question is asked most frequently these days.

Let's review the parts of an alfalfa plant to begin this discussion. Those parts are: Roots, crown and top growth. Alfalfa has a tap root which is used to store nutrient reserves for survival. It's ability to store these reserves and pull from them during times of stress (drought, cutting, etc.) makes it a very hardy plant.

Grazing Alfalfa — A Reality, John H. Wilson

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa offers an excellent opportunity to beef producers for receiving excellent performance. Exciting results have been seen for the past two years on the Thomas Farm (Registered Polled Hereford). A total of 1063 pounds of beef per acre produced this year, with similar results seen in 1986 - a total of 874 pounds of beef produced in 1986.

Weed Control In Alfalfa, Jonathan D. Green

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Since weeds which infest forages are harvested along with the alfalfa crop, total dry matter production does not necessarily increase with good weed control. However, controlling weeds which invade alfalfa improve the forage quality. In addition, maintaining good weed control may also prolong the productive life of the alfalfa stand.

If managed properly, established alfalfa stands can effectively prevent many annual and perennial weeds from becoming a major problem. Maintaining proper soil fertility, soil pH, and good soil drainage are some practices which help keep the alfalfa competitive against invading weeds. Other factors which put alfalfa under stress, such as …

Blister Beetles In Alfalfa, C. M. Christensen, Lee H. Townsend

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Blister beetles are Iong cylindrical beetles that may be black, gray, yellow and brown striped, black with gray margins on the wing covers or black with a red head. These insects are usually found feeding in clusters on alfalfa. They can cause severe sickness and sometimes death when livestock especially horses eat the live or dead beetles. They are usually not found in alfalfa in mid-July and early August which translates to the third or fourth cutting. Blister beetles (black ones, gray margined ones, and yellow striped ones) were collected in very noticeable numbers in several central Kentucky alfalfa fields …

Alfalfa Establishment, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa "Queen of the Forage Crops" is the most important forage legume grown in the United States. It is grown over a wide range of soil and climatic conditions. Alfalfa has the highest yield potential and the highest feeding value of all adapted perennial forage legumes. It is a versatile crop which can be used for pasture, hay, silage, green-chop, soil improvements and soil conservation. As a result. of this crops many merits; especially yield, quality and versatile use, it can be used successfully in many animal feeding programs.

Soil And Fertility Considerations For Growing Alfalfa, Monroe Rasnake

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa is a widely adapted crop which is grown across the United states and in many other counties. However, it is very sensitive to many soil and fertility factors which can limit its productivity. It is important to understand these factors in order to be a successful alfalfa producer.

Foreword [1988], Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

This is the front matter of the proceedings.

Marketing Quality Alfalfa Hay, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa hay is a potentially marketable-profitable product if--if quality is satisfactory to meet buyer's needs, if it is packaged such that it meets buyer's feeding program and can be transported efficiently, if in sufficient quantity, if storage site is accessible by truck or trailer, and if it is competitively priced. Meeting these minimum criteria only means the hay is potentially marketable; only after it has been sold does it become potentially profitable.

Feeding Alfalfa To South Carolina Dairy Herds, Fred E. Pardue, Terry Sudduth

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

The nutritional value of alfalfa hay is important if it is to be used competitively with other feedstuffs in rations being fed to South Carolina Dairy Herds. Excellent quality hay has high nutrient concentration, digestibility and intake. The appearance of good physical characteristics of alfalfa hay as well as other hays and forages along with the knowledge of harvest dates, stages of maturity, and other conditions are not enough and can be deceiving. Therefore, forage testing is crucial and very important.

Marketing Kentucky Hay — An Update, J. Kenneth Evans

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Based on soil capabilities, Kentucky could grow 2-million acres of alfalfa while increasing the acreage of corn and soybeans. Even more than 2-million acres could be grown if Kentucky grown alfalfa should show market demands making it economically competitive with corn and soybeans. Marketing is the key to developing demand which could make hay a $1-billion Kentucky crop.

Many of you have heard or read my comments on marketing hay. In this presentation, I will present a brief review of what I have previously said and then bring you up to date on hay marketing activities since the alfalfa conference …