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Crops by Dr. Paul Tracy
August is crucial for making forage decisions
In May, I wrote about the perfect storm that hit our forage producers this year. Since then, severely low stored forage reserves haven’t been replenished.
I doubt that a late summer growth spurt will make a dent in our forage deficit. Additionally, August is always a critical month for sustainable forage production across the lower Midwest.
To many of our producers, August is a forage deficit month. Tall fescue, our predominant grass, is in the midst of its summer slump. Hopefully, clovers, trefoils, lespedeza, warm-season grasses and other species are present in enough quantity to get us through August without placing further stress on our hay and silage reserves. The following August management practices provide good options for forage production in our region.
Apply 40 to 60 pounds of nitrogen per acre to tall fescue pastures
This is necessary to stimulate enough fall growth to provide the longest possible stockpiled grazing season. I know of no other single management practice that will return as much fall/winter grazing forage per dollar invested.
Many people fear dry weather will not allow August nitrogen to be utilized. Nitrogen generally sticks around until rainfall occurs. The one exception is urea volatilization. We can reduce volatility by either applying urea nitrogen immediately before a predicted rainfall, using a non-volatile nitrogen fertilizer material or protecting urea with the urease inhibitor Agrotain. To maximize stockpiled biomass, keep animals off fertilized planned stockpiled fields for as long as possible.
Optimum phosphorus, potassium and aglime management
One of the universal observations made last spring was that alfalfa, clover and cool-season grass species growing under optimum crop nutrition programs had much less stress following the spring freeze compared to their less fertilized counterparts. Many of our lost stands correlated directly with soil fertility status. Phosphorus, potassium and optimum soil pH are critical for winter survival, disease suppression, forage quality, growth and vigor post winter dormancy/spring freeze, and general stand health. August is a great time to inventory soil fertility via soil testing and to get your pasture/hay fields on a sustainable crop nutrient management program.
Establishment of fall seeded forages species
August can be an excellent month to establish forages. For most of the perennial cool season forage species, I prefer August over springtime planting.
One of the primary reasons for failure to establish perennial forages is competition from weeds. Weed pressure is generally much less with fall compared to spring-planted forages. Roundup Ready technology would have moved more alfalfa planting to the spring, but thanks to our legal system, that option is currently unavailable.
Primary forage species that can be established in August in our region include: alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, smooth bromegrass, ladino clover, tall fescue, orchardgrass, redtop, reed canarygrass and timothy. I prefer to wait until September to seed the winter-annual forages like Marshall Ryegrass, hairy vetch, barley, wheat and triticale.
Efficient harvest scheduling
We should manage harvest schedules to optimize current biomass without sacrificing stand persistence. Many forage species require a fall rest period. This period generally occurs 6 weeks prior to the first killing frost. Try to time an early August harvest such that a sequential harvest can be made in early September. After mid-August, you should wait until September to harvest crops that require a fall rest period. Now is a good time to clip fescue seed heads or graze/hay fescue evenly before stimulating new growth with a planned nitrogen application. This will help reduce fescue toxicosis, eliminate some weed competition, stimulate fescue tiller initiation and provide an environment conducive to maximum stockpiled forage production.
Weed inventory and control of selected perennial species
August is an excellent time to inventory pasture weeds as most species (except for winter annuals) are present and easy to identify at this time. Depending upon weed species present, August can be the right or wrong time to attempt control efforts. Generally, August is too late to control annual weeds. Now is not a good time to control biennials (musk thistle, poison hemlock, teasel, etc.). Wait until fall emergence or springtime to address these species. Brambles are not effectively controlled by August treatments, as they respond best to foliar herbicides applied earlier in the season. Only the perennials (ironweed, goldenrod, chicory, sericea lespedeza, etc.) can and should be controlled via August herbicide treatments. Don’t let these species get too mature before treatment.
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