The William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute April 2015 … · 2015-09-29 · a key substrate for the synthesis of glucose and milk lactose. Typically 55 to 75% of dietary

It looks as if we’ll have an old-fashioned spring this year in Northern New York: Too much mud season, cold days that last far too long into March, and weather that changes on a dime. And yet after a cold and interminably long winter, both cows and people seem to have a spring in their step as winter recedes and April arrives.

Granted, “a spring in their step” and “cows” don’t ordinarily go together. But, spring is an ideal time of year to focus on the important role that mobility and exercise play for dairy cattle (and I suppose humans too). With the trend toward greater confi nement in modern dairy herds, the opportunity for exercise has sometimes diminished. Depending on the design of the housing facility and management factors (such as stocking density), the space per cow will have a substantial impact on the amount of exercise a cow receives each day. Inadequate exercise may be an especially acute problem for tie-stall dairies if cows are rarely released for exercise. We need to remember that dairy cattle have a behavioral and physiological need for natural mobility and therefore they try to exercise frequently.

Cattle travel predictable distances during their daily activities on free range. Even when the need to travel has been removed as in a confi nement dairy barn, cattle

still attempt to travel and move around the pen. Maintaining a minimum level of activity keeps animals physically fi t. Physical fi tness is important for the ability of the cow to respond to physiological and metabolic demands associated with parturition and lactation.

Michigan State researchers found that exercised dry cows lasted longer on a treadmill than non-exercised cows during fi tness tests conducted after varying regimens of exercise. Exercised cows had a greater reduction in heart rate and plasma lactate indicating improved fi tness and had fewer metabolic problems associated with over-conditioning at calving. Other research has found that exercise has consistent health benefi ts for both the dry and lactating cow. Exercise is associated with reduced incidence of fatty livers, fewer metabolic problems at calving, and improved joint health. Exercise also enhances rumination, claw health, reproduction, and overall cow mobility. Exercised cows require fewer veterinary visits and live longer.

Under research conditions, exercise is typically imposed on the cow with forced walking at varying speeds, distances, and time periods. Of course, a forced-exercise

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK:EXERCISE FOR DAIRY COWS

The William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute April 2015

In This Issue:

Alumni Corner: Farming with Knowledge & Technology 2What is the Optimal Site for Starch Digestion?

Rumen Papillae Adapt during Transition Period

What's Happeningon the Farm

7 SCR Profi les of Cows to Identify in your Herd

Cowlicks an Indicator of Attitude?

3

4

5

6

7Consumer Misperception is Ag's Biggest Obstacle

Growing & Managing Pure Grass Stands: Part II

Soil Water Budgets

8

9

10

Corn Planting: Haste Makes... 11

FARM REPORT

See EXERCISE, Page 5

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“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.”…William Shakespeare

The William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute Farm Report April 2015 ─ 2

Many components of our society are going through an information technology revolution. The ability to accurately gather, process and present large amounts of data from various sources gives us insight into how we can eliminate current problems and prevent new ones from arising. This already has and will continue to change the face of modern agriculture. Producers should be willing to seek out and try new strategies or technologies that may help them reduce costs as well as improve the environment.

There are many places producers can go to get honest and reliable information. University Extension, local NRCS offi ces, AEM Planners and Certifi ed Crop Advisors are the best tools a producer has at their disposal. Too often a producer is persuaded to purchase chemical and fertility programs that far exceed the needs of their land. It’s important for farmers to have someone to go to who can verify or disprove the validity of these recommendations. Whether it’s combating a new round of government regulation or attempting to decide if a new technology is worth the investment, fi nding people who have the producer’s best interests at heart is essential.

Farming with Knowledge: The environmental damage caused by pollution from the dairy industry can be directly related to lost nutrients that could be used to feed crops. Mismanagement of manure and over use of fertilizers and pesticides result in higher costs with diminishing returns; this is not sustainable. A dairy farm should be looked at as a system with imports and exports; imports being fertilizers and feed supplements, exports being milk and nutrients/pollution in the form of manure or silage leachate. By reducing the export of nutrients we will reduce environmental damage as well as reduce the need for imports.

Current manure spreading regulations attempt to keep nutrients from leaving the fi eld from an environmental standpoint, but from an agronomic point of view this will result in less need for commercial fertilizers. These regulations refl ect the change in mindset needed to keep moving forward. Producers should work with their AEM Planner and local NRCS offi ces to develop a sustainable model specifi c to their farm.

Developing a sound Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program is the other area where producers can reduce their costs while reducing damage to the environment and improving yields. Over the past few decades many farmers have become complacent using the same chemistry repeatedly for the same pests. This has resulted in many pesticide resistant pests that cannot be stopped. The solution to this is a better understanding of the micro-climate that our crops grow in and understanding the conditions that lead to a pest outbreak. A strict and regimented scouting program throughout the growing season along with a diversifi ed arsenal of pesticides with many modes of action is the best way to catch an outbreak and eliminate it before the pest can spread.

Farming with Technology: The amount of new technology being introduced into agriculture is astounding, from the advanced monitoring of individual cow health and production, to variable rate technology and advanced soil mapping to even Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) or drones. We have this technology to collect enormous amounts of data and then must use this data to make management decisions, which should result in higher yields and higher profi ts. Problems most often arise when attempting to gather,

process and present this data in a useful way. The technologies that are used to gather this data are becoming more and more complex as we move forward and require accurate calibration to work properly. Using technologies such as Green Seeker and IR dry matter tools without proper calibration can cause improper application of fertilizer and misleading harvest information.

Once we have spent our time and money implementing this new technology how will we know if it gave us the edge we were looking for? Implementing a new technology is impractical unless there is a defi nite method to know if it was worth our time and money. This is why any farm looking to enhance their crop yields through a new form of technology must have a way of accurately monitoring yield. Older methods have been notoriously inaccurate, but through a combination of chopper yield monitors and weigh scales it’s possible to get accurate yield information.

The face of 21st century Agriculture will be shaped through these techniques and technologies. They offer us enormous opportunity to take the next step as a civilization as we are challenged to feed an exponentially growing population. It’s important for producers to educate themselves as much as possible, but also to realize that they cannot know everything and be able to seek out those who have the knowledge and work with them to accomplish their goals.

─ Jonathan Kraus Jonathan Kraus was a 2013 Applied Environmental Science student at Miner Institute. He now works as a fi eld technician for Champlain Valley Agronomics.

FARMING WITH KNOWLEDGE AND

TECHNOLOGY


WHAT IS THE OPTIMAL SITE FOR STARCH DIGESTION?

What is the ideal site for most starch digestion? Is it the rumen or the small intestine? This topic has been debated by ruminant nutritionists for many years. It’s long been known that ruminally fermentable carbohydrates such as starch drive microbial protein synthesis when balanced with ruminally degradable protein. In addition, starch is fermented in the rumen primarily to the VFA propionate, a key substrate for the synthesis of glucose and milk lactose. Typically 55 to 75% of dietary starch is fermented in the rumen. However, excessive amounts of ruminally fermented starch can cause acidosis, leading to liver abscesses, laminitis, and poor milk production and reproductive performance. Furthermore, shifting the site of starch digestion and glucose absorption to the small intestine is more energetically effi cient compared with ruminal fermentation. Research has found that starch digested in the small intestine is 42% more energy effi cient compared with ruminal fermentation due to differences in heat and methane losses.

Although starch digested in the small intestine is more energetically

effi cient, reviews of studies where starch or glucose was directly infused into the abomasum or duodenum of lactating cows compared with ruminal infusions did not fi nd any subsequent increase in milk yield. Often there isn’t even an increase in supply of absorbed glucose to the liver, suggesting that glucose is used by intestinal tissue as an energy source. It’s been suggested that excess energy supply from intestinally digested starch is converted to surrounding mesenteric and omental fat tissue rather than energy to support milk production. Shifting the site of starch digestion usually occurs by decreased mechanical processing of grains, which serves to decrease ruminal starch fermentation. The small intestine can compensate for poor ruminal starch digestion to a degree. However, if excessive amounts of starch are passing to the small intestine, some of the starch will not be digested, but rather excreted and wasted, leading to reduced total tract starch digestibility.

One potential benefi t to shifting the site of starch digestion to the small intestine may be an increase in metabolizable amino acid supply that

can be used for tissue or milk protein synthesis. Glucogenic amino acids are often used as a source of energy by the small intestine due to the limited supply of glucose in most ruminant diets. If the supply of glucose from starch increases, glucogenic amino acids will be spared from catabolism for energy and can be used for protein synthesis. Unfortunately, this does not appear to be the case since research has found that increasing the supply of glucose or starch to the small intestine does not result in an increase in metabolizable amino acid supply.

So what is the ideal site for starch digestion? Most starch should be targeted for ruminal digestion. Shifting the site of starch digestion to the small intestine doesn’t increase milk yield or supply of metabolizable amino acids. In addition, ruminal starch digestion will maximize microbial protein synthesis, supply propionate for milk lactose synthesis, and allow for increased total tract starch digestion.

─ Shane [email protected]

* References available on request.

STARTER FERTILIZER FOR CORNThe mid-February issue of Farm Journal had an excellent article on starter fertilizers. Field trials found higher yields with dual placement of in-furrow (AKA “pop-up”) fertilizer plus starter fertilizer in a 2”x2” band vs. either one alone. The article noted that the in-furrow fertilizer gets the corn seedlings off to a good start, and like handing off a baton, then passes it on to the band fertilizer.

The in-furrow rates were 3 gallons/acre of a zero-K fertilizer and 5 gallons/acre of a low-salt, low-K fertilizer. The key is limiting potassium in the seed furrow —

potassium chloride is a salt. These rates don’t provide nearly enough fertilizer for most fi elds, which is why using in-furrow fertilizer alone resulted in much lower yields than did dual placement. All treatments increased yields over the unfertilized control, but in one of two soil types the 3-gallon rate wasn’t economical since the fertilizer cost exceeded the value of higher corn yield. Unless soil fertility is very high, relying on 3-5 gallons/acre of in-furrow alone is like turning around to pass the baton and fi nding nobody there. ─ E.T.


RUMEN PAPILLAE ADAPT DURING TRANSITION PERIOD

Dietary strategies used during the transition period to optimize milk production and health in early lactation dairy cows continue to evolve. Traditionally, a “steam-up” dietary approach was used in dry cows to provide additional energy in the form of fermentable carbohydrate when dry matter intake typically declined before calving by up to 30%. Also, the additional energy was thought to ease the transition to the higher energy, more fermentable lactating diet. However, this dietary approach frequently led to transition failures since cows were over conditioned at calving or metabolically acted that way and then had excessive body weight loss and a greater incidence of metabolic disorders, such as fatty liver and ketosis, in early lactation. Currently, lower energy (controlled-energy) dry cow diets are recommended for use in one- or two-group management systems. The goal is to provide suffi cient energy to meet daily needs while not supplying excessive energy intake relative to requirements. The dietary recommendations are based on two decades of research that has characterized the metabolic adaptations that occur in the liver, fat, muscle, and mammary gland. Although the benefi ts for controlled-energy dry diets are well established, there is concern that a rapid change from a lower fermentable carbohydrate dry diet to a higher fermentable carbohydrate lactating diet may make the cows more susceptible to digestive disorders such as subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA). Surprisingly, relatively little is known about how rumen papillae adapt during the transition period.

Classic research from the 1980s indicated that it can take 4 to 8 weeks

for maximum papillae growth to occur when cows were fed extremely low energy, high forage diets followed by high energy, high grain diets. This research drove the recommendation in the 1990s and early 2000s that close-up dry diets should be intermediate in carbohydrate fermentability and energy between the far-off dry diet and the lactating diet to stimulate growth of the rumen epithelium to increase the surface area for volatile fatty acid absorption and prevent low rumen pH (i.e. SARA). More recently, Canadian researchers suggested that with today’s far-off dry cow feeding strategies the regression of the rumen papillae is only moderate with absorptive surface of the papillae only regressing to 75% of that present during lactation. Also, the surface area is restored within 2 to 3 weeks with close-up dry diets. However, there is some evidence that fresh cows still experience SARA, in part due to the decrease in dry matter intake that occurs at calving and its negative impact on rumen epithelial function. Rumen epithelial function might be more important than papillae surface area.

Another group of Canadian researchers fed cows a controlled energy dry diet followed by a higher energy diet after calving and took samples of rumen papillae at -3, +1, and +6 weeks relative to calving. Interestingly, the rumen papillae underwent histological, morphological and transcriptomic adaptations in early lactation. These adaptations occurred in response to growth factors that changed gene expression patterns and infl uenced the epithelial structure. The researchers noted that by understanding the mechanism of rumen epithelial tissue growth and differentiation that it may

lead to novel nutritional strategies, feed additives, or bioactive ingredients. Butyrate, a volatile fatty acid from rumen fermentation, is known to stimulate rumen epithelial proliferation and papillae growth which increases surface area for nutrient absorption. Thus, Polish researchers evaluated recently a microencapsulated sodium butyrate product (0 or 300 g/d) in the close-up dry diet of cows for 30 days to potentially enhance rumen papillae growth and rumen adaptation to the lactation diet. After calving, cows were fed a lactating diet without sodium butyrate for 60 days. Interestingly, cows that were fed sodium butyrate at ~3.7 lb more dry matter intake during the last 5 days before calving compared with the control cows without increasing plasma beta-hydroxybutryate. Unfortunately, there was no effect of sodium butyrate supplementation on dry matter intake or milk yield in early lactation.

Until we understand more about the adaption of rumen papillae, proper dietary formulation and good feed bunk management will continue to be critical for the prevention of ruminal acidosis in our fresh cows. The risk of SARA can be minimized by 1) proper formulation of diets to optimize intake of fermentable carbohydrate, intake of physically effective fi ber, and endogenous buffering capacity, 2) minimizing the depression of dry matter intake as calving approaches, 3) consistent delivery of diets with minimal variation in composition, 4) continuous access to feed so meals are small and regular and thus avoiding slug feeding, and 5) inclusion of appropriate feed additives that prevent low ruminal pH.

─ Heather [email protected]


WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE FARMOur cows are fi nally coming back in milk after a big drop in production when we hit some poor quality forages in the bunks. Haylage was lower in protein and higher in fi ber than we expected. Additionally our dry matters for the haylage were inaccurate in the feeding program and for several days we were overfeeding haylage as a percentage of the diet. At the same time we were feeding through a layer of corn silage that was extremely low in starch. Needless to say, it was a bad combination of forages for making milk! After some inventory calculations we realized that we were feeding through the fi eld of immature corn that was chopped early (we had to get it off the fi eld so we could tile the fi eld before winter). That explained the lack of corn kernels in the forage sample sent to the lab! Once we fi gured out what was going on we opened a silage bag of nice 2nd cut and adjusted the grain to compensate for the lack of starch in the corn silage.

In mid-March we lost a 6-week old calf. We asked our vet to do a necropsy on her because she showed

no signs of sickness that morning ─ she had even fi nished her whole pail of milk at the AM feeding. Turns out that she had a mesentery torsion. This was the fi rst calf on milk that we have lost since March 2014 ─ kudos to all the barn staff involved in taking care of the calves! This winter has been brutally cold and long, but our crew has paid attention to detail and calves have thrived despite the weather. Heifers born in January posted an average daily gain (ADG) of 2 lbs/day by weaning in March. A side note: Average daily gain can be a deceiving number because short, fat heifers can have the same ADG as tall, lean muscled heifers. A wither height at birth and weaning would tell us if these heifers were using the calories from all the milk they have been drinking to lay down lean muscle tissue or store fat. We didn’t take that measurement on the calves this winter but a walk through the hutches and you can see that these calves are tall, strong and dairy.

It’s maple sugaring season here in the North Country, and several people

on the farm are involved in maple production in one way or another. Taps have been in the maple trees for a while now, waiting for warm days to get the sap fl owing. For those readers not from maple states ─ the sap is boiled down on a wood or oil-fi red evaporator to remove the water and concentrate the sugar. An instrument (very similar to a colostrometer, actually) is used to measure the specifi c gravity of the syrup and determine when it has reached the correct density. On average it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. Back in the early 1900’s Mr. Miner made syrup from the maple trees on the farm – two neighbors tap the maple trees on the property. Like so many other farming practices, advances in technology have changed the way syrup is made these days. The theory is still the same – collect sap, boil it down, bottle the fi nished product, but the tools and equipment have changed since Mr. Miner’s day.

─ Anna [email protected]

EXERCISE, Continued from Page 1approach is not practical on most farms (unless you happen to have children, halters, and time to spare). So, how do we ensure that cows achieve suffi cient daily exercise?

The good news for dairy farmers is that research conducted about a decade ago confi rmed that one hour per day of natural exercise in a paddock or lot results in benefi ts to the cow similar to more controlled exercise regimens used in various research studies. This study echoed the conclusion of a classic paper published in 1959: “Cows require no more exercise than is obtained in walking at will about a small yard.” The key words to me are “at will” – even in a free-stall barn do the cows have the ability to move freely, or does some aspect of design or management (such as overcrowding, slippery fl oors, narrow alleys, etc.) inhibit her ability to move freely – i.e. to exercise? Exercise is vital for cow well-being, health, and longevity and we must ensure that she has adequate opportunity for exercise.

─ Rick [email protected]


7 SCR PROFILES OF COWS TO IDENTIFY IN YOUR HERD

1. Calving - As calving approaches cows ruminate less and are restless. The SCR transponders at Miner Institute are over the water troughs and only download data to the system if the cow is close to the transponder. Unfortunately, cows that are calving usually don’t go to the waterer often. In the Miner herd, rumination drops in cows calving do not appear fast enough to be used as an alert before the calf arrives.

The SCR HR tag is a great tool for producers to monitor cow health and reproductive status through rumination, and activity. The datafl ow software translates cow data into simple and straightforward reports and graphs that allow a producer to accurately identify cows that need attention. Here are a few common rumination and activity profi les to look for in your herd.

2. Fresh Cow - A fresh cow that is transitioning well should show a rapid increase in rumination over the fi rst few days of lactation. When a cow has a metabolic disease her rumination and activity drop rapidly. This particular cow was treated for a displaced abomasum on January 27th; notice a very rapid drop in rumination and depressed activity level after a few days of lactation . After the surgery the cow recovered very slowly.

3. Heat – A Sharp increase in activity and slight drop in rumination will be fl agged by the system and displayed automatically on the portal in a report of cows in heat.

4. Check Collar - We expect a healthy cow to ruminate 500-900 minutes a day. Values as low as the cow on this graph show that either the SCR tag is not placed well, the tag is broken, or the cow has a physical trait that interferes with the tag.

5. Locomotion Issues — It is easy to see decreased activity in cows already identifi ed as lame, it is very hard to identify lame cows by just looking at an SCR report. Perhaps an insightful producer could modify a report to accurately identify lame cows. For now however, there is still no substitute for cow observation to identify locomotion issues.

See SCR PROFILES, Continued on Page 7


COWLICKS AN INDICATOR OF ATTITUDE?

6. Mastitis – Variable responses based on severity of mastitis. Signaled by a drop in rumination and activity. This particular cow got mastitis shortly after a heat. The mastitis was fairly severe and the cow had low intake for a few days, but she recovered after that.

7. Diet Change — The SCR portal allows producers to track rumination trends in the herd and to monitor rumination by pen. Changes in diet, disruptions in pens, or overall pen health can be monitored . Shown above is a thirty day report for a pen of low cows. On the days highlighted in orange there might have been a disturbance, change in diet, or cow movement that altered the average rumination for the pen.

─ Liz [email protected]

SCR PROFILES, Continued from Page 6

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to look at a calf and predict how it will fi t into your herd in the future or how easily it might be trained to lead as a 4-H show heifer? Looking at the facial hair whorl, technically known as a trichoglyph, may be an easy visual indicator of cow temperament, reaction to novel environments, and even breeding soundness. It’s hypothesized that facial hair whorl pattern and temperament are connected because hair follicles and skin develop from the same epithelium, or layer of cells, as the nervous system. The brain is the control center of the nervous system, so it is crucial for it to develop properly

to allow the animal to function and behave normally. So is a normal facial whorl indicative of a well-developed brain?

Several studies have used facial hair whorls as a tool to evaluate temperament. Location on the face, shape, and direction of the whorl are important features to observe.

Hair whorls are considered to be high if they are located above the eyes or low if they are below the eye line. You can note where the whorl is located laterally but it seems that its vertical location is the most useful. The ideal whorl to look for is one with a round epicenter that is centrally

located between the eyes. These cattle are the most likely to be calm, reasonable to manage and adapt well to novel environments. If a whorl is found higher on the face or is abnormally shaped, such as a lightning bolt shape, there is a greater chance

Above left: Betty is one of Miner Institute’s most easy-going cows. Note the counterclockwise whorl right between her eyes! Above right: Gump, another cow in Miner Institute’s herd, is a more aggressive animal and has a zig-zag whorl.

See WHORLS, Page 11


CONSUMER MISPERCEPTION IS AGRICULTURE'S GREATEST OBSTACLE

In 1900, 41% of the US workforce was involved in agriculture. In 2014, less than 2% of Americans are farmers or ranchers. In the last 100 years, consumers migrated to urban areas, increasing their social and physical distance from farming communities. As a result, the average consumer knows less than ever about agricultural practices. To compensate for this change, there has been a recent focus on consumer education among ‘agvocacy’ organizations. Concurrently, anti-agriculture groups launch expertly crafted media campaigns that further consumer’s distrust of modern farming practices. Agriculture outreach professionals are doing their best to provide clear and accurate information, but we are already one step behind.

There are several long-term challenges that face agriculture over the next 50 years. The population is growing, especially in developing countries, and global food demand is increasing as a result. Climate change challenges agricultural practices and urbanization increases the distance that food travels to reach the kitchen table. Water quality and availability threaten current agricultural standards. These long-term challenges cannot be overcome until agriculture regains the trust of the American consumer. The greatest challenge facing agriculture in the next fi ve years is improving the consumer’s perception of modern agriculture.

Recently, Illinois residents were surveyed about their perception of agriculture as an important part of the state’s economy. The response varied based on the distance of the respondent from a major population center (defi ned as 100,000 people or more). In counties in close proximity to major population centers, agriculture was ranked in the bottom half of industries. However,

respondents who are involved in production agriculture ranked it as more important. Although there are several economically important organizations in the urban areas of Illinois, the results of this study reiterate the disconnect between urban consumers and rural producers.

Consumer perceptions commonly reported by the media include animal welfare issues, environmental degradation, and danger associated with genetically engineered (GE) crops. Most negative perceptions are based on a distrust of technologies that improve agricultural effi ciency. In order to overcome the long-term challenges facing agriculture, it is imperative that consumers become more confi dent in modern agricultural practices.

Research shows that 56% of consumers do not report a primary informational source when they have animal welfare concerns. Of the 44% who do, the top sources included the Humane Society for the United States (HSUS) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Information providers from the animal industry in question were the least used public sources of information. Consumers often believe that modern agriculture has a more negative environmental impact than traditional agricultural practices of the mid-1900s. In reality, virtually all agricultural practices have decreased their environmental footprint on a per product basis. The US beef industry in 2007 used 70% of animals, 81% of feed, 88% of water, and 67% of the land than what was used to produce the same amount of product in 1977. In addition, the industry’s carbon footprint was reduced by 16.3%. These effi ciencies are necessary to feed a growing population with less land, and must be perceived as positive by consumers.

Genetically engineered crops are not only environmentally benefi cial, due to a shift in herbicide use and reduction in pesticide use, but also have future applications in drought tolerance and nutritional enrichment. Research shows that consumers are more resistant to technologies that involve bioactive compounds, like GE crops, and least resistant to unnaturalness alone. In addition, millennial generation business school students portrayed an overall negative attitude towards GE foods in terms of health, safety, environment, and authenticity. The authors suggest that the student’s skepticism is based on nonscientifi c information, and communicating scientifi c information in a way that millennials relate to may improve their willingness to purchase GE foods. The millennial generation will be critical in policy making in the next 50 years. Educating this unique demographic in the immediate future about the benefi ts of progressive agriculture will make the long-term challenges easier to face.

Agriculture will not overcome the challenges of climate change, a growing population, and urbanization in developing countries without technology. However, consumer disproval may heavily limit use of technology if agriculture does not invest in improving consumer perception in the next fi ve years. All too often, agriculture is reactive to consumer resistance, instead of proactive. The challenge of consumer misperceptions of agriculture will be overcome in the next fi ve years though fostering positive discussion between the agriculture community and the ever questioning consumer. Only then can we successfully face the challenges to come over the next 50 years and beyond.

─ Melissa [email protected]

The following essay was written by Melissa Woolpert as an entry to attend the 2015 USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum through the Student Diversity Program. The essay prompt for graduate students was “The greatest challenge facing agriculture in the next 5 years.” More information about the

Student Diversity Program can be found at http://www.usda.gov/oce/forum/diversity/diversity_program.htm.


GROWING AND MANAGING PURE GRASS STANDS — PART TWO OF A SERIES

This month the topic is fertilization, thereby killing two birds with one stone since the April Farm Report is where I usually remind farmers about applying N to grass fi elds. Every grass fi eld on the farm should receive some form of nitrogen just as the grass starts to grow. Manure is the cheapest source of N but may not be practical because of soft fi eld conditions this time of year. If you want to maintain a fi eld in grass for a long time you don’t want to cut it up with ruts. Fertilizer N is the better alternative for these fi elds: urea, a 50-50 urea + ammonium sulfate blend or UAN (liquid N). Discuss sources and rates with your crop consultant, but generally use 70-90 lbs/acre of actual N.

After fi rst cut rely on topdressed manure to supply plant nutrients. In most cases one application per season should be enough, though many farmers apply manure at least twice each summer because it’s a convenient place to spread. If you can’t apply manure, use a similar rate of fertilizer N as with fi rst cut if you have species such as orchardgrass or tall fescue that can produce good second cut yields. Apply manure right after fi rst cut; applications made well after regrowth has started could result in harvesting some pathogen-loaded manure residues with the next cut. The root system of established grasses is so effi cient that I don’t recommend potassium fertilizer on pure grass stands unless the fi eld doesn’t get manured and soil test K

is low. In fact, I can’t remember our applying K fertilizer to any grass fi eld at Miner Institute in the last 25 years or so that I managed the crop operation. We did apply 0-0-60 at several rates on very low K soils on a fi eld we leased just to do this type of research. We seeded timothy, orchardgrass and reed canarygrass in replicated plots, and found that K application to established grass had very little impact on yield. And what little yield response we got wasn’t enough to pay for the cost of the fertilizer. In fact, I think that soil test labs need to recalibrate their K fertilizer recommendations for established grasses. The soil test K that’s considered low for alfalfa is often plenty good enough for grass. ─ E.T.

FORAGE QUALITY, NDFD AND SPOILAGELast month’s article from the Forage Lab discussed the effects of frost and fungal growth depressing NDF digestibility (NDFD), thereby increasing undigestible NDF (uNDF). With this in mind we wondered if it might be possible to use in vitro NDFD results as possible indicators of the presence of toxins from yeast and mold-inhibiting NDF digestibility. Here is a research paper that lends support to this idea.

A 2014 Journal of Dairy Science article authored by Santos, Lock, Mechor and Limin Kung discusses the effects of spoilage yeast on in vitro NDFD determinations. Lactate-assimilating yeasts can initiate aerobic spoilage of silages by consuming lactic acid in silage, which raises silage pH and allows other bacteria and molds to grow, further reducing forage quality.

The study involved adding a spoilage yeast organism commonly found in high moisture corn and corn silage to in vitro fermentation tubes of a typical corn silage and alfalfa based TMR . The treatments were; no yeast (control), 4.4 (low), 6.4 (medium) and 8.4 (high) log10 cfu of yeast/mL of in vitro fl uid. These levels of yeast cover the range commonly found in silages. Samples were incubated at 39°C for 12 and 24 hours and assayed for undigested NDF residue. The NDF digestibility was signifi cantly reduced by addition of yeast, up to 23% in the high yeast treatment after only 12 hours of incubation; 43.9% in the control vs. 33.9% in the high yeast treatment.

Aside from the detrimental effects of yeast on NDFD is the ability to document the toxic effects of yeast

on fi ber digestion through use of digestibility assays. This may alter our interpretation of low NDFD forages as something other than simply low quality fi ber. As we monitor digestibility of our forages through the stack and bunker silos and hit high or low NDFD values, what is it telling us about our entire forage management system: choice of crop, harvest timing, fi ll rate and pack density, the weather?

It may be worth tracking forage quality, NDF and digestibility as we feed through piles and bunkers noting changes in quality for future cropping purposes rather than simply short-term ration formulation.

─ Kurt [email protected]



SOIL WATER BUDGETSWeather is generally the single most important factor affecting crop yield variability in a given year, largely due to changes in soil moisture during the growing season. In regions like the Northeast, moisture is rarely limiting in the spring. In more arid regions, water is less abundant and a major expense for irrigated cropland. Crop water use effi ciency is the amount of water used by a crop per unit of yield. Corn silage takes about one inch of water to produce a ton of silage, whereas sorghum produces 1.5 to 2.5 tons of biomass per inch of irrigation water. In states like Texas and other arid regions that rely on irrigation for crop production, water budgeting is important.

The conceptual components of a water budget are simple enough, yet accurately measuring some aspects- like crop-specifi c transpiration rates- is a real challenge. The amount of precipitation (P) is easy to measure, assuming it is in the form of rainfall. Frozen precipitation is more diffi cult to measure, since its density must be known and converted to water equivalent. Evapotranspiration (ET) is the total amount of water extracted from the soil by plant roots (used for cooling and growth), plus water evaporated directly from soil. ET rates depend on crop growth stage, soil moisture and other factors. A cool

season grass reference crop is used to estimate potential ET (PET) rates in the northeast, and crop coeffi cients adjust for differences in PET and actual ET. Evaporation pans can also be used to directly estimate PET, but overestimate ET when soil moisture is limiting. Water loss via ET is a large portion of a fi eld’s overall water budget during the growing season. Depending on soil type/drainage class and the extent of subsurface drainage, water loss from surface runoff (R) can be substantial, particularly for poorly drained soils. Water fl ow from tile drainage fl ow (D) is a mixture of shallow groundwater and water from the unsaturated zone during high rainfall events. A portion of this water also recharges groundwater (DP). The amount of water remaining in the soil at a given time (S) depends on texture (e.g., silts and clays hold more water than sandier soils) and is estimated by measuring soil moisture directly.

Previous and current research at Miner Institute on dairy production, forage quality, and agronomic aspects of tile drainage sets the stage for the Institute to contribute to ongoing research efforts aimed at better quantifying aspects of crop and dairy water use effi ciency. While not considered a water-limited region, the Northeast has periods of water-limitation during summers that

impact both crop yield and quality. Look for more articles and data from ongoing research in future Farm Report issues.

Learn more about soil water concepts, agricultural drainage, and water quality at:h t tp : / /www.extens ion .umn.edu/agriculture/water/agricultural-drainage/soil-water-concepts/h t tp : / /www.extens ion .umn.edu/agriculture/water/

─ Eric [email protected]

SNOUT BEETLE RESISTANT ALFALFA VARIETY RELEASED

There's a new alfalfa variety developed by Cornell University available from Seedway with resistance to the alfalfa snout beetle: SW 9558SBR. We couldn't fi nd it in the 2015 Seedway catalog and assume that sup-plies are limited. However, if your farm is in one of the several Northern NY counties where this devastating pest of alfalfa is found you might want to check on seed availability with your Seedway dealer.

─ E.T.


CORN PLANTING: HASTE MAKES…...more corn acres planted per day, something important to farmers but at what cost? Unless you plant really fast, probably not much – but as usual the devil is in the details. Midwest research involving 15 locations found that planting at 6 vs. 4 mph increased the number of multiple plants and skips by about 2%. However, this had no impact on grain yield, which topped 200 bu. per acre. Ontario planting speed research at 4.5 vs. 7 mph found only 1-2% difference in the uniformity of spacing for both vacuum and fi nger pickup planters, with minimal yield impact. In fact, one Illinois trial found that stands with up to 10% doubles had higher yields! Therefore, in most cases planting corn at 6-7 mph should be A-OK assuming use of a well-maintained planter.

Seed industry sources report that there will be more small-sized seed corn this year. Small seed can result in population problems, especially if you plant at 5 mph or more, so you

should make time NOW (which is why this article is appearing in April) to give your corn planter a tune-up. This is particularly important with fi nger pickup units: Replace worn brushes to reduce the number of doubles. Finger pickup tension may also need adjustment, preferably by your farm equipment dealer’s service department. For air and vacuum planters read your planter manual since the various brands require different adjustments.

Be particularly careful with small rounds, some that don’t look much bigger than BBs. Small rounds germinate sooner under dry soil conditions, but avoid very early planting into cold soils. This could cause serious problems if the corn is planted a bit too deep. Research found yield reductions of 5 to 15% when small rounds were planted under these conditions. Plants emerging from small seeds are smaller but catch up by tasseling and produce the same yield as those growing from larger seeds.

Many years ago a neighboring farmer told Charlie Hesseltine that Charlie’s corn rows were crooked. His comment to the farmer: “You can get more corn in a crooked row.” Not sure if that’s true, but getting your corn planted on time with enough plants per acre is more important than small differences in plant uniformity. Don’t sweat the small stuff! Recent Wisconsin research found maximum economic returns for corn silage at plant densities of 32,000 and 38,000 per acre. However, milk per ton declined as population increased; for silage production I’d suggest between 33,000 and 35,000 seeds per acre, with the higher rate on your best land.

Finally: If you apply granular soil insecticides, note that application rate is infl uenced by planting speed. So if you increase planting speed you may not be applying enough insecticide. Calibrate your insecticide units at the speed you’ll be planting — and do this in the fi eld, not in your driveway. ─E.T.

the animal will be more excitable, nervous and harder to manage than cattle with whorls between the eyes or below. The direction in which the swirl turns is typically clockwise, counter clockwise, or radial. Swirl direction has been associated with handedness in other species, like horses, but not cattle. An animal that lacks facial hair whorls entirely tend to be more aggressive and easily agitated than those with whorls. In addition to temperament, research is exploring what other predictions can be made using facial hair whorls.Research has shown that hair whorl patterns could also be a predictor of fertility and growth rate. It was found that bulls with a round whorl between

his eyes were more likely to have high quality sperm. This is due to testicular development occurring around the same time as hair follicle development of a fetus. Studies have also suggested that

young cattle with higher whorls tend to grow faster. Heifers with high whorls have been shown to be signifi cantly heavier than those with medial and low whorls after 360 days in age. While hair whorls are only one of many factors that may affect temperament, fertility, and growth, it is safe to say that this easily identifi able trait may provide important information when making culling decisions. Evaluating hair whorls can be done at any stage of life because hair patterns never change...and they are free of charge!

─ Alyssa [email protected]


WHORLS, Continued from Page 7


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Maple producer Robert Atwood explains maple production to participants of a recent conference of NY Agri-Women at the sugarhouse he rents from Miner Institute.

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The William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute April 2015 … · 2015-09-29 · a key substrate for the synthesis of glucose and milk lactose. Typically 55 to 75% of dietary