The Facts on Forage

As summer is near, that means forage season is also in full swing! This season has already showed us many challenges, and your Landmark Agronomy and Animal Nutrition teams are here to help you with any issues that might arise. Here are some points to keep in mind for your forages:

• Headline on Alfalfa- your best results will come on high productivity stands.  I would also recommend that growers tissue sample their alfalfa to see if additional micros such as Boron, Calcium, Sulfur, etc. are needed.  We have seen great results using particularly those three nutrients with alfalfa growers.  I also recommend adding a plant growth regulator (such as Ascend) to optimize regrowth of the crop.  These foliar products can all be mixed with an insecticide and Headline.

• Summer Seedings- it's never too early (especially in a feed shortage year) to have a conversation about summer seeding alfalfa.  I would highly recommend Round-up Ready to producers.  This is a great technology to start and stay clean.  It is a very gentle chemical compared to other conventional herbicides, so you will not stunt and set back the stand.  This means fuller and healthier stands for your producer, in addition to more tonnage and the possibility of an extra cutting, in the right scenario!

• Fungicides on Corn Silage/High Moisture Corn- there are two opportunities to apply fungicides on corn.  One is the stage we are either in now, or will be entering over the next few weeks throughout Landmark's territory.  This stage is the vegetative stage 5-7 (V5-V7) and this application can easily be made while producers are in their fields spraying their planned herbicide passes.   Landmark has a great team of professional applicators to do spraying as well!  The second stage (the one I prefer, if aerial application can be done) is the tassel through brown silk stage (VT-R3).  This is done via aerial application of fungicide over the top of corn.  Landmark also partners with professional aerial applicators to be able to offer this service.

• Feed Supply- there are still options to help producers get high quality forages, despite the drought of 2012 and the slow spring of 2012.  One such option would be planting sorghum sudan grass, which could be planted and quite possibly harvested up to 2 1/2 times this year.  There are even Brown Mid Rib options that are herbicide tolerant!  I would highly recommend working together with your Landmark agronomist and animal nutritionist to come up with the best plan for each particular scenario. 

**Your Landmark team is here to help you effectively manage the crop you currently have planted to help reach the highest potential.  We have just the right team to do so by utilizing our tissue sampling and YieldEDGE programs!





Joe Slosarczyk is a Landmark Agronomist,

industry leading expert and Certified Crop Advisor.
He shares his knowledge and expertise in this blog.
Joe can be contacted at 608.669.0896
or joseph.slosarczyk@landmark.coop