Extension Report

Baldwin County Extension Office

302A Byrne Street

Bay Minette, AL  36507

Telephone (251) 937-7176 or

928-0860/943-5061 ext. 2222

FAX (251) 937-7285

Ken Kelley

Regional Extension Agent/Animal Science

October, 5, 2010

Reminders for This Fall         

Finally, it is starting to cool down. Folks will be getting ready to plant for their animals this fall. Whether you are planting for cattle, horses, goats or deer, there are some things to keep in mind. There are also some tools that are out there for you to use. Let’s take a few minutes and think about all of these. 

First, what will I plant? Now there is a good question. If we are considering livestock, there are extension publications on planting of both grasses and legumes. These are available either by going to the extension office or visiting the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) animal science and forages website at www.aces.edu/animalforage  . These publications go over the basics of planting of grasses and legumes, including rates, depth of planting, recommended planting dates, etc. There is also another good source of information on current varieties of small grains and ryegrass. (By the way, small grains can include staples like wheat, oats and rye…as well as other lesser known forages such as triticale). There are Research and Extension Centers located throughout the state of Alabama. These centers do a phenomenal amount of research work each year on a variety of different crops. Small grains and ryegrass are evaluated each year, and the data collected is available to the public. This data can help you compare apples to apples! You can look and see how oat production compares to rye production (on a tonnage per acre basis), as well as how individual varieties of a given forage compare to each other. This data is available in yearly numbers, as well as averages across several years. You can find a link to this data by going to the ACES animal science and forages website at www.aces.edu/animalforage . These tools can help you decide types and varieties of forage that you would like to plant. For the deer hunters, there are also some excellent publications available. These can be found by going to the main ACES website, www.aces.edu , choosing the “publications” tab and navigating to the Forestry and Wildlife section. 

Now, how about some other tools that we have in the shed… First, soil samples…I know what you are thinking, and yes it is mandatory that an extension agent mention the phrase “soil sample” at least one time while talking. Soil samples are the some of the best spent money when we are talking about planting forages. To state it simply, without a soil sample…you are just guessing. You are guessing, I am guessing, the guy at the feed store is guessing …If you have priced seed and fertilizer then you will know that there is no justification for guessing! It is expensive to plant forages. (To quote my dad, it’s expensive to do anything these days) A seven dollar soil sample can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. Enough said on soil sampling.

Here is another tool for you to consider. Precision Agriculture.  Precision agriculture involves the use of G.P.S. systems to help in production of crops. Row Crop producers have used it for years (come on now, you know you have always wondered how they got those rows so straight). The last couple of years have seen the adoption of these technologies by some progressive livestock and forage producers. Now, with decreasing technology costs (like anything else, the longer it is on the market the more reasonable the price is) and rising input costs (they might not be as high as they were a couple of years back, but they are high) have made these technologies much more appealing to folks. We have done several demonstrations with several producers where we let them use the units for a length of time to “try them out”. All of them have bought a unit after trying them. Think about it. Have you ever tried to keep up with where you have been in a field when you are spraying, or spreading fertilizer, or drilling in winter pastures. You will at some point have overlaps and skips in the field, there’s no way around it. By using this technology, you can eliminate a lot of this. This isn’t for everybody, but for a lot of folks it makes sense. If you have any questions on precision Ag as it relates to livestock and forage producers, give me a call or send me an email.

Finally, a word of warning. If you are a hay producer (or graze bermuda grass), you are probably already aware of what I am about to say. This year has been just about as bad of an armyworm year as I have seen. Most folks have sprayed multiple times. I don’t know of hardly anybody with bermudagrass that didn’t get hit by armyworms a couple of times this year. Looks like we are about to finally end the spraying of our bermuda hayfields and pastures. Here is the problem. Armyworms like winter annuals also. It’s still pretty warm, and there is a decent chance we could have another cycle of late fall armyworms hit some of our early planted winter annuals. Here is something to keep in mind. When we have armyworms in our bermudagrass hayfields and pastures, we can kill them and minimize a lot of the damage that they do…and even if we let them eat the bermudagrass to the ground it will come back. Winter annuals are a different story. They don’t have the extensive root system that our perennial grasses like bermuda or bahia do. So, if armyworms “invade” our winter horse pasture, or cattle pasture, or food plot and eat our stand of winter annuals to the ground…chances are that is the end of those plants. They more than likely will not come back. You will more than likely have to replant. There’s usually not a lot you can do about armyworms in winter annuals...by the time you find them they have already done the damage. I am in no means trying to imply that you will have armyworms destroy your winter grazing if you plant early…I just want you to be aware that the possibility is out there. Often folks wonder what kind of disease killed their grazing or their food plot. They plant and get a good stand. Then they come back in a week or so…and it’s gone. Armyworms.  There are a number of insecticides that can be used on small grains. However, it is imperative that worms be found early, and sprayed when they are still small. If you have questions about armyworms, or want more information on their control we have numerous publications that can provide a lot of assistance. And, as always, if you need further assistance on armyworms or anything else related to livestock and forage I am glad to help. I can be reached via email at kellewi@auburn.edu or by cell at 251-238-0373.

Email address: kellewi@aces.edu

Phone number: 937-7176 or 943-5061, 928-0860, ext. 2222

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture is an equal opportunity educator and employer.