Regular Rains Improve State Hay Crop

Auburn, July 20---"Striking contrast"—that's how a forage agronomist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System describes the difference between the summers of 2000 and 2001.

"We have had radically different weather this year," says Dr. Don Ball. "Most hay producers have had good moisture during the season. Pastures and hayfields in most parts of the state look good."

County Extension agents from across the state echo Ball's observations.

John Pulliam, a Macon County Extension agent, says most farmers have made at least two cuttings of hay.

"Last year, most of them barely had enough grass for one cutting," says Pulliam.

In north Alabama, recent afternoon showers have kept producers out of the hay fields but Lauderdale County Extension agent Randall Armstrong says farmers aren't complaining.

"Our farmers have had a good hay crop so far," says Armstrong. "If the weather holds up through the rest of the summer and we get rain when we need it, we will be in good shape. Some farmers have almost restocked their hay barns already. We're close to having what we need to get through the winter. Some may even have hay to sell."

Ball says a well-fertilized and properly managed hybrid bermudagrass field with adequate moisture can generate 6 tons or more of dry matter per acre. That translates to about ten 1,200- to 1,400- pound round bales of hay.

But Ball cautions that one season of normal rainfall will not correct the stresses most of the state's forages have suffered in the last several years.

"Forages were battered by last summer's drought and the harsh winter. Many were overgrazed because farmers were trying to keep their livestock fed," says Ball. "Those are all stresses, and stresses are cumulative. "

"Any one of these would have been tough on a forage stand. Hit with all three, stands may be thin and not as vigorous. This leaves stands vulnerable to weeds, diseases and insects."

Both county Extension agents say they have seen thinned stands this summer that they attribute to the environmental stresses the fields have faced. Armstrong says weeds are a significant problem this year.

Mike Davis, an Extension agronomist at the Blackbelt Regional Research and Extension Center in Marion Junction, says weeds are also a problem in that region of the state as well.

"The last two summers killed portions of many stands, and the weeds are becoming a real problem where there is no competition from the forage grasses," says Davis. "The problem is even more complicated because farmers here have a lot of clover mixed in their forage grass stands. That limits the farmers' choice of herbicides to battle weeds."

He predicts that it will take many farmers three to five years to bring their forage stands back to where they were before the drought.

However, Ball says some farmers could use the thinning of their stands as a tool.

"It may be an ideal opportunity for some producers to seed clover into their fields," says Ball. "Clovers and other legumes can improve forage quality and animal performance, extend the growing season and increase total yield as well as fix nitrogen. This especially applies to seeding red clover or white clover into fescue or orchardgrass."

Ball says it's important that producers actively manage their forage stands. Producers need to fertilize stands when appropriate, scout them for disease and insect problems and possibly limit grazing. Farmers should contact their County Extension agents for more information on forage management.

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