There is a humorous sign one can sometime find posted in an office or business which contains only the words, "PLAN AHEAD" on it. The humor derives from the fact that the last few letters of the sign get progressively smaller and run down the page, indicating that the person who prepared the sign certainly did not plan ahead with regard to fitting the words on the sign.

Most people can identify with this sign. We know that planning ahead can often actually save time or at least increase the chances of an activity turning out the way we want. However, in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives it is often difficult to find (or take) time to plan ahead to the extent we should.

Planning ahead can increase the likelihood of success with forage production just as it can with other human endeavors. Now that the spring, 1997 planting season is behind us, it is time to begin planning ahead with regard to future forage plantings or forage management techniques. Here are a few examples.

Alfalfa

In Alabama, alfalfa provides one of the best examples of needing to plan ahead. The main reason is that the optimum soil pH for alfalfa is 6.8 to 7.0, and most of our soils tend to be acid. Thus it is important to apply any needed lime well ahead of planting time so that it can react with the soil before planting is done. Even if heavy lime applications are to be made to raise the soil pH, making the decision to plant alfalfa only a few weeks before the seed are put in the soil is risky business if the soil pH is 6.0 or lower.

The ideal way to prepare a field for planting alfalfa is to apply lime according to soil test recommendations, till it into the soil in late spring or early summer, and fallow the field until planting time in autumn. If the field is disked a time or two during summer to kill seedling weeds, this approach will help to deplete the supply of weed seed in the soil. Summer fallow also helps create a mellow seedbed which has good moisture availablity for planting alfalfa in autumn.

Another approach is to apply lime according to soil test in spring or early summer, till it in, then plant a summer annual crop such as pearl millet or a sorghum-sudan hybrid. This technique allows some summer forage production, creates a "smother crop" effect for annual weeds and grasses, and again allows the applied lime to be raising soil pH during summer.

Pasture Renovation

The renovation of cool season grass pastures to include legumes such as red clover or white clover should likewise begin well ahead of time. Although soil pH is not as critical with these clovers as it is with alfalfa, application of any needed lime during early summer will be helpful in getting the field ready for the planting of these clovers in autumn.

Furthermore, if there are perennial broadleaf weeds, briars, or other undesirable species which need to be controlled, this should be done prior to establishing these herbicide-sensitive legumes. However, it is important to bear in mind that a herbicide should not be used which will leave a residue which could be harmful to the legume seedlings (which also falls in the category of planning ahead).

Hybrid Bermudagrass

In cases in which it is known that a particular field will be established to hybrid bermudagrass the following year, it is advisable to scout the area to be planted to see if there are any species which need to be eliminated. In particular, control of common bermudagrass by some combination of tillage, use of a smother crop, and use of herbicides is needed. To fail to eliminate common bermudagrass is equivalent to inviting it to compete with a new hybrid bermudagrass planting.

It is appropriate to mention that the winterhardiness of bermudagrass is increased by having good levels of potassium in the soil. Building up soil potassium prior to winter increases the chances that a potentially susceptible variety will survive a harsh winter. This is particularly important for first year stands.

Another way to increase the likelihood of survival of a new bermudagrass stand or one which is being grown at its northern limit is to plan to make the last harvest of the year early enough to allow at least 4 inches of growth to accumulate prior to cold weather. The accumulated forage will go a long way toward protecting the stand during winter. This amount of growth is also desirable to have present if the field is to be burned in late winter, which is a recommended practice.

Species And Variety Decisions

Though it may seem strange to be thinking about winter annuals during the summer, it is actually only about 3 months until many producers in Alabama will once again be planting winter annuals. Therefore, now is a good time to be studying variety reports and thinking about which species combinations and which varieties of winter annuals would be logical to plant to provide winter annual grazing during the autumn/winter and spring of 1997-98.

For winter annuals as well as other types of forages there is also another good reason for making species and variety decisions well ahead of time. People who know what they want to plant can make arrangements which will assure them of getting the seed. For hard-to-get varieties, ordering the seed well ahead of time can mean the difference between planting the very best or instead planting what is merely in good supply (which may be only what nobody else wants to plant).

Summary

In order to really do things right, including properly establishing and managing forage crops, we usually have to do some advance planning. Although it may be inconvenient or even distasteful, planning ahead can often have a big payoff. In any given year it isn't difficult to find producers who would have been far better off if they had done a little more advance planning.