– Jason Hartschuh, CCA, Ed Lentz, CCA, and Allen Gahler
Orchard grass is headed out even in the Northern most counties.
Many forage fields were harvested this past week with many more to be harvested this week with the excellent weather ahead. This past week alfalfa fields grew 6-10 inches but didn’t rapidly progress through the maturity growth stages. In general alfalfa varieties with lower fall dormancy ratings will be smaller and slower growing in the spring. With the continuing maturity of forages and insect pressure from alfalfa weevil and armyworm, harvest may be the best option instead of insecticide application. Much of the forage grasses across the state are now headed-reducing digestibility and crude protein. In Ottawa County, the farthest north county in our survey, orchard grass is fully headed and Timothy and . . .
Continue reading Forage Maturity Across Ohio, May 22,2023
EDITOR’s NOTE: For more detail about the trade off between forage quality and quantity and how forages are utilized by the ruminant system, see this 7 minute video from our colleagues at Penn State.