Jason Hartschuh, Dairy Management and Precision Livestock, Field Specialist
Warm 
weather this spring especially over the last couple of weeks has rapidly progressed forage maturity. Harvesting forages at the proper time for the livestock you are feeding is critical to farm profitability. Poor quality forages must be supplemented to maintain livestock. In the southern part of the state, many forage grasses are in head while in the northern part of the state, some varieties of Orchard grass and barnyard grass are in head but most are still in the vegetative stage but will be in head within a week.
means rapid forage growth, but it also means rapid weed growth. Due to the variability of spring weather, there are often only a few opportunities to control emerging summer annual weeds, winter annuals missed in the fall, and biennials that are small enough to effectively control. To manage weeds before they become a problem in forages, it is important to scout and plan accordingly. Forage is a broad category, and the spring weed control plan can look very different between species and operations. The problem weeds and whether control is necessary are going to be different between permanent pasture systems and alfalfa fields, and highly dependent on the consequences of specific weeds.
fall period for alfalfa has been said to start about six weeks before the first killing frost, which is roughly around the first week of September for most of the Midwest. This hard stop in harvest schedules is supposed to ensure plants store enough energy in their roots to survive the winter, but with improved alfalfa varieties, variable stand conditions, and warmer weather patterns, how critical can this period really be?
2nd cutting is well underway. Potato leafhoppers are very active. If you haven’t cut yet, continue to monitor, where damage is increasing, cut as soon as weather permits.
Our corn growth varies greatly throughout the county. Some fields are beginning to tassel and some field are at V8.
Soybeans are starting to look a little bit better, however, there are still a lot of “yellow” beans throughout the county. Two possible reasons are 
Wheat harvest has come to an end and most of the straw is in the barn. From what I hear, wheat yields were pretty good with little to no disease issues.
