How dairy farmers can get high-quality forages

High-quality forages in your dairy herd's ration are pivotal to your cow's performance. Second-rate alfalfa or corn silage forage can mean less digestibility and poor energy by your cows, which hinders milk production.

• READ MORE: 4 Tips for Growing Alfalfa

"If you can feed more forages, your cows are going to get more energy and protein from that, and they are going get more from on-farm feeds," says Stuart Rymph, an agronomist and dairy nutritionist with Purina's animal nutrition research.

Here are Rymph's tips to stop leaving money out in the field and put more in the milking parlor.

Tip 1: Consider the value of growing alfalfa

As dairy herd size increases and farmers cannot expand acreage, many are growing more corn for silage with triticale cover crop in place of some alfalfa acres to get higher yields per acre. Unfortunately, harsh winters have also damaged alfalfa crowns.

"I am running into situations on some of these herds where it's almost 90% corn silage for forage. We have a tough time making that work. Cows can't run on just that," says Rymph. "Alfalfa's not a crop we want to lose."

The role of alfalfa in most total mixed rations has always been to provide ample levels of fibrous protein and balance out the energy from corn silage.

In the past, nutritionists helped farmers create 50/50 alfalfa and corn silage diets, which pushed farmers to get good quality alfalfa.

Rymph says cows get a boatload of energy from corn silage if herds are fed 80% corn silage and 20% alfalfa. However, that could mean insufficient protein to support the cow's fiber digestibility"But there's a catch — you never know what the corn crop value is going to be until after you harvest," he says.

Research shows that 40% alfalfa in the diet for many dairies is an ideal economic ratio, says Rymph"Alfalfa is the crop to have, but I think we've managed it into the ground, and we got to come back," he says.

Tip 2: It's all about the leaves

When farmers handle alfalfa wet, it means more moisture on the plant, which makes leaves more resilient during harvest and, ultimately, will increase overall quality and yield.

Out in the field, it's easy for the mower to get way ahead of the chopper, Rymph says, but farmers run the risk of having alfalfa get too dry.

"It could be good for farmers to wait for the dew to settle and stop chopping when it gets too dry," he says. "Go back into the field after the dew is down and pick that moisture up, which will help hold more leaves and not have them blow off."

If you don't wait for the dew, you are sacrificing quality. Rymph says even knocking off even 10% of alfalfa leaves can lead to a 20-point loss in forage quality, but it also is a 5% loss in yield, which is leaving money in the field.

• READ MORE: Alfalfa First Cutting

Tip 3: Keep cutting height high and tight

Research has shown that forages – like alfalfa – that are cut higher bounce back quicker. The boost can drum up a better-quality forage and, depending on your management, increase quantity.

"It will have more reserves and be a little greener material to start some photosynthesis and get that regrowth going," Rymph says.

In the field, the height of alfalfa can also indicate the forage's neutral detergent fiber (NDF) value.

According to a current study from Cornell University, a farmer cutting 100% of the alfalfa stands at 28 inches can achieve quality fiber that is 40% NDF content, because the plant's value can increase from 0.4 to 0.7 of fiber-cellulose content when cut. To achieve any desired NDF value, however, forages must be cut when the fiber values are lower because cutting at 28 inches or sooner will keep the NDF and digestibly the desired range. The NDF value increases rapidly as the plant grows taller and ages.

• READ MORE: Spring forage, drought stressed corn silage

Tip 4: Pay attention to tight harvest window opportunities

Getting into the field at the precise time can make or break your forage quality. Wet and cold conditions can push farmers behind on mowing schedules.

Depending on weather, a farmer can stretch cuttings of alfalfa. Rymph suggests stretching out harvest intervals from 28 to 33 days.

"We can get more yield per cutting and per acre," he says.

By getting in the field early and cutting forage at a shorter height, such as 26 or 28 inches, farmers could lose 250 pounds of dry matter, but the forage will have a higher quality because it's less mature, adds Rymph.

When out on a farm last summer, Rymph saw alfalfa buds popping up after the farmer had finished cutting the stands just 25 days before. The intense humidity and heat had pushed the alfalfa to mature faster.
Unlike his neighbors, the farmer would do an early cut instead of waiting for the prescribed 28 days because he wanted to capture the highest quality fiber from the crop, says Rymph.

"He didn't want to miss that window," Rymph adds.

The last alfalfa harvest should be around late August or early September. After that, the plant has time to rebuild reserves in the crown. If farmers give alfalfa time, it'll survive the winter, Rymph says.

Farmers also want to watch their windows to capture the right plant moisture level. Rymph recommends farmers start corn silage harvest when the corn crop hits 70% whole plant moisture, and start alfalfa harvest around 67% total plant moisture.

"I like to see farmers finish up before the forages get too dry; if silage or haylage gets to 63% moisture level, I want them to stop mowing or chopping before that, especially on corn silage," he says.

Tip 5: Adjust your equipment before cutting

More precision harvesting equipment gives farmers many advantages but can have shortcomings, such as adjusting the height of the header and width of mowers helps avoid harvesting rocks and dirt in fields.

Farmers should adjust mower cutter bars to 2-3 inches cut height. In addition, Rymph suggests changing to a flatter profile knife for disk mowers to reduce the need to vacuum dirt out of the swath later in the season.

"We need to make sure we are not gouging up the dirt so that the mower can follow the terrain properly," he adds.

He also suggests setting high heights for tedders, rakes, and mergers to avoid ground scraping.

"We're cutting these forages a little bit higher than normal already, but that's also helping us avoid gouging that dirt again," he says.