As was predicted, temperatures dropped below freezing and much of Richland County (and probably much of Eastern Montana) did receive frost last night (9-11). While it definitely did frost, it probably should not be labeled as a killing frost as I don't believe it got cold and stayed cold for an extended period of time.
NITRATES
With that being said however, it definitely did frost and any time that happens and there is still forages to be cut, there is always some justified concern in regards to the threat of elevated levels of nitrates in forages that are cut after a frost. So I did some searching and found an excellent paper on the very subject, that can be found by following this link (http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=1bd24bc2-167e-4b02-9f21-2b7f9217312e).
The take home message from this document is that, forage quality should be a bigger concern right now than nitrate levels. Once the forage is hayed, test can be done on it to determine the nitrate levels and if the levels are high, then steps can be taken (such as blending) to mitigate the nitrate issue. However, if quality starts to deteriorate, there is nothing that can be done to re-gain the loss.
WHAT ABOUT PRUSSIC ACID POISONING?
Another concern with forages and an early frost is prussic acid poisoning. For those with pastures containing sorghums and/or sorghum-sudangrass species, prussic acid poisoning of livestock is a legitimate concern. When animals feed on these grass species after a frost, or if they are very young or stunted, the prussic acid concentration can potentially kill them.
For more information about prussic acid and considerations to take before feeding these grasses, visit this site (http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/forages/publications/ay196.htm)
The take home message here is that it is generally safe to allow animals to pasture these grasses 5 to 6 days after a killing frost. If the frost was sever enough (which I don't believe last night's was) that it actually killed plants and new shoots are emerging from the rootstock, these shoots should not be grazed until the new growth is at least 2 ft. high. In regards to hay, according to the site listed above from Purdue University, "the prussic acid content of sorghum hay decreases as much as 75 percent while curing and is rarely hazardous when fed to livestock."
Friday, September 12, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
Recent rains have delayed harvest....but most people are back in the fields now
The last couple of weeks have been wet, really wet; and although it is hard to get mad about having moisture to re-charge our soils, it didn't necessarily come at the most opportune time.
Harvest has been delayed for a few weeks now as fields have just been too wet to get equipment into. To add insult, to injury, a fair amount of the wheat crop that has yet to be harvested is now starting to sprout in the field. Many producers around the state of Montana are concerned about what the quality of our small grains will be once harvest resumes (which is slowly starting to occur). Here are some terrific resources in regards to the effects of wet weather on small grain quality and what to consider if you are contemplating using grain that has started to sprout as livestock feed.
On the Montana Ag Alerts site (http://www.mtagalert.org/) you will find four articles related to the recent rains, the harvest of grains and hay, and the disease issues associated with late-season showers. The articles found here include;
Hopefully the rains have subsided now and not too much of the crop has been lost. We are also at a point where seeding winter wheat should begin and, if the rain holds off long enough for fields to dry out, there should be ample moisture to allow the winter wheat crop to get off to a good start.
Harvest has been delayed for a few weeks now as fields have just been too wet to get equipment into. To add insult, to injury, a fair amount of the wheat crop that has yet to be harvested is now starting to sprout in the field. Many producers around the state of Montana are concerned about what the quality of our small grains will be once harvest resumes (which is slowly starting to occur). Here are some terrific resources in regards to the effects of wet weather on small grain quality and what to consider if you are contemplating using grain that has started to sprout as livestock feed.
On the Montana Ag Alerts site (http://www.mtagalert.org/) you will find four articles related to the recent rains, the harvest of grains and hay, and the disease issues associated with late-season showers. The articles found here include;
- What should I be concerned about with these late-season rains in grain crops?
- Rain causing issues in Montana hay
- Risk of mycotoxins in grain and hay
- What to do about wheat streak management this fall?
Hopefully the rains have subsided now and not too much of the crop has been lost. We are also at a point where seeding winter wheat should begin and, if the rain holds off long enough for fields to dry out, there should be ample moisture to allow the winter wheat crop to get off to a good start.
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