By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

GREENFIELD, Ind. — While the Midwest experiences glimmers of spring weather, Indiana forage growers wait patiently for green grass to sprout, hay to blossom and cattle to pounce out of the paddock to pasture.
But Hoosier forage and grassland growers say grazing isn’t as simple as just letting the cows out to pasture every spring and making hay is much more than hot summer days baling all day long.
According to Jason Tower, newly elected president of the Indiana Forage Council, productive forage and grassland growth requires good management practices throughout the entire year.
“The time we spend in good forage management practices will result in better utilization of forage during the grazing season and from a storage standpoint. Proper selection at the time of maturity allows high nutrient value in hay, which can meet the needs of cattle,” said Tower, who also works as the superintendent for the Southern Indiana Purdue University Agricultural Center.
During the annual Indiana Forage Council meeting on March 28 in Greenfield, Ind., growers and industry representatives reflected on a year’s worth of promotion and education of quality Hoosier forage and grasslands. Also, during the Council’s annual meeting, they elected officers and announced new members to the board.
Newly elected leadership includes Tower, Brad Shelton as vice president and Keith Johnson as secretary/treasurer.
The event also featured the Forage Spokesperson Contest. Two contestants participated in the contest, Gary Reding of Greensburg, Ind. and Dustin Johnson of Kempton, Ind.
Participants were judged on their professionalism, speaking ability and innovation and sustainability of their business. The winner, Gary Reding, will go on to compete at the national contest during the annual meeting of the American Forage and Grasslands Council June 23-26 in State College, Pa.
The Council’s mission focuses on educating Indiana growers on effective ways to raise quality forage and grassland and how to successfully market their product.
“Our major focus is improving forage utilization and helping Indiana producers increase yield, quality and marketability of hay in Indiana,” said Tower.
The Council invited the “best forage physiologist in the country” Jeff Volenec, professor of agronomy at Purdue University to share his thoughts on growing quality forage in Indiana.
Among a crowd of nearly 100 interested forage growers, livestock producers and industry representatives, Volenec shared a recent study on adjusting phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) to meet the needs of raising productive forage in Indiana.
His study specifically researched how potassium and phosphate nutrition alters physiological and biochemical processes in alfalfa roots that improve alfalfa persistence and growth. Volenec said recent results from the study indicate that it is critical to maintain adequate phosphorus and potassium nutrition of each nutrient in order to maintain alfalfa stands.
“Proper fertilization management is really important,” Volenec said. “And maintaining a good stand takes good treatment of phosphorus and potassium.”
According to Volenec, applying potassium to alfalfa fields generally results in greater plant persistence or longevity, while application of phosphorus enhances root growth.
“If you fertilize for high yields, you’ll see a slight reduction in forage quality,” he said. “With both P and K fertilization, you’ll have minimal impact on nutrient yield per acre. Generally speaking, if you fertilize well, you need to manage it effectively.”
Volenec and his team of Purdue agronomists measured four different tests of the effect of phosphorus and potassium in 28 total cuttings of alfalfa from 1998 to 2004.
Results from the Purdue agronomy study showed that the plants fertilized with P, but not K, died and they had lower overall yields than the plots left unfertilized for eight years. Plants provided with at least 200 pounds of potassium per acre and 25 pounds of phosphorus per acre were still productive after eight years.
He emphasized to those who apply phosphorus that it is important to keep potassium levels up.
“If you’re managing fertility stand even in meager amounts, clearly a little fertilizer goes a long way,” he added.
Keith Johnson, extension agronomist of forages at Purdue emphasized that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution for fertility success in growing alfalfa.
Johnson and Volenec agreed that the key to applying appropriate levels of potassium and phosphorus depends on your soil tests.
“We need to fertilize our hay crop with more than just rain, I mean really,” said Volenec, when referring to the effect of sulfur on soil tests.
“There are better ways of doings things and taking care of our environment so we can take our kids fishing more often.”
For more details on forage research at Purdue, go online at www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/forages