By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor JONESBORO, Ind. — Even with escalating operating costs and growing competition with corn, one forage producer insists that hay production is still a profitable option for Hoosier farmers.
“Every day we are competing with $7 corn, but with the right people and equipment it can be done; you can be competitive with corn,” said Gary Hodupp, forage producer from Grant County, Ind. and host of the 2008 Purdue Forage Day on June 26. “It has always been my goal to get 10 tons per acre, it may sound a little crazy to some, but it can be done.
“Nobody cares about hay when its $3, but when its $7, everyone wants a piece of your pie. Some people think hay is hay, that’s not true in this marketplace.”
Hodupp and his wife Ann own and operate Hodupp Hay Farm, a 500-acre forage business near Jonesboro in north-central Indiana. The Hodupps cater to nearly 300 clients, with the majority of their customer base in the equine industry.
The Hodupps and their four children, Brad, Amanda, Tina and Madi hosted the annual Forage Day event inviting nearly 300 interested growers to their farm and family business. The summer day event was sponsored by Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service and the Indiana Forage Council.
Forage Day began with a series of rotational educational workshops combined with an afternoon of field demonstrations featuring the most innovative tools for hay producers. Demonstrations included mowers, tedders and rakes, balers, wrappers and other related equipment. Producers in attendance were also encouraged to bring a bale of alfalfa, grass or mixed hay to enter in the annual Forage Quality Contest. Results will be announced in a few weeks.
“Seeing the different pieces of equipment perform side by side is especially helpful. I’ve always felt that if someone has a need to purchase equipment, the demonstrations would help him or her make a more informed decision,” said Keith Johnson, Forage Day coordinator and workshop presenter.
Morning speakers and topics included:
•George Patrick, professor of agricultural economics at Purdue, Forage Producers and the Indiana Sales Tax
•Keith Johnson, professor of agronomy at Purdue, Considerations Regarding Forage Fertilization
•Lori Synder and Nicole Schmelz, graduate students in the department of agronomy and the department of animal science, Feeding Value of Co-ensiled Forage and Wet Distillers Grains
•Dave Robison, The CISCO Companies and Brad Shelton, Extension service educator in Washington County, Possible Double-Crop Forage Crops that Follow Winter Wheat
•Chad Martin, biofuels specialist with the department of agricultural and biological engineering, Attributes of a Viable Lignocellulosic Biofuel Forage Crop
•Dennis Buckmaster, professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue, What Size of Forage Harvest Equipment Should I Buy.
Double crop options With a late spring frost and severe drought in the summer, 2007 was a devastating year for many Midwest hay growers. In mid-2008, many producers still suffer from reduced forage supplies. With that in mind, Forage Day offered a particularly unique session highlighting double-crop options.
“Annual forages played a viable role in offering feed options in 2007, but those unusual conditions aren’t the only time to consider your double-crop options,” said Shelton, who led the session with Robison. “There are a lot of different options available, it’s just about finding the right one to fit your business.”
Shelton explained that double-crop opportunities exist following wheat harvest as a forage or grain, as a rotational crop between alfalfa seedings, a smother crop when replacing Kentucky 31 tall fescue and after harvesting grain crops in late summer.
He went on to describe three summer annual options: sorghum-sudangrass/ sudangrass, pearl millet and teff.
Shelton said that sorghum-sudangrass/ sudangrass is often seeded at 25-35 pounds per acre and is usually ready to graze within 30-45 days after seeding. He indicated a typical yield of four to six tons of dry matter per acre.
“However, there are some concerns with sorghum-sudangrass,” Shelton said, noting the susceptibility of animals to nitrate poisioning and prussic acid poisioning. “If you notice this, pull your cows out and proceed with care.”
Also pearl millet is another option as a double-crop forage, he added.
“Pearl millet is seeded when soil temperatures reach 70 degrees at a rate of 15-20 pounds per acre,” Shelton explained. “Pearl millet can not withstand cool temperatures as well as sorghum-sudangrass or sudangrass.”
An additional option mentioned during the session was teff, a relatively new seeding option for forage producers, according to Robison.
“Teff originated in Ethiopia and withstands dry weather very well,” Robison said, noting that teff is best used for hay production with 3-6 pounds needed per acre. “For best success, work the soil as if you’re planting alfalfa, teff needs to be planted very shallow, like an eighth of an inch.”
Robison said teff is a great option for growers looking to cater to cattle and horse clientele.
“Once news gets out about teff, and it already has, horse people will love it and everyone will be planting it next year,” he insisted, also cautioning that teff cannot survive a frost and weed control is vital.
To wrap up the session, Shelton and Robison reminded producers about the importance of fertilizer, keeping the economics of the situation in mind.
“Even if one is short on hay, date of planting and potential yield need to be taken into consideration, as purchasing more hay may be more economical and a sure-thing versus utilizing annual forages,” Shelton said. “As we learned in 2007, Mother Nature doesn’t always play nice, annual forages are definitely an option, but it boils down to how much risk one is willing to assume and how and when forages will be utilized.” |
