Photo courtesy of Crops and Soils Division of Extension
The seemingly never-ending rains this season have been detrimental to the establishment and growth of many crops. Because of this, many farmers are scrambling to find additional feed options for their livestock.
Enter, Tom Kilcer.
Tom is an experienced professional with 34 years of Cooperative Extension consulting/education plus extensive field research experience in applied agriculture. For the last 3 years he has been conducting cutting edge research on forage, plant nutrition, and bio-industrial crops in partnerships with both university and private industry.
Lucky for us, he came to speak on August 2nd at the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center in Manitowoc and provided many options for farmers to get some emergency feed in before winter is upon us!
Emergency Forage 101
Record amounts of rainfall have impacted Wisconsin in 2024; southeastern WI alone has seen the third wettest spring on record according to the NWS. As for total precipitation, WI State Climatology Office shows Wisconsin has been above average for precipitation since March.
Due to these high amounts of rain, farmers either were not able to get in their fields to plant their crops or were forced to plant their crops into wet soils. These wet soils can cause a host of issues, including slug infestations, poor seed to soil contact, compaction, reduced air exchange, etc. All of which can slow, or even destroy, any possible growth. Without proper growth of these crops, farmers must now find ways to supplement feed for their livestock. This could include purchasing feed or trying to get another crop in before winter.
Although we cannot alter what Mother Nature has in store for us, we can find alternatives to feed for livestock. This could include purchasing additional feed or trying to get another crop planted and well established before winter (aka emergency forage!)
Photo courtesy of Wisconsin DNR
What Emergency Forage Options Are There?
In order to determine the best crop for emergency forage, you would need to determine when and how it will be utilized, the forage quality needed, and the seed availability and cost.
Tom suggested the following as last minute options when short on forage:
If you already have cool season grass field established, his recommendation is to apply nitrogen this fall (and additionally in spring so crop is still good for next year). Be sure not to cut any shorter than 4" in height because this will kill the grass and not allow for regrowth.
60 day mature BMR master graze corn. He recommended you plant these in 15" rows at 55,000 plants to the acre with use of homolactic bacteria.
BMR Sudangrass is another option if you milk cows and want a high fiber digestibility. For best results, he recommends you take it off at boot stage and then no-till winter triticale after
Oats are another really good option for feed! Plant it at the beginning of August at 100 lbs/ac and harvest at the end of September. Rust can sometimes be an issue so be sure to get rust resistant varieties. This would especially be a good option to mix in with your hay that may not have performed as well as needed.
The last option Tom suggested was his biggest and best yet... WINTER TRITICALE! Tom argues this is the best option due to the improvements it makes to soil structure for next crops and the benefits is has on better milk production. Take a look at these suggestions when it comes to utilizing this emergency forage option:
Make sure to get this in the ground early! The first few days of September are ideal, any later and you will not see enough growth.
He recommends a shorter season corn and to get high digestibility variety
Fall nitrogen application is critical!
Do not plant winter rye with triticale! Harvesting one will not allow for proper harvest time of the other.
Purchase certified seed and not bin run, and ALWAYS apply seed treatment.
Seed should be planted at 1- 1 1/4" deep and only at 100 lbs/ac. Any more is just lost money!
Triticale will need 60 lbs of phosphorus and sulfur in Fall for best tillering of the plant. Antivolitization protection is needed too.
Finally, the ideal time to harvest the crop is at flag leaf stage- when the last leaf is unfurled before it heads out.
Check out Tom's newsletters to find out more information: https://advancedagsys.com/newsletters/
And Tom's contact information can be found here with any questions: https://advancedagsys.com/contact/
Crop Insurance Updates
Another valuable speaker that presented on Friday was Danny Brisky with Compeer Financial. There were a number of crop insurance updates that he provided:
If a prevent plant claim is submitted and paid, you can put in a cover crop/forage once the late planting period ends and receive the full prevent plant indemnity
The RMA has removed the November 1st date from its rules, so you can now hay or graze your forage crop at any time
You can rent out your ground to another producer with your prevent plant acreage to help them get the feed they need for their operation
You can do a fall forage seeding policy following a prevent plant payment and retain your full indemnity
When breaking alfalfa acreage, you are only allowed the highest planted crop acreage for the last 4 years for the crop you are claiming for prevent plant in that county. (No added land factor when breaking alfalfa!)
Final Thoughts
As much as we wish we could predict what the growing season will bring us, technology isn't there yet. The best we can do is plan and prepare so we are not left frantic at the end of the season; worrying about what to do for additional forage for our livestock.
Weather is unpredictable and these extreme weather changes are likely not going to improve any time soon... so do what you can with the information you've read today to prepare yourself for the unexpected!
Finally, a big shout out to the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center for allowing us a discounted rate to tour the facility! Between the exceptional presenters, informative conversations, the abundance of hands on learning exhibits, delicious ice cream, and viewing the birth of a calf, it was a great time to be had by all.
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