Paper Withdrawn
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
266-14
Forage Quality of Emergency Forage Crop Options for the North Central USA.
Phil W. Holman1, Paul R. Peterson2, Daniel J. Undersander1, Marcia I. Endres2, Richard Leep3, Douglas L. Holen Jr.2, Michael Bertram4, Vince W. Crary Jr.2, and Craig Sheaffer5. (1) University of Wisconsin, Spooner Ag. Research Station, W6646 Hwy 70, Spooner, WI 54801, (2) University of Minnesota, Department of Agronomy & Plant Genetics, 1991 Burford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108-6026, (3) Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1325, (4) Marshfield Ag Research Station, 8396 Yellowstone Drive, 8396 Yellowstone Drive, Marshfield, WI 54449, United States of America, (5) Univ. of MN-Dep. of Agronomy, 1991 Upper Buford Cir., 1991 Upper Buford Cir., St. Paul, MN 55108, United States of America
Producers in the north central USA occasionally experience alfalfa winterkill or springs that are too wet for planting alfalfa within an optimum window. We conducted a three-state trial across six locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin , and Michigan and 2 yr to evaluate the emergency forage potential of 16 different cool- and warm-season annual crops. Entries were planted at each of three planting dates including early May, early June, and around July 1. Corn for silage usually produced the most milk per acre (based on Milk2000) at all planting dates. Though it was sometimes higher yielding than corn, forage sorghum has lower forage quality. Sorghum-sudan, sudangrass, and hybrid pearl millet were generally intermediate in milk per acre and milk per ton, but had greater crude protein content than corn silage. Pearl millet has the advantage of no prussic acid concerns. Grain soybean harvested for forage at R6.5 was the highest quality option tested, approaching alfalfa quality. German and Siberian foxtail millets harvested at late boot were the lowest quality options, but produced consistently good stands and yields within two months after all planting dates. The optimum crop to plant for emergency forage varies with when and how it will be utilized, the forage quality needed, and seed availability and cost.