TRAVELS WITH= EV

The Crop Dude’s paternal grandfather never saw a movie, never= ate at a restaurant, never traveled more than 100 miles from where he was born,= and never drove a car. Grandpa Thomas didn’t see a doctor until he was in= his 70s, and then was told he didn’t have long to live. Not liking this diagnosis, he went to a chiropractor (another first) and lived for another = ten years. Times sure have changed: I’ve driven over a million miles, eat= en literally thousands of restaurant meals, and had my physician on speed dial during an attack of shingles this past winter. I’ve also seen a lot of the world, with neither the Institute nor me footing the bill. (I’m n= ot cheap, I’m….frugal.)

In April I spent 10 days with the U.S. Grains Council visiting farms and speaking to about 900 farmers and agribusiness reps at meetings in Beijing and Northern China. USGC’s mission is market development for = U.S. fa= rm products. China will b= uy almost 2 million tons of U.S. soybeans in the coming year, so something’s working. China&#= 8217;s dairy product consumption is increasing over 10% per year, 25% in 2004 alone. My topic was corn silage production from planting to harvest, while the University of Delaware’s Limin Kung took it from harvest through feedout.

Typical Chinese corn silage is less than 25% DM without much of an = ear. Only 1% of the corn crop is harvested for silage, and most seed companies appear to have little knowledge of the forage quality of the hybrids they s= ell. Pioneer, Land O’ Lakes, Cargill, and Purina have<= /span> active sales and farm advisory services in = China; John Deere is there as= well, plus many domestic suppliers. Deere has yet to sell its first forage harves= ter in China= , but hope springs eternal. The standard forage chopper is a crude stationary model with stalks hand-fed into a cutterhead (u= sing the term loosely) that resembles a two-bladed fan. Not surprisingly, partic= le size is huge, with golf-ball size chunks of cob in the silage. One 850-cow = farm we visited has corn brought in by over 100 small farmers over a two-week period, to be run through one of these choppers and stored in trench silos.= (No shortage of labor on this farm: 130 employees or one for every 6 cows!) The farm would like more mature corn silage, but if the small farmers wait until the crop is well developed they pick the ears for grain and bring the stalk= s to the big farm.

China is spending over $30 billion on capital improve= ments in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics; everywhere you look there̵= 7;s construction. There’s a lot of air pollution from construction, dust blowing down from Mo= ngolia, and smog. Food and lodging are generally cheap: Dinner at a nice (non-tourist-type) restaurant in most cities except <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Beijing costs less than $5.00, and my 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom luxury suite at the Beijing Asco= tt cost about the same as a room at the Plattsburgh Holiday Inn. Eating in rur= al China i= s an experience: I said yes to pigs’ ears (crunchy in a cartilaginous way)= and whole little fishes (verrry fishy), and = would have eaten donkey (“Better than beef” said my host) but they we= re sold out; I said no to chicken feet, dog and sautéed insect larvae. =

The population numbers are staggering: Beijin= g’s has topped 15 million, while S= henyang is a city of 7.8 million (about the same as NYC) that, like me, you probably never heard of. Traveling by car is bearable once you accept this about Chi= nese drivers: They are all crazy. Traffic lights and other rules of the road are merely suggestions, the right of way at an intersection claimed by whoever = is bigger, bolder, or has a louder horn. Cars and trucks traveling clockwise p= low into the counter-clockwise madness of a roundabout during “rush hour” (6 a.m. to 10 p.m.) and somehow pop out the other side. There’s almost no eye contact, so no raised voices or middle fingers.= China&#= 8217;s hundreds of millions of bicyclists must live in constant fear, though remarkably I never saw a single fender-bender or pretz= led bicycle. Amazing.

—Ev Thomas

thomas@whmi= ner.com

Advanced Dairy Management Students Compete at Natio= nal Dairy Challenge

The University of Vermont Dairy Challenge Team won a Gold placing in the Fifth Annual North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge (NAIDC) held March 31-April 1 in Twin Falls, Idaho. Teams are placed Platinum, Gold, <= span class=3DGramE>Silver depending on performance. The University of Idaho and Washin= gton State University co-hosted the contest, with 26 teams from the United States and 1 team from Canada competing. The University of Vermont team con= sisted of: Matt Angell, Brendan Fitzgerald, Jeff Gingue, and Dan Pike.

NAIDC is an innovative two-day competition for students representing dairy science programs at North American universities.&n= bsp; It enables students to apply theory and learning to a real-world dai= ry, while working as part of a four-person team.

Day One of the competition began with each team receiving information about a working dairy, including production and farm management data. After an in-person inspection of o= ne of three designated dairies, participants interviewed the herd managers. Then each team developed a farm an= alysis and presentation materials, including recommendations for nutrition, reproduction, milking procedures, animal health, housing and financial mana= gement. Day Two was presentation day. Team members presented recommendat= ions to a panel of judges and then fielded questions from the judges. Presentations were evaluated, base= d on the analysis and recommendations.

Generous support from corporate sponsors makes the NAIDC possible. The University of Vermo= nt students are currently enrolled as FARMS 2+2 students in the Miner Institute Advanced Dairy Management course. While they are at Miner Institute we have visited and evaluated a variety of farms in the area and certainly appreciate the farm owners for opening their doors to us to learn from them. In addition, during the spring sem= ester, a number of guest speakers have been a part of the training program for the= se students and we certainly appreciate the time and effort they put forth in keeping our students current with the industry.

—Wanda Emerich

emerich@wh= miner.com

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK=

HOT TOPIC=

Even though it is still spring and a little cool at that, it is not too early to= get your farm prepared for the coming summer months and heat stress. For those = of you in the northeastern US, remember how quickly it turned hot in early Jun= e? And, if you didn’t have adequate heat abatement strategies in place by then, you likely can also remember how quickly the milk production tanked f= or your herd. I hate to admit it, but we were caught with our fans down last y= ear and paid the price. This year, we have fans in place – over the stalls and the feed line – ready to go as soon as the temperature-humidity i= ndex tops 72. In addition, our farm manager has ordered all of the hardware need= ed to install a sprinkler system over the feed line to complement the fans. The arrangement will initially be built according to the ubiquitous Kansas State specifications, and then we will adjust the system to optimize it for our particular barn style. One major question we have is how effectively our al= ley scraper system will remove the water from the sprinklers. We certainly do n= ot want to exchange one problem (heat stress) for another (excessively wet alleys).

I lectured to our Universit= y of Vermont dairy sc= ience students recently about heat stress abatement, and we got onto the topic of what information could be learned as we install the sprinkler system with t= he fans in place. In addition to demonstrating the presumed utility of heat abatement in northern New Yor= k (which not everyone thinks is significant), we could also answer some quest= ions such as: What is the impact of fans over the stalls only, over the feed line only, or over both? At least in a demonstration mode, we could track cow’s behavioral response (time spent standing versus eating versus resting) and even their production response. We can monitor conditions insi= de the barn and degree of heat stress such as breaths per minute and body temperature. The bottom line is that cows produce a huge amount of heat. At= a conference several years ago, a speaker drew this analogy: Cows give off approximately 4,500 BTU’s of heat/hour &#= 8211; approximately the same amount of heat given off by a 1500-watt hair dryer at high setting.

In addition to having the dairy facilities ready for heat abatement prior t= o the onset of heat stress, we also have to understand that any ration formulation adjustments need to be completed prior to the arrival of heat stress. In fact, dramatically altering the diet during a bout of heat stress would most likely cause the herd to crash. The primary dietary adjus= tments should focus on digestible fiber and management to encourage feed intake. If you’ve managed to save some really high quality forage, hot summer mo= nths would be a wonderful time to feed it out. For example, we plan on switching= to a higher BMR corn silage diet when we enter the hotter summer months. Nonforage sources of fiber (byproducts such as soybean hulls and beet pulp) are excellent sources of digestible fiber and soluble fiber and will improve milk production when substituted for forage NDF on a= limited basis. In fact, a study conducted in 2004 found nearly a 4.5 pound/cow/day increase in milk yield when soybean hulls replaced corn silage at a rate of= 15% of the diet dry matter. We also can make judicious use of lipid supplements= and modestly raise the nonfiber carbohydrate conten= t of the diet, but it will ultimately boil down to digestible fiber and manageme= nt for higher feed intake.

One final note: Don’t forget that classic study that compared rumen pH for cows fed high and low forage diets with and without heat stress. The bottom line of the study was that for any diet, heat stress reduced rumen pH. When cows were fed a higher concentrate diet, heat stress was associated with ru= men pH around 5.6. Clearly, the risk of rumen acidosis is greatly increased when cows are fed and managed under hot conditions. Finally, remember that most dietary manipulations will be useless unless there is active heat stress abatement already in practice on the farm.

So, even though it is still spring, weather warm= enough to cause mild heat stress in dairy cows could be only 4 weeks away - even h= ere in the chilly Northeast!

—Rick Grant

grant@whmine= r.com

Trend= s in Dairy Production Education

Good news! “= The state of baccalaureate and technical education in dairy production is very = good as enrollments remain stable, educational programs remain relevant to the d= airy industry, curricula have evolved to incorporate software tools and informat= ion technology, and a high percentage of students remain in the industry after graduation” according to Kensinger and Mu= ller in the April issue of the Journ= al of Dairy Science. The Penn = State researchers used survey data= from 38 university and 12 institutions that grant baccalaureate and technical de= grees respectively to identify important trends in undergraduate teaching program= s in dairy science.

The article caught my attention since several of us here at Miner Institute are involved every spring in teaching the Advanced Dairy Management Program for= the University of Vermont 2+2 students. There were s= everal notable trends in the survey (Table 1):

1. = Enrollment in baccalaureate programs remained stable while enrollme= nt in technical programs increased.

2. = An increase in the number of female students.

3. = A decrease in the number of students from farm or agricultural backgrounds.

Kensinger and Muller questioned whether consolidation in the dairy industry (i.e. fewer farms and agribusinesses) would lead to the point where there is less demand for employees with education in dairy-related fields. According= to career path choices of recent graduates (Table 2), consolidation does not appear to be limiting employment opportunities in the dairy industry. The majority of graduates are going in= to dairy production or related support businesses. Alumni of our Advanced Dairy Management Program have made similar career choices. Fifty-three percent of alumni went into dairy production, of which 63% of them returned to their family farm. The remaining alumni went into nutrition/feed sales and service (13%), pharmaceutical sales and service (7%), government agencies (7%), graduate or veterinary school (7%), animal breeding sales and service (3%), education/extension (3%), finance/business (3%), and other (3%).=

—Heather Dann

dann@whminer.= com

Mycotoxins: Whim of nature or can we do something about them?

Mycotoxins are toxins produced by molds and fungi that can have a wide range = of negative effects on dairy production. Molds and fungi are ubiquitous; they = can grow just about anywhere under any conditions. There are many different fun= gi species that can produce many different toxins, nearly 400 identified toxin= s of varying toxicity, and it is virtually impossible to prevent their occurrenc= e. Both grains and forages can be hosts to these toxins. This article will foc= us on forage crop concerns regarding mycotoxins.

A common complaint is that “we think we have a myc= otoxin problem”. Some common symptoms include: Decreased milk, growth and DM= I; arcing manure, poor digestion, rough looking animals, visible mold in forag= es; poor reproduction, abortions, odd cycles, no cycles. There is quite a range of symptoms= that may or may not be resulting from mycotoxins. Th= ese toxins have a multitude of physiological effects on the animal. They can be neurotoxins causing tremors or antimicrobial toxins or immunosuppressant or estrogenic. It is very difficult to pinpoint a specific toxin as the cause, especially when there are likely to be many involved, or it could be a numb= er of other causes on farm (nutrition, water, management, environment, etc.)

Mycotoxins can “infect” a crop at many points along the growth and harvest continuum, starting in the field, during storage, during transport (aerobic exposure). Three of the more common species of fungi and when they occur are Aspergillus (aerobic spoilage)= , Fusarium (plant growth) and Penicillium (aerobic spoilage).

The Fusarium species are common in corn, oft= en associated with ear and stalk rot, but can grow without any disease symptom= s in the plant. There are 3 common toxins that the Fusarium= species produce: Fumonisin, trichothecene and zearalenone. A Pennsylvania study in 2001-02 found fumonisin toxin in 92% of corn silage samples. Levels= of fumonisin were similar going into the silo as when be= ing fed out, indicating that this toxin does not degrade during ensiling and storage. Trichothecene A, known as T2, is highly toxic but much less common in silage than trichothecen= e B (deoxynivalenol DON, vom= itoxin). Another Pennsylvania study showed 58% of CS samples as positive for DON. DON is often referred t= o as an indicator toxin. The thought being that if DON is present, the chance of other toxins being present is high. However, levels of DON decrease with ensiling and storage. If DON degrades during ensiling, its use as an indicator in stored silages is mini= mized. Zearalenone has estrogenic effects and can seve= rely alter the reproductive cycling of cattle and cause abortions in severe cases.

The Pencillium species can grow in anaerobic= and acidic conditions and can be present in what appears to be non-moldy, “good” silage. The toxic effects of Pencil= lium toxins include tremors, organ damage and altered cell regeneration. The presence of long membranous tissue in manure could be a sign of toxin effec= ts causing shedding of tissues lining the small intestine. This is also common= of nutritional acidosis causing mucin casts to be = shed in manure.

Though most of the mycotoxin research in forage has been with corn silage, it is highly likely that the same molds a= nd fungi and their resulting toxins may be present in hay crop silages. Grasses can be susceptible to Ergot alkaloids that commonly infect the seed head, looking like dry mouse droppi= ngs. Although some fungi can grow within the plant and show no visual signs of i= nfection, commonly in fescue and perennial rye grasses. These toxins can cause vasoconstriction (decrease blood flow to extremities causing gangrene), abortions and decreased milk and DMI. Pastured animals are most susceptible to these fungi.

Mycotoxin testing; hit or miss<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

So many toxins, and they are not homogenously distributed throughout the silage (spotty in either visually good or bad feed). A representative sample of the entire forage is necessary, and even then the results may not be conclusive= . A negative result does not guarantee that there are no other toxins present. = The preferred, “gold standard” method of analysis is with HPLC or GC depending on the toxin and lab extraction method. This is expensive and tak= es time. A quicker, less expensive method is the ELIZA test, which is much les= s precise than HPLC and can have a higher rate of false positives.<= /p>

Minimizing the risk of mycotoxins

Fungi take advantage of plant weaknesses. Anything we can do to promote a healthy crop will decrease the chances of mycotoxins. P= roper fertilization and insect control minimizes fungal infection. Crop rotation, till versus no-till, conflicting evidence regarding effects on mycotoxins.&n= bsp; Genetic resistance to ear rot and drought tolerance has shown decrea= ses in mycotoxins. Bt co= rn has been shown to have lower incidence of fusarium = fungi compared to non-Bt corn. Harvest quickly at the appropriate moisture level, pack adequately (at least 14-18 lbs DM/ ft³), and use a preserva= tive if appropriate. And a personal question of mine is, what is the incidence of mycotoxins in silage s= tored above the bunker sidewalls? I= s the loosely packed forage forming the peak of the bunker at a higher risk for <= span class=3DSpellE>mycotoxins? Would another bunker or pile result in be= tter forage quality?

Feeding mycotoxin infected forage:

1.      = Compost if possible. Do not just re-spread on a field to be harvest= ed again. Try to kill the organisms.

2.      = Dilute: Feed less of the infected feed if possible

3.      = Binders: Clays seem to work sometimes (montmor= illonite, bentonite, aluminosilicate= ). Activated charcoal has minimal successes.

Molds and fungi are opportunistic organisms. When conditions are ri= ght and crops are stressed, they will infect forages and possibly produce mycotoxins. We certainly cannot control or anticipate= the whims of Mother Nature (i.e. army worm infestations and last years black tar spot fungus on maple trees, fungal crop infections) but being conscientious about forage quality can reduce the incidence of mycotoxins. Be honest, if it is a management issue th= at is allowing the fungal infection, then there is something we can do about it.<= o:p>

—Kurt Cotanch

cotanch@wh= miner.com

Vet's Cor= ner: Change in Oral Calf Scour Treatment

For years, our practice has recommended the feeding of appropriate volumes of electrolyte-enriched fluid to correct dehydration and acidosis in scouring calves. Over the years, several companies' electrolyte packages have been t= ried by our clients. Recently, one of our associates attended a seminar that featured Dr. Geof Smith of North Carolina Stat= e University. She got some great new ideas on= how to improve oral electrolyte fluid therapy for baby calf scours.<= /span>

In the past, our electrolyte packages contained bicarbonate and we did not rea= lize the drawback to using bicarb as the alkalizing = agent. Feeding bicarb raises the pH of the abomasal contents. In a natural low pH environment, pathogenic E. coli and Salmonella bacteria will not survive or multiply. So even though numerous calves were helped in the past by oral electrolyte therapy, the bicarb was increasing the calf's exposure to common disease-causing organisms.

A different alkalizing agent, acetate, is in our new electrolyte product and = it has the following advantages over bicarb:<= /o:p>

·      =    Acetate will break down into VFA which can be absorbed in the calf's gut and assist sodium absorption.

·      =    Acetate will not raise abomasal pH and = will inhibit Salmonella growth.

·      =    Acetate is an energy source to the off-feed calf.=

Other calf scour packages that we carried in the past contained thickening agents that gave the impression of a fast recovery from scours.<= /span> The client would see a faster end to diarrhea and we thought that the fiber's effect of slowing gastric emptying would enhance nutrient absorption and improve glucose absorption. Research has shown just the opposite effect. Glucose absorption is decreased in= a transient manner, which would further depress the scouring calf.

Our new treatment choice doesn't contain a thickening agent, so we will not exp= ect the fast cessation of scours. Instead, we will measure treatment success by= the improvement in attitude and appetite of the calf.

—Kent E Henderson, DVM
Northwest Veterinary Associates, Inc.<= /span>

cowdoc@ade= lphia.net

BROWN ROOT ROT TRIAL ESTABLISHED

Cornell University has established a small alfalfa variety trial o= n one of our production fields, testing potential resistance to Brown Root Rot. B= rown Root Rot is a serious disease of alfalfa that’s present throughout Northern NY, Miner Institute included. This test involves four alfalfa varieties that may have some resistance to BRR. We tucked the replicated pl= ots into an out-of-the-way corner of a field we seeded this spring. It will lik= ely be some time before there are conclusive results, but it’s encouraging that someone is investigating what appears to be the only realistic way to fight this disease.

DIAGNOSING EARLY-SEASO= N CORN PROBLEMS

You should be out walking your cornfields soon after emergence. It’s a lot easier to tell what happened (or what’s still happen= ing) when the corn is 2” high than when it’s 6 feet high, at which p= oint a diagnosis often becomes a postmortem. Emergence rates of 90% aren’t uncommon, and if you wind up with much less than 85% of original planting r= ate something went wrong. Don’t be concerned if some plants emerge as muc= h as a week later than others; this can be caused by something as simple as seed orientation (tip down vs. tip up), or slight differences in planting depth = due to uneven ground. Here’s what should concern you:

1.      = Soil ins= ect damage, especially seed maggot and wireworm “The book” says that wireworms are usually a problem on= ly in first year corn out of a sod, but lucky us, we have a species that somet= imes attacks second year corn. Look for hollowed out seeds, with little but the = hull left and perhaps the occasional wireworm peeking out at you. Early-season s= oil insect damage can be greatly reduced by seed treatment. As the corn gets cl= oser to 6” tall, potato stem borers occasionally ravage plants in the rows next to hedgerows and hay fields, walking in from the grassy areas where they’ve overwintered. Unless you have a quackgra= ss problem (and there’s simply no excuse for quackg= rass as long as glyphosate has been on the market), = damage rarely extends past the outside 10-12 rows. And a good thing indeed, since = we know of no insecticide that will control potato stem borers.

2.      = Bird dam= age. Crows and blackbirds will pull young corn seedl= ings. Look for the occasional uneaten plant lying forlornly next to a hole in the soil. Often you’ll find several missing plants in a row. Unfortunatel= y, there’s nothing (legal) that can be done to prevent this type of dama= ge. In the old days some farmers used to treat a few pounds of corn with strychnine, with predictable results. This caused great angst to Audubon Society members but made the farmers feel a lot better. <= /p>
3.      = Preemergence herbicide phytotoxicity. The type of damage depends on what was used; th= is subject is sufficiently involved that the problem has to be diagnosed on a case-by-case basis. Fortunately, between the herbicides most commonly used = now and good advice from crops consultants and custom spray applicators, herbic= ide phytotoxicity problems are few and far between.<= /o:p>

—E.T.

WELL STACKED

Regular Farm Report readers may recall the prediction that farmers would soon have corn hybrids with “multiple stacking”—several genetically modified traits. The future is no= w: There are scores of hybrids with three GM traits, and = Mycogen Seeds recently announced its first “Quad-Stack” corn hybrid including genetic resistance to both European corn borer and corn rootworm,= and to Roundup and Liberty herbicides. Not surprisingly, this first hybrid is tailored for the Corn Be= lt: At 115 RM it’s too late for most of the Northe= astern U.S.

Meanwhile, Dow AgroSciences has receive= d the world’s first regulatory approval for a plant-made vaccine. The technology to produce vaccines from plants has been known for some time, but there have been concerns about making vaccines in whole plants—especi= ally food plants. The Dow system uses plant cells rather than whole plants in a closely controlled setting, eliminating the possibility of the trait enteri= ng the food chain or being transmitted to other plants.

Finally, look for an acceleration of genetic technology now that the World Trade Organization has ruled that the European Union placed an illegal moratorium on GM crops. On the heels of this, the EU approved YieldGard Rootworm corn for human food crops.

GOOSED

As you may recall from the back-page photo in the December Farm Report, our 42-acre alfalfa-grass field bordering Rte. 191 had a serious snow goose infestation last fall. We’ve been concerned at the damage these geese might have done since they stayed long and were eating well. Our fears were realized since this field currently looks pretty sad, with many = bare spots. We’re sure it’s not the fact that we took a 4^{th
cut last fall since other (non-goosed) 4^th cut fields came throu=
gh
the winter in great shape. We’re told by Cooperative Extension’s
Mat Cooper that snow geese can be especially damaging since they pull the
vegetation they feed on rather than clip it off, as do Canada =
geese.
This was going to be the last year in hay crop for this field anyway, but we
were hoping for a lot more alfalfa than it appears is there now. We know th=
at
some of the alfalfa stand decline is simply the ravages of time, but the sn=
ow
geese sure didn’t help the situation.}

We heard of one farmer who completely eliminated his goose problem = with one border collie, which ran itself ragged chasi= ng the geese away, but apparently had a grand old time. Can you think of any creat= ure that works harder and has a better time doing it than a border collie? (Excepting ERN Charlie Sniffen, of course, but = we all know he’s a few fries short of a Happy Meal.)

CORN PLANTING: LAST MI= NUTE REMINDERS

By the time you read this many of you will be planting corn. As Jun= e 1^stapproaches, don’t hesitate to switch to earlier-season hybrids = if what you have left is full-season maturity. Global warming occurs over deca= des, so don’t count on 2006 being unusually warm. Ignoring corn maturity t= his spring may mean harvesting corn slush this fall. Decisions you make in the = next few weeks will result in consequences—good or bad—that you̵= 7;ll be living with for many months into 2007.

Pay attention to any traits including Bt, Roundup Ready, etc., and write down what’s planted where before you go to bed each night. Most custom operators have war stories about non-Roundup Ready corn being sprayed with Roundup, discovering (to nobody’s surprise) that Roundup kills non-RR corn really well. Check the return policy on the various traits and = seed treatments of the hybrids you have, because in some cases the seed company won’t take back certain types of seed.

With new types and rates of seed coatings, it’s especially important to check seed population (planting rate). If a unit of seed is planting more acreage than normal—gee, maybe you have a problem! Fortunately, you can increase or decrease plant population by 10% or so wit= hout suffering a devastating yield loss, but by checking the seed drop rate you should be able to come closer than 10%. For silage corn you should be dropp= ing at least 30,000 and preferably 32,000-33,000 seeds per acre on all but sand= y, drought-prone fields.

Also check seed depth. Some years ago Agway did a neat trial compar= ing various corn planting depths, from 1” to 4” or so. The 1”= and 1.5” planting depths resulted in quite a bit lower yields than the 2” to 3” depths. Be especially aware with = notill or if planting into otherwise tough conditions. If you see our field crops supervisor Jake Ashline on his knees in a field during corn planting season he’s not praying = for heavenly intervention (at least we don’t think so); he’s diggin= g around to make sure the seed is deep enough.

—E.T.

GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT W= EEDS

We often yawn at each new report of weed biotypes found resistant t= o glyphosate. Ho hum, they found g= lyphosate-resistant rigid ryegrass in California and glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth in Missouri—so what?

However, glyphosate-resistant weed spec= ies much more familiar to us here in the Northeastern U.= S. are now popping up, some pretty close to home. Resistant ragweed isn’t close yet—Arkansas and Missouri—but they’ve found common = lambsquarters in Ohio that survives up to four times = the glyphosate rate that usually kills the stuff.

Rotating crops used to be a sure way to prevent the development of herbicide-resistant weeds, but now that we can apply g= lyphosate to corn, soybeans and, most recently, alfalfa, rotating crops may not alway= s be enough. The more glyphosate-resistant crops you= use, the more important it is that you rotate herbicides—or at least use a half rate of an annual grass herbicide combination with Roundup Ready corn. Season-long weed control will be better—trust us, we know, having tri= ed it both ways—and you’ll go a long way toward preventing herbici= de resistant weeds.

ALTERNATIVES FOR WORN-= OUT ALFALFA FIELDS

If you applied manure or nitrogen fertilizer to alfalfa-grass this spring, be especially critical of first cut yield and = regrowth after the first crop is off. If there wasn’t much alfalfa there in fi= rst cut and the grass is timothy or brome, don’t count on much of anything for the rest of the season. These fields can be real problems since reseedi= ng to alfalfa is strongly discouraged because of alfalfa = autotoxicity. If you get this crop off early enough—we harvest grass-alfalfa fields before our better alfalfa-grass fields—planting corn may be your best bet. There are some really good 75 to 80-day RM corn hybrids on the market = that if planted in early June should make a decent crop. I’ve been really impressed with the yield and quality of a number of these super-early hybri= ds in Cornell University’s corn silage hyb= rid trials. In fact, I think that one of the biggest corn breeding advances in = the past 10 years has been in the performance of these hybrids. I never thought I’d see an 80-day hybrid capable of 25+ corn silage yields, but that’s just what they’re doing in the Cornell trials.

—E.T.

FARM REPORT ARTICLE FOLLOW-UPS

A couple of old agribusiness friends had comments on articles in the March and April Farm reports that are worth reprinting.

First, Pioneer Hi-Bred’s Bill Mahanna had a thoughtful comment on the silage proces= sing article that appeared in the March Farm Report:

“Producers should not expect any more milk from processed corn silage. Rather, what you will likely observe is the same amount of milk but derived using less concentrate supplementation. The major effect of processing is altering kernel particle size allowing for more exposure of starch granules and a faster rate of starch digestion. Nutritionists balance the ration with the ingredients you have provided the= m. Lack of processing may require the use of more concentrate to offset lower starch availability in the silage. Adequate processing will allow for impro= ved silage starch availability, requiring less concentrate. Either way, milk production should not change much; but your income over feed cost can impro= ve significantly with proper processing.”

Second, Gilles Vezina from Agri-Flex in Quebec had some useful remarks on the tower silo capacity article appearing in the Apr= il issue. In slightly edited version, here are Gilles’ comments:

“When farmers built the silo 20 years ago,= the blower was smaller and so was the tractor. They unloaded a small load in 10= -20 minutes and it took 3-4 days to fill the monster. Today they unload a 6-8 ton load within 5 minutes with a huge capacity blower and a bigger tractor, which st= arts the problems. The section at the end of the pipe was a 9'' transition and t= hey never changed it (today they can get a 12'' and larger section), so that sl= ows down the flow and makes silage bunch up, and it doesn’t distribute evenly.

=

= With the new generation of silage unloaders you have a silage distributor that places silage on the outside wall of the silo (theoretically good) but doesn’t turn fast enough for today’s unloading capacity. And it slows the flow when it's full of pigeon droppings (editing was definitely needed here!) or rotten silage, so it stacks lots of silage along the wall and with hay crop silage = it rolls toward the center in clumps. If you go into one of those silos with heating problems I’m sure you could push your hand in between the clu= mps without difficulty. That doesn’t help silage density.... In corn sila= ge the same thing happens but the finest and heaviest silage stays on the outs= ide and the very coarse (thumb size) pieces roll down to the center, making a spongy area from the bottom up. A good place for molds.=

Also, if the silo is finished with a V shape, wh= en it packs down and settles, the center being loose, the pressure goes from t= he outside to the center and makes an air chamber along the wall, sometimes fo= r 2 to 5 doors. This is a perfect setup for hot silage when you start feeding from a new silo. The bigger the silo diameter, = the worse the problem.”

AN OLD FARMER’S ADVICE

·      =    Your fences should be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

·      =    Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

·      =    Life is simpler if you plow around the stump.

·      =    A bumblebee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.<= /o:p>

·      =    Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.
·      =    Don’t corner something that you know is meaner than you.=

·      =    Every path has a few puddles.

·      =    When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
·      =    Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.

·      =    Don’t judge folks by their relatives.

·      =    Don’t interfere with something that ain’t botherin̵= 7; you none.

·      =    Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.=

·      =    If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.

·      =    Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

·      =    The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal wi= th watches you from the mirror every mornin’= .

·      =    Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot= ta that comes from bad judgment.

·      =    Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the = rest to God.

PRIME BEEF<= /span>

Caution: Rant ahead. There’s an increase in the use of organic materials such as compost and dried manure solids for bedding surfaces. This isn’t all = that new an idea; over thirty years ago several of us flew down to Pennsylvania to look at two farms using composted manure for bedding. One farm was doing a pretty good job, while at the other the stall surface looked like reconstituted cow manure and the cows’ appearance (and most likely the SCC) confirmed it.

New idea or old, there’s not much wrong with organic materials that good management can’t overcome. However, I have heard just one t= ime too many that one advantage of using manure for stall bedding is that it re= duces the amount of manure that will have to be spread on fields. Well, to be pre= cise it does, but only the first time the stalls are filled. After that, = for every pound of manure or compost dry matter you put into a stall, a pound has to come out of the stall—or more likely it’s already been kicked out by the cow. Otherwise, your cows will soon be stand= ing on their own individual mountains of manure. This isn’t all that hard= a concept to grasp.

—E.T.

IT’S N= EVER EASY

It’s remarkable how solving one problem can often result in another one popping = up unexpectedly. A recent example involves the move to wider swaths of hay crop silage to speed drying. Wide swaths dry in half the time (or less, dependin= g on the weather) of narrow ones. Several things are happening in narrow, dense windrows, mostly bad but one that’s sometimes beneficial: The growth = of silage fermentation bacteria, primarily Lactobacillus plantarum. We say “sometimes” since often the natural populations of fermentation bacteria aren’t nearly as effective as those in commerci= al inoculants. That’s one reason we’re a big believer in silage inoculants, and apply an inoculant to every ton= of forage we ensile. However, common sense says that while inoculants will increase the chances of fast, efficient fermentation, they aren’t = always needed: Our grandfathers made some very good silage before commercial inoculants were on the market.

Wide windrows are ready to chop a lot sooner, which means there isn’t near= ly the time for the growth of fermentation bacteria in the windrow. Therefore,= if you’ve made the move to wide windrows (as we have), it’s especially important to use a commercial inoculant. It’s still possible to make good silage in wide windrows without a commercial inoculant, but with the relatively l= ow cost of most of these products it just makes good sense to use one. Consider it = part of your farm’s risk management policy.

CRITTER NEWS=

¨       Actual newspaper headline: “Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over” (Geez, what a guy!)

¨       A German was willing to pay only 10% of the previously agreed-on pr= ice for a pony he claimed was impotent because it only had one testicle. But af= ter the veterinarian gave the pony some Viagra, he proved to be fully functional after all (the pony, not the vet), and a judge ordered the buyer to pay full price

LOW MILK PRICES AND SOME NOT-SO-RECENT HISTORY

Do you remember the Dairy Diversion Program of 1983? This government program, partly self-funded by dairy farmers via a $0.50/cwt assessment, paid farmers $10.00/cwt for reductions of 5 to 30% in milk production compared to their = base period production. This was a resounding failure in both the short and long run, with 1984 milk production only declining by 4% from 1983 totals. (More= on the long run in a bit.) The program failed in part because each of the participating farmers acted in his own best interest, culling the bottom of= his herd to achieve the decrease in production. Did you expect farmers to cull = the top of their herds? After culling the bottom 25% or so, many found they had more time to care for young stock, more good forage (instead of “heif= er hay”) to feed to them, and before long they had a bunch of dandy springing heifers with more milk production potential than the cows they culled—because on average the best genetic potential is in the younge= st animals, and because many were “grown out” better.

Former Miner Institute president Harry Randy and I had a diabolical scheme: WeR= 17;d sign up for the DDP, cull the bottom third of our Holstein herd and replace them with Jerseys. The economics of this looked good in part because we could get the Jerseys= for a reasonable price. (Actually we could get them for free from Heaven Hi= ll Farm, a price we considered exceedingly reasonable.) The Jerseys wouldnR= 17;t produce as much milk as the Holsteins but they’d produce higher butterfat and protein percentages, so we’d get a higher price per hundredweight while “farming” the govern= ment for a nice chunk of change. But unfortunately, someone down in Washington was a= lso thinking and quashed our plan by requiring that milk components couldn̵= 7;t increase by more than a certain percent or the deal was off. (By that time we’d already agreed to accept a bunch of free = Jerseys, but that’s another story.)

Some freestall farmers realized an unexpected benefi= t from participation in the Dairy Diversion Program. These far= mers were overpopulating their freestalls by more th= an what was recommended then—or is now. When they culled the bott= om of their herd the remaining cows suddenly had more fee= dbunk space, more room at the water trough, more room for….well, everything. They responded by making more milk, and some of the farmers participating in the DDP were surprised (but not necessarily disappointed) to discover that = not long after culling the bottom of their herd the remaining cows had increased production enough to all but make up the difference. For whatever reasons, = one year after the Dairy Diversion Program ended national milk production had increased enough to completely wipe out the modest short-term effect and resumed its long-term upwards trend.

We’re now in what the experts say will be many months of low farm milk prices. We don’t have a Dairy Diversion Program (thankfully), but we can take so= me steps to cushion the effects of low milk prices. If you’re overpopula= ting your free stalls, cull the low producers, chronic mastitis cows, problem breeders and assorted head cases. While it’s true that even a modest-producing cow is usually better than an empty stall, some cows are cheaper to keep than others. (This is also true with spouses of both sexes,= but The Bride occasionally reads this so I’d better tread lightly here or= I might go home to an empty stall, so to speak.)

—E.T.

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1.      = Throw out nonessential numbers including age, weight and height. Let your doctors worry about them; that’s what= you pay them for.

2.      = Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.<= /span>

3.      = Keep learning. Learn more about computers, crafts, gardening, whate= ver. Never let the brain be idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop,&qu= ot; and the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4.      = Enjoy the simple things.

5.      = Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6.      = The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. You’re the only person who’s with you your entire life.

7.      = Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. You= r home is your refuge.

8.      = Cherish your health: If it’s good, preserve it. If it’s unstable, improve it. If it’s beyond what you can improve, get help.<= o:p>

9.      = Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10.     Tell the people you lo= ve that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that t= ake our breath away.

—George Carlin

CLOSING COMMENT

Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right, and the other is a husband.

TRAVELS WITH= EV

HOT TOPIC=

Trend= s in Dairy Production Education

Minimizing the risk of mycotoxins

AN OLD FARMER’S ADVICE

IT’S N= EVER EASY

CRITTER NEWS=

LOW MILK PRICES AND SOME NOT-SO-RECENT HISTORY

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

CLOSING COMMENT