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Minnesota Crop News > 2001-2008 Archives
January
31, 2007
2007 Minnesota Forage Days to be held Feb. 13-15Neil Broadwater, Regional Extension Educator - DairyThe University of Minnesota Extension’s annual Forage Days will be held at three locations in the state in mid-February, which include the Ottertail Community Center on Tuesday, February 13; the Kingston Community Center (Hwy 15 S of St. Cloud) on Wednesday, February 14; and the Goodhue Lions Building in Goodhue on Thursday, February 15. This year, some topics will be the same at all three locations and other topics will be more specific to area of the state where each meeting will be held. One topic that will be discussed at all three locations is Manure on Alfalfa: "Easy does it." This will be presented by Dr. Michael Russelle, Soil Scientist from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service stationed in St. Paul. His research efforts have been focused on nitrogen cycling in livestock-cropping systems. At Forage Days, his presentation will include manure rates, methods, timing, N cycling, phosphorus runoff risk, stand damage, and the potential for disease and ensiling problems. Livestock manure has been an asset to crop production for generations. Manures contain several essential plant nutrients and can contribute to increasing or maintaining crop yields when properly applied to soils. But, does manure fit into a fertility program for an existing alfalfa crop? Can it be applied without causing stand problems? Since alfalfa is a legume and produces its own nitrogen, the added nitrogen from the manure is not used efficiently. Applying manure nitrogen can influence weed germination and proliferation. Applying manure on established stands can cause compaction to the soil and root crowns of alfalfa in the field. Manure application also creates the risk of leaf/stem burn from the salts and ammonia in manure when applied to an established alfalfa field. Despite these concerns, manure can be beneficial to alfalfa with proper management. Some livestock producers may find that topdressing manure onto alfalfa may be necessary in order to remove the manure from the storage system. Dr. Russelle will discuss the pros and cons of applying manure to alfalfa fields and provide some management guidelines for producers who do so. Registration at all three locations beings at 9:30 a.m., with the program taking place from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The registration fee is $30/person, which will include refreshments, lunch and handout materials. The topics and presenters for each site are as below. Continuing Education credits will be granted to those requesting them. If you did not receive a brochure and would like one, call the contact person listed for the location of interest. February 13 -- Ottertail Community Center Contact Doug Holen at 218-998-5787
February 14 – Kingston Community Center (near St. Cloud) Contact Dan Martens at 320-968-5077
February 15 – Goodhue Lions Club, Goodhue Contact Lisa Behnken at 507-280-2867
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