Paul Peterson, Extension Forage Agronomist

January 28, 2006

The 2006 University of Minnesota Extension Service's Forage Days will span the state from corner to corner. There will be three meeting locations including the Evergreen Eating Emporium in Thief River Falls on Feb. 14, the Melrose American Legion on Feb. 15, and the Good Times Restaurant in Caledonia on Feb. 16.

Dr. Ron Schuler, extension agricultural engineer from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the featured guest speaker on the program. At all three meetings, Dr. Schuler will discuss Equipment Strategies to Speed Hay and Haylage Drying in the field so greater yield and quality are harvested in stored forage. At Thief River Falls and Melrose, he will also discuss techniques for Making Good Bale Packages That Keep. At Caledonia, he'll elaborate on Adjusting Corn Silage Harvesters for Better Silage.

Dr. Jim Linn, U of MN extension dairy nutritionist, is also a speaker on all three Forage Days programs. He will provide a nutritionist's perspective on Interpreting and Using Modern Forage Tests - Do Cows Really Care? to market and feed stored forage. Dr. Craig Sheaffer, forage agronomist at the U of MN, will share Minnesota data on the value of Roundup Ready® alfalfa in the context of profitable variety selection.

Other topics at Melrose include two farmer panels, one discussing their experiences with grasses and the other discussing bale packaging. At Caledonia, regional extension educator for crops, Lisa Behnken, will provide an update on What's New with Roundup Ready® Alfalfa and Potato Leafhoppers, and Dr. Sheaffer will discuss strategies regarding Capitalizing on Forage Legume N-Fixation in Rotations in light of rising input costs. Extension forage agronomist Dr. Paul Peterson will discuss Seeding Grasses with Alfalfa: Why, What, and How?, and regional extension educator for dairy, Neil Broadwater, will discuss techniques for Reducing Silage Shrinkage and Spoilage.

Registration with refreshments begins at 9:30 a.m. at all three locations and presentations will run from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The cost is $30 ($15 for each additional person from same farm) and includes lunch, the Alfalfa Management Guide, several other forage publications, educational materials, and refreshments.

For more information regarding the Thief River Falls meeting on Feb. 14, contact Howard Person (218-683-7030) or Doug Holen (218-998-5787); for the Melrose meeting on Feb. 15, contact Dan Martens (800-964-4929); and for the Caledonia meeting, contact Lisa Behnken or Neil Broadwater (888-241-4536) or Jerry Tesmer (507-725-5807 or 507-765-3896).

Machinery Adjustments to Speed Forage Drying in the Field

Here is some information in advance of the Forage Days from Dr. Ronald Schuler:

• Adjustments on the mower-conditioner or other steps to reduce drying time will increase the probability for producing high quality forage. Many of these adjustments, such as swath width and conditioning roll spacing, are easy to complete and require very little operator time.


• Placing the crop in a swath as wide as possible takes full advantage of the sun to dry the crop rapidly. For a 12-foot cutting width, laying the crop in a nine-foot swath reduces drying time by about 35 percent compared to laying it in a six-foot swath. Under typical Midwest weather, drying time can be reduced up to 6 hours. Nearly all mower-conditioners have adjustable swath-forming shields at the rear of the machine for this easy adjustment. The machine should also be operated to form a uniform swath.


• Two types of conditioning systems used on mower-conditioners are roll and impeller. The conditioning roll clearance and pressure should be adjusted to ensure that stems are cracked to increase their drying rate. Since stems dry more slowly than leaves, stem cracking is the important indicator of proper conditioning. At least 90 percent of the stems should be cracked.


• Another method of checking roll adjustment is to ensure that the clearance measures between 1/16 and 3/32 of an inch. When the crop is high yielding and has thick stems, a 3/32-inch clearance is most appropriate. For low-yield cuttings and fine stems, a 1/16-inch clearance is best.


• Machine operators should check their operator's manual for proper adjustment of the conditioning rolls. In one case, the manufacturer recommends adjusting the clearance with the machine operating at slow PTO speed while the tractor and machine are stationary. They suggest reducing the roll clearance until vibration and/or noise occurs, then increasing the roll clearance to the minimum spacing at which the vibration and/or noise is eliminated.


• The roll pressure also needs to be sufficient to crack the stems. For high-yielding crops that create a thicker mat of forage moving through the rolls, higher pressures are required. Excessive pressure can cause undesirable leaf loss. Roll pressure is adjusted via spring tension.


• On impeller conditioning systems, conditioning occurs via rubbing or abrasion by the impeller fingers. Most of these machines have an adjustable deflector above the impeller that influences the degree of contact between the forage and impeller. Adjusting the deflector downward increases the degree of forage conditioning. Nearly all the harvested stems should exhibit some mechanical abrasion.

These simple mower-conditioner adjustments will reduce the risk of poor quality forage. Any stepsthat reduce the drying time are very important to harvesting high quality forages in Midwest weather conditions.

Learn more about these machinery adjustment tips and methods to speed forage drying in the field by attending a Minnesota Forage Day on Feb. 14, 15, or 16. For a brochure on the Forage Days, which includes the complete program agenda for all three locations, visit the Extension Dairy website at www.extension.umn.edu/dairy.