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Recovering from the 2007 Freeze and Drought
By
Laura Skillman
BOWLING GREEN, Ky., (Nov. 14, 2007) – Farmers are not likely to
soon forget the past year. A double punch of a late spring
freeze and a summer drought has left pasture and hay fields
gasping. Now that some rain is again falling, producers may be
wondering how well their fields will recover and if they can
make changes to better prepare for future weather problems.
“There are no easy answers for recovery,” said Ray Smith,
extension forage specialist with the University of Kentucky
College of Agriculture. “There’s no miracle cures. Good, sound
forage management is really what is needed.”
Some plant species will recover more easily than others. Alfalfa
stands that were cut after the spring freeze, and the dead top
growth removed, recovered better than those that weren’t cut, he
said. Some winterkill did occur because of the freeze and, in a
few cases where the alfalfa fields had been cut or heavily
grazed in the fall, substantial winterkill was noted.
“The freeze reinforced the university’s recommendation to not
cut or graze alfalfa between the middle of September and early
November,” Smith said. “You want to let it replace its root
reserves.”
Smith said they have also noticed some drought damage in
orchardgrass stands resulting in thinning of the stands. These
stands will need to be interseeded with some clover or
additional orchardgrass early next spring, he said.
Some sound forage management techniques for today and everyday
include using lime and fertilizer as called for by soil-testing
fields. It is very important to maintain phosphorus and
potassium for legumes as well as some grasses such as
orchardgrass to give them winter hardiness and disease
tolerance, he said. Light fall nitrogen applications can also be
very helpful to allow grasses such as bluegrass and fescue to
thicken up and improve their spring productivity.
In a good management program, it is also important to use what
is available such as grazing harvested corn fields, Smith said.
It is important though to remove cattle from the fields when a
frost is anticipated if Johnsongrass is present. Johnsongrass
will emit prussic acid after a frost, which can be deadly to
livestock. Cattle can return to the field a couple weeks after
the frost. After a hard freeze, the grass is safe to graze after
a few days.
Another important point to remember is weeds have done quite
well this summer, and weed control is important. November is a
good time to control many winter annual weeds.
“If you are going to plant clover, then use a fall application
to knock back weeds, frost-seed clover in February and remember
to avoid herbicides that persist in the soil over winter,” he
said. “Once you’ve planted the clover you can’t put down an
herbicide or you will kill the clover.”
Getting early growth this spring will be important to many
forage producers this year, especially those who have very
limited hay supply for their livestock. An early application of
low rates of nitrogen this spring will encourage growth in these
fields.
“Putting a low rate, 30 to 60 pounds per acre, of nitrogen on as
soon as the grass begins to green up will give you a couple of
weeks earlier potential for grazing,” he said. “If you are going
to be cutting a hay crop from the field, then a higher rate of
nitrogen would be used.”
In renovating and reseeding pastures, remember to have the
fields grazed down or mowed for better seed to soil contact and
less competition for new seedlings. Smith also encourages
farmers to go ahead and line up what seed they will need now,
because seed production problems and a likely high demand will
mean tight supplies on some species like orchardgrass. Getting
the seed lined up now will ensure that farmers have the seed
they need to sow midwinter or spring.
As farmers work to recover from this year’s weather damages,
they need to remember that other weather problems likely are
looming in the future.
Smith advises farmers to be prepared for the next drought with a
grazing management plan appropriate to their individual farm
operation.
“It’s been a tough year,” he said, “but hopefully we’ve learned
a few things to help us in the future.”
For more freeze, drought and general forage information, visit
the UK forages Web site.
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Contact: Ray Smith, 859-257-3358
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The UK College
of Agriculture, through its land-grant mission, reaches across
the commonwealth with teaching, research and extension
to enhance the lives of Kentuckians. |
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